soule eternally in the worlde to come But good aduocates led by simplicitie of conscience as Aristotell sayth by his knife seruing to mani vses and therfore very profitable are men no lesse conuenient necessarie and honorable then any other sort in a comon weale and of whom perticular estates in a kingdom stand in nede so that if they pursue their estate according to the right office and dutie of the same they conteine men in order and bring infinit commodities to a whole countrie they supporte the right of the prince and valiantly resiste such as seeke to blaspheme against his maiestie blasphemye I call with the apostels outrage done against the maiestie of the prince representing God in earth and therfore the iniurie done against the prince turneth against God In causes of affairs concerning princes officers of all estates chauncelers presidents counselers noble men marchants riche pore widowes maides ther is necessitie of the aduocate who in causes of pleading is called and instructed in the cause yea in these dayes the dissembled vicar of Rome his cardinalls bishops curats pristes clarkes if there be question touching their office or authoritie must resorte to the aduocate to emplede the estate of the cause in what supreame courte soeuer it be he good aduocate seruing God and folowing integritie is the mediator betwéene quarilous people O reconcilar of ennmies the authore of peace and an example to a common weale Touching common proces he accordeth mo in one hower then a whole parciall court doth in thrée yeres he will make conscience to enterteyne a proces which he foreseith is like to continue longe and therfore giueth councell of agrement to the parties if he knowe any pore man ouermatched with a riche or captious aduersarie he doth what he can to drawe the matter to accorde wherby he deliuereth the person from encomber and his goodes from daunger to be loste by the hazard of the iudges yea one good aduocat doth more good seruice to the world then many iudges in whome is constraint to giue sentence according to their offices being not able to accorde the parties by arbitration it is not meete that an aduocate notwithstanding his excelencie of knowledge without longe experience of pleading aspire to the office of a iudge or president but eyther by constraint of the Prince or by compulsion of olde age being no more able to sustaine the labours due to the dutie of that profession not buying the dignitie which the Pagans estéemed the same vice which we call simonie but by election of other Iudges of the Court in whom may rest suretie for his vpright dealing procurers which are as publike soliciters and generall syndickes of all causes in place of the parties to solicit aduocates and Iudges and procure expedicion of Iustice to their clients and notaries appoynted to receiue faithfully truly the appoyntments of Iudges contenting them selues with their rate authorised by the court or ordained by their Prince ought without futtletie delaye or couetousnes exercise their estate wicked notaries in Esaie are subiect to malediction as also vnrighteous Law readers and Iudges because they write and pronounce vnrighteous Lawes ¶ The dutie of Marchants Chapter x. MArchants folowing an estate of iust commutacion are men no lesse profitable necessary and farre more honorable in their common weale thē many of the other perticuler sortes of calling mentioned in the other Chapters And albeit according to the consequence and order of the Booke I haue placed them after the other as I haue coopled clerkes with their Masters procurers with their aduocates other necessary officers with men of Iustice most necessary to serue them in that estate yet there is no cause of disgrace to the honest marchant in this preheminence of place for that only necessitie of order tied me thereunto which I haue obserued in the discourse of Apothicaries and Chirurgions following the Phisitions where I should haue placed them after the aduocates and many other of qualetie But as in this obseruation is no dishonour to the marchaunt so hee shall find no lesse instruction touching the office of his calling according to God then if his discourse had come afore the rest ouer many of whom I must confesse hee hath right of preheminence by common custome of nations and reason The Marchant then aboue al thinges in the exercise of common traffike betweene men is to consider déepely of the two generall lawes Thou shalt not doo to another that which thou wouldest not haue done to thy selfe and loue thy neighbour as thy selfe And as they vse the yard to measure their wares and the ballance to waigh it and that there is no cloth nor other wares measurable which they do not passe by the yard or elne nor any thing méete to be waighed which they cast not into the ballance vsing both the one and the other aswell in vile and base as riche and precious thinges applying also the helpe of nombers for the better diuision of perticularities if néede requireth So in all traffikes whither in grosse or in retaile the marchant is bound to the obseruation of those two commaundements by the which he is expressely enioyned that as he would not him self be deceiued so also he must not willingly administer deceite or wrong to an other neyther beare such loue to his proper profite as in it maye be bred the iniurie or harme of another but in all things of commutation bargaine to vse the same conuersation to straungers which he would others should vse to him Who in their common actions would rightly applie this lawe of nature grounded on true reason and the other of the Gospell deriued of charitie the perfect fulfilling of all lawes much lesse that they should néede instructions séeinge they should seldome finde occasions to erre And the cause why there remaine at these dayes so manye prescript constitutions and statutes is in no other respect but that men eyther could not or would not rule their actions by those two lawes and much lesse applie them from generalitie into speciall particulars I would to God that euen as the Marchant of cloth vseth his elne or yarde not to beguile him selfe or his chapman in the measure that also and aswell he would vse the lawe of nature and charitie in the price goodnes of his cloth euen such as he would the other should sell to him if there were exchaunge of qualitie if he would haue the price reasonable full measure not to be passed by the short yarde which ought to be solde by the longe and that the cloth be good substantiall and sufficient neyther corrupted in the making nor burnt in the dying Let him euen do the like to his chapman comming to buy of him where then shal be the common sayinge amongst them Let the marchant sell his wares as well as he can it is lawfull to euery one to make his best profit No man is bound to sell so iustely and
Sodom and Gomorre to see if the desolution of the people aunswered the horrible brute that went of them his wordes were I will discend and see if it be so Hée that knoweth whatsoeuer is done euen in the déepest bottomes and from whome no secréete can bée hid declares by this familiar manner and phrase of Speache applyed to our infirmitye that it belonges to Iudges afore they enter into sentence or pronounce against such as are accused to bée assured of the trueth of the fact least by theyr lightnes or soure passion they committe errour in iudgement In the lawe when the affaires stoode vpon any harde or obscure doubte this was the custome to referre it to the iudgement of God as in the punishment of the blasphemour and what right daughters had to the goods of theyr Fathers in whiche cases there was no resolution set downe in the Law the same seruing as matter of aduertisement to examine exactlye such controuersies and harde causes as the lawes haue no habilitye to decide beséeching God according to the aduise of the scripture so to lighten their inward reason that they may bring forth true and perfect Iudgement But when Iudges will not beginne by this aduertisement nor conforme them selues to this iustice of God his iudgements let them looke for that terrible seuerytie which hee hath thundered vpon those Iudges countries where he found negligence in punishment to those sortes of crimes Hely the great gouernour and Iudge of Israel because hée did not iustice vppon his children brake his necke his children were kylled and all the countrey brought to desolacion The sonnes of Samuel were deposed because they tooke presentes Saul was reprooued for geuing grace to such as hée ought to haue punished after whose death famine came ouer all the land of Palestin for that hée gaue wicked iudgementes in the landes of the Gabaonites whom hée afflicted and made certaine of them passe by vniust death to satisfye which iniquity Seuen of the race of Saule were hanged vpon Gibbertes The Captiuitie of the Israelites and ruine of Ierusalem of the Temple and their Townes happened for the transgression of the Priestes and Kinges done in Iustice corrupting it by presents condemning the iust and iustifying the wicked for Bribes Whereof Esay speaketh thy Princes that is thy gouernours as well in Pollecye Ecclesiasticall as Ciuill are vnfaithfull and haue forsworne them selues yea euen they that haue taken othe to doo good Iustice and haue not obserued it but are become companions of Robbers and haue share in their praye They all loue Bribes and folowe recompenses because they haue done pleasure in iudgement to the ritche But euen those as they were the chiefe in honour and superioritye so also were they first taken Captiues murdered their houses and goodes suffered spoile and they more then others defaced with ignominie contempt and all sortes of wretchednes These bée the miseryes whiche happen to wicked Iudges and theyr Children and for theyr abuses to Tounes Countreyes and Kingdomes So that with good cause I maye recommende as a laste aduertisement to al Iudges to remember the saying of Dauid in this sorte God assistes the assembly of the Gods who are the Iudges and gouernours of his people vnder whome they exercise the iudgement which is proper to God the true and eternall Iudge and therefore are they as partakers of a deuine aucthoritye by enterteining ruling his people by that iustice and souerainty So that as God is in the Courtes of his Iudges and in the middest of them so hée iudgeth them whereby is meant that hée condemneth them if they iudge not according to God. Dauid also pursues them crying in this sort How long O ye peruerse Iudges wil you Iudge so wickedly wyll you not acknowledge your selues in your false iudgementes wyll you alwayes haue regarde to the faces of offendours geuing them support and absolution of their wickednes and liberty to sinne with impunity deliuer the poore man Orphane and iustifie the simple and néedye suffer no wrong to bée done to such as haue no maintenance in the world are without fauourers in courtes Take the poore and néedy out of the hand of the transgressor But what much lesse that these worldlie lordings haue cōmunity with this great pitie seeing as Dauid sayeth they neuer knewe nor vnderstoode what they were bound to doo according to God so greatlye were they inuironed with wretched darkenes and whollye possessed with ignorance of God and his lawes whereby it happeneth that the foundation of the earth shal be moued whiche is that by that occasion exceding great euilles and intollerable aduersityes shall fall vppon the nations of the earth Therfore where I sayd you were gods so greatlye honoured of God by the state which hée geues you representing him in case of iudgemēt I forgat not your infidelity meaning that you shal fal into no lesse miserye wretchednes then any of the auncient wicked Iudges to whose iniquitye was apointed a miserable conclusiō of their vnhappy daies Wherin Dauid considering the lamentable infelicities ouerwhelming the world for the false corrupt iudgemēt of Iudges cries out to God saying Raise thy selfe O Lord God and Iudge the Earth condemne the abuses and faultes of suche people as haue corrupted the earth with impietye by their vnrighteous Iudgementes so shalt thou raigne ouer all nations and bée honoured as a true and iust Lorde and Iudge of the earth doing iustice vpon so many iniquities By this psalme Iudges are instructed to iudge well as well for the reuerence of the great Lord sitting in the middest of them in theyr Iudgements to approue them if they bée righteous and reproue them yea dissolue them if they hold of iniquity condemning the persons to horrible misteries yea euen to shake the foundations of the maine earth so gréeuous to God is a false and vnrighteous Iudge as of the con-contrary hee delites in him who according to conscience acquites his charge duty as also for that they haue the honour estate reuerence of Iudges to distribute right to euery one remembring that lord in their iudgement who hath this perpetuall property to iudge without affection they ought also to haue such exquisite knowledge with exact iudgemēt of reason that according to cōmon naturall sence they iudge to estéeme it a horrible sinne to iudge against their conscience séeing that as infinite Pagans with this iudgement of reason haue established their perpetual glory for the true deciding of causes so the errour of our Iudges being layde vp in the memory of God wil bring them to receyue sētence afore his seate of iudgement to their assured confusion And so let all Iudges knowe that if by their sinister sentences any one is depriued of his goodes honour or life by whiche it can not bée chosen but many calamities wyll happen euen so many eternal damnations do they deserue with no lesse horrible paines
to stay altogeather vpon them for that the most part were erected of Infidelles whose reason was darkned with infidelitye and certaine of them expresly against our faith séeme to deserue no more aucthoritye or credite and lesse to bée receyued then theyr Idolatries that is to saye oblations done to their Gods In this we haue to answere twoo obiectes very harde to resolue if wée consider the simple reasōs of some who séeking to absolue christians from al lawes say that they are not subiect therunto by Iesus Christ and that the spirite of God is our Father who if wée doubte will instruct vs and reueale all that shal be necessary to our saluation Besides S. Paul willeth that the wise christian bée iudge without hauing regarde to lawe I confesse that the lawe of Moyses touching Ceremonies and sacrifices signifying the state of the new Testament for Christ in that is the ende of the lawe yea touching the statutes of the law applied to the times and maners of the Iewishe nation is abolished as the libell repudiatorye of the wyfe But touching commaundements moral conteining instruction of good maners correcting sinne with punishment much lesse that the lawe is abolished but it is confirmed by the Gospel Christ saith Al such as haue taken vp the sworde to strike and kill shall perishe with the sworde which the lawe doeth also teache wée know the lawe is good but let vs vnderstande and apply it to lawful vse Saint Paul sayeth that the lawe that punisheth is not ordained for the Iust but to bridle the rebell vniust wicked sedicious murderers of parentes whether hée meane of Moyses Lawe which punisheth all these sinnes or comprehend al the lawe in generall grounded vpon the foundacions whiche we haue recyted before it is inough that wée declare that all doctrine of vertue whether it bée in the lawe of Moyses or in Philosophie is good and holye so farre forth as it raiseth and recompenseth vertue detesteth sinne and condemneth al vice for which cause the Philosopher sayth that reward and paine be the forces and strengthes of the lawe In déede this doctrine is not simplye deriued of Moyses lawe but it is natural and therfore Saint Paul saith that the Gentiles people without all vnderstanding of Moyses Lawe but liued by theyr reason wel instructed albeit they had no law yet did they naturally the things conteyned in the lawe whose examples as they doo well declare that the worke of the lawe was written in their hearts by the accusations defences of their cōsciences So in this S. Paul expresseth aptly that al doctrines moral pollitike contained in the Law of Moyses bée connaturall to man engraued in him euen from his first birth by that deuine creation wherein the soule receyuing the figure similitude of god hath taken this excellent grace to knowe that which is of her exemplary patrone from whom shée is portrated by exercise of the spirite in the studie of learning with a continual heauēlye inspiration assisting ioyned with integritye of good life hath béen and is remaining in such as were not vnder the Lawe of Moyses such wée maye saye as were Iethro Iob and many great Philosophers who knewe God spake deuinelie of him and of vertues and vices Therfore as that Doctrine is in some sorte deuine by his originall as procéeding from that deuine caract imprinted by God in man which is the spirite reason and iudgement So the holy scripture yea the scripture of the Gospel hath aucthorised it to bée perfectly deuine so by the same scripture where it was darkned before by corruptions happening by ignorance of God and dissolutiō of life it is made perfect in that wherein it had imperfection and so it is not onely restored by Iesus Christ reformed by his spirite which hée hath geuen vs But with abundance of grace science augmented yea euen vnto such knowledge as now we behold the glory light of the Lord with open face and be transformed from light to light that is from perfect knowledge such as may bée had in the world into the selfe image yea euen to be made one in God by a deuine transformation the same being wrought by the spirit of this good soueraigne lord Therfore al the moral doctrines of the olde Testament be acknowledged reputed by man from the first and eternal obseruacion according to the which lawes haue béene wil be alwayes ordeined obserued of the faithful people And where Iesus Christ sent backe the adulterer without punishment of the Lawe wee confesse that albeit he came to preache penaunce geue grace to penitent sinners yet for al that he hath not abolished pollitike Lawes which wickedlye was layd against him by Iulian the Apostate But hath conserued them by his doctrine and examples willing to giue to Caesar that which belonged to him wherein him selfe shewed obedience to the Ciuil Lawes in paying tribute to Caesar although he was not subiect therunto Hée which was the supreame lawmaker and sonne of God his Apostles also taught that men must obey Kinges Princes gouernours which obedience is necessarily ioyned with the lawes for how farre shal I obey them if I know not the rate state of theyr commaundement nor what they prescribe me to do So that my obedience must encline to the limit prescript of their Lawes which I ought not resist so farforth as they are established vpon such foundations as we haue laid before Iesus christ in asking where were those that condemned the adulterer did not hinder or defend that he should not be stooned But he being not come to take vpon him the state of a Ciuil Iudge condemneth not according to the sentence of ciuil lawes tendring caring alwaies for the principal which was to saue soules and touching body goodes he leaueth the gouernment pollecie therof to Kings temporal Princes theyr iudges to whom he geues aucthority to debate execute punishments in that he saith He that hath murdred or killed shal die the trée that bringeth forth no fruit deserues to be cut down cast in the fire and who doth wrong sclander to the litleones ought to be cast into the sea with a milstone about his necke Approuing with paines he approueth also the Iudges executours of the same hée chaseth out of the temple marchauntes buiers and sellers hée biddes excōmunicate the rebellious wrong doers and by S. Paul condemnes many pernicious Christians to the deuill hée willed Saint Peter to execute a maruailous sentence against Saphirus and Ananias who fell dead at his feete for doubling with the holy ghost promising to geue all theyr goodes to the poore and distributed but a part reseruing the other by an vnfaithfull feare to suffer necessitye It is true that being afore Infidels hee woulde not haue vs to vse or appeale to iustice in cases to suffer for the faith
aduising vs by this rather to loase both the hoode and the cloake as the prouerbe is then to bée reuenged of them and endure death rather then to geue one blowe But in cases not touching faith wée maye vse iustice as did Saint Paul who when reproches and false crimes by malice were layde vpon him and Christian faith not touched hée defended him selfe against his false accusers and in extréeme reméedye hée appealeth to Caesar at Rome Touching the Lawes of the Gentiles if according to our opinion before they bée founded in vniuersal reason without errour or infidelitye they ought as braunches springing out of the law naturall to be receiued and obserued as was the marriage of Infidelles But where they suffer errour let them with their idolatries bée abhominable abhorred To answere the obiection which some deriue from S. Paul that the wise christian ought to iudge differences amongest the faithfull where there is no mencion of lawes Saint Paul in saying that the wise man may Iudge meaneth that he bée wise in the vnderstanding of the lawes for in this is the true propertye of wisedome to bée well séene and wise in God concerning thinges deuine and humane so shall his singular wisedome kéepe him from errour in iudgement hauing in him as the teacher of wisedom saith the feare of God knowledge and wisedome and being truly spiritual which by the spirite of God makes exact iudgement in all thinges and can not bée reproued of that whereof hée hath geuen sentence Yet when he ought to Iudge I will not saye but that it is méete that hee haue the lawes of the world in his head yea let him haue a good spirite a sound ripe iudgement and vnderstand wel the cause in present question so laying aside al affection let him recōmend him selfe to God whose iudgement hée exerciseth Let him confer in difficult maters with other sages which with remembrance of Gods holy feare will leade him in integrity of iudgement And knowing that the ende of al lawe is vtility necessity honesty let him prefer honesty before profite publike profit before the perticular gaine of any man that rather certaine priuate persons lose in obseruing the Lawe then the multitude to suffer distresse But aboue all let that honestye which consistes in vertue bée alwayes entertayned doing no euill whereupon to hope for good ¶ The lawe naturall grounded vpon reason vvas two thousand yeres in vse vvithout other ordinaunces sauing the Sabboth and Circumsition and God hath geuen fevve lavves concerning this naturall and ciuill right nor the auncient vvise gouernors of cōmon vveales for iust causes the people of God according to reason haue made iudgementes and follovved the interpretacion of their moral lavves by the instinct of reason by the vvhich God did institute them and therefore vvhen the Scribes and Pharisies peruerted that reason they vvere condemned Gouernours asvvell in theyr ordinaunces as constitucion of paines to punishe offences ought alvvaies to follovve those lavves vvhich God hath ordeyned according to that reason ¶ The .5 Chapter THus vve haue seene that gouernours maye Iudge according to Lawes naturall deuine and humane both in what sort they ought to iudge and that it is not necessarye alwayes to consult with the written Lawe in all Iudgementes for that as there bée more matters then words more causes then lawes So the actions of men as Aristotle saith being infinite can not bée conteyned all by memoryes as also by reason of the dissimilitude varieties they can not be comprehended in generall constitucions such as be the Lawes this was the cause that the Lacedemonians made no great vse of writtē lawes leauing to the discretion of wise Iudges and graue men the iudgement of that whiche was not written God him selfe the Image of all wisedome for the same reason caused no Lawe to bée written in twoo thousand yeeres but that of the Sabboth circumsicion nor in the Gospel we see none expresly instituted by Iesus Christ for a cōmon weale but al was referred to the arbitracion and wise iudgement of gouernours yea when God emploied Moyses to bée the Lawmaker of the Iewes hée erected but fewe lawes and they onelye in principall matters for the preseruation of societye and polletike quiet referring the iudgemēt of other affaires not contained in the same generall Lawes to the discretion of such Iudges as hée had ordained willing for that it was impossible to write lawes to all affaires that in those newe causes theyr iudgement should hold perentory aucthority as wel as in other matters to bée decided by the written Lawes yea hée commaunded that the wise men should interprete his lawes by theyr wisdome as in the interpretacion of the ordinaunce of circumcision that the eyght day men should bée Circumcised they reserued forty yéeres that they were in the desert without being Circumcised In lyke sort of the Phascal or feast of Easter for the seconde moneth to suche as had not done it in the fyrst and so in infinite others by verye good and iuste reasons approued and receaued in the Lawe wherein he gaue them aucthoritye not onely to iudge according to discresion and good aduise and to interprete all Lawes but also gaue them power to make newe as the necessitye of the affaires required whereof for a more assured proofe of others erected according to reason wee sée twoo approued in the Gospell as on the Sabboth day not to goo further then halfe a league to celebrate the feast dedicatory in the moneth of Decēber which Iesus Christ did assist preache there forbearing to speake of many other as in the time of Easter which the Seniors general Iudges and gouernors of the people had ordeyned So that as their aucthoritye is greate to iudge and interprete lawes alwaies erect according to the circumstance of time matter So notwithstanding this must be considered that in a monarchie gouernors neyther haue power nor office to create ordinances but vnder the approbation of the Prince with this regarde further that they hold conformety with the law deuine to prefer Gods honor common profit wherin let gouernors in the constitucion of their statutes haue a perpetual respect to the wil iudgement of God which they ought to preserue interprete and not peruert them as did the scribes pharisies certaine of the Seniors geuing value to their proper inuentions ordinances contrary to the law of god as oftentimes to wash their hādes enritche the treasour of the temple by defrauding the poore fathers mothers of their naturall right touching the norriture which they ought to their children Chiefly let Magistrates obserue cause to bée exactly obserued the lawes of God and afterward the ordinances of man such as they create tending to those endes and others agreeing with the time and nature of places and persons conforming all with the Lawes of God So that when they sée in the Scripture that
prayeth to God for vs with ioyned handes offereth his teares for our prosperity and yet in refusing to aide him wée chase him also frō vs as if hée were an Infidel wée reade that to geue to the poore impouerisheth not the geuer for god multiplieth the corne in the garnors of the Almes geuer blessing him with al sortes of Goodes wée reade in the Booke of Kinges that a poore widdow lodged Helias the Prophete in a season of extreame famine and hauing but one litle loafe for the whole sustenance of her selfe and family and imparting it with him as in Almes and charity Bread was not wanting in her house vntyl the time of fertillitye An other Woman lodging Heliseus became Ritche and had a Childe for recompence of her liberall hospitalitye yea let vs remember when Christ in the desert fedde the poore and hungrye troupe of so many thousand mouthes as hée was in the exercise and distribution of that Almes the Loaues and Fishes multiplyed in wonderfull abundaunce ¶ VVee must not feare that by geuing Almes wee shal be poore for God vvho is iust and true hath promised not to suffer the almes geuer to haue necessitye Strangers aboue al other sortes of poore are to be fauored in necessity Let the countreyes as vvell as Cities norish their perticular poore Such as distrust the prouidēce of God not norishing the poore are conuinced by the Turkes reasons by the vvhich vve ought not to haue distrust In times of plague ought such prouision to bee made as the poore dye not of vvant and pouertye ¶ The .5 Chapter THen seeing we haue so many cōmaundements to féede harbor the poore in theyr necessityes with ample promises cōfyrmed with exāples of plentiful graces of God why should wée doubt if wée doubt of his word we cannot bée but Infidels shal wée dare to resist God impugning so fiercelye his commaundementes are we not his subiectes is not hee the Lord which can do al thinges which is iust and true In this doubte and infidelitie wée merite the threatning in Salomon That that which wee feare shall assuredly happen vnto vs Or in place of that some other more gréeuous plague wée shal crye to him for ayde and shal find none neyther in life nor in death He sayth who kéepeth no reckoning of the poore or denyeth him his iust demaund doeth wrong to him that hath made him who heareth not the prayer of the poore shal crye shal not be hard as of the contrary who inclineth in compassion to the poore is sure to bée heard in al his requests for we haue declared that God multiplieth the corne in the Garner increaseth the wine in the seller of the Almes geuer who sayth hée wyl geue ayde to the poore of his owne towne and stretche not him selfe to helpe others Rates him selfe and prescribeth to his wil what he thinketh good leaueth to God to doo with the rest what hée will which can not but bée heaped against him as an ouerwéening rashenesse speciallye to deuide and parte that which hée hath set in state indiuidible willing at the least that wée vse as great care to poore straungers as to others that are familiar to the countrey The reason why God in the Scriptures hath more recommended poore straungers then others is that as hée that hath most néede of ayde ought most to bée succoured and is worthy of most great compassion So the straunger hauing neyther Parent Allye Neighbor or other meane of friendship by the commoditie of the countrey standes in most néede of Christian charitye For the which only being for the loue of God onely hee is succoured and not for other ende Therfore séeing the only respect of the loue of God is more great in this case then in other greater necessity also requiring the almes employed there must necessarily bée more great and the charity more commendale Heare if it bée replied that wée are most bound to our owne countrey I aunswere with S. Paul that there is neyther Iewe Greeke Scithian nor Barbarian in Iesus Christ no neyther woman nor man as who saye wee must not make distinction with Iesus Christ touching charitye no more then in the case of Saluation wée meane not heare of Parents kinred who in the actes and duty of charity ought by right of nature and deuine Lawe to bee first considered Besides although as we haue saide there were some fleshly affectiō yet the causes are greater to exercise charity to poore passengers as being more vexed with wantes haue more necessity of helpe yea hospitals or townes as we haue said were made therfore with the time expressly and principally for them For those within cities were sustayned in the particuler houses of wealthy and honest men Why should not then the place consecrated to their vse euen from the first institution be reserued for them What iniquity is it to take from them that which they haue possessed aboue prescription of time But heare I meane not that to reléeue straungers we should be carelesse ouer our familier poore and leaue them destitute But where is feruency of charity there the towne maye suffice to all so that none perishe with hungar And in our charge to nourishe straungers I comprehend them not but as passangers or wayfairing and to bée refreshed for a daye or twoo in the Hospitall and not to entertaine them in idlenes or geue sufferāce to theyr vaine pleasures touching the weake sicklye there is other consideration For in that nor in any other act wherin wée employ our selues to do wel charitye is not ruled but is gouerned by the necessitye And where it may bée feared that a whole world of poore people of the countrey may flock to the townes That doubt is answered if there bée aduertisement geuen that they receiue none but poore passangers and that those of the countrey bée ruled by a generall ordinaunce that in euery parishe the most Ritch of common liberality reléeue such as are trulye poore so that none bée suffered to come out of the countrey but certaine who eyther for shame or other necessary occation wil go séeke some meane to liue by Such men in any wise must bée applied to trauaile to auoide damnable idlenes of whome if any fal to disorder let him bée sent from whence he came with seuere threates of corporal paines hauing perhaps left Father Mother wife and children who by his absence may suffer sharpe necessitye Touching other feares which these timerous Almes giuers maye alleadge they ought no more to bée hearde then Infidels but are surmounted euen by the Turkes of this age with whome are continued goodly Hospitals to nourishe the poore but speciallye passanger strangers and that in time of dearth more thē in any other season Let also those fearefull Christians note that as true faith and charity haue neuer any feare but obedience to God with suretye of his word So the wise man
angrie with the Jsraelites in sending them dearth of corne for not paying their tenthes yea if the husbandmen forget their tithes to the poore Leuits and left not in haruest time for the other poore to gleane and distributed almes at other seasons according to their dutie they were thretned with barrennes and dearth ouer the land wherin Christians haue to consider touching all those texts standing vppon the law of God and authorised by the Gospell being more iustly bound then the Hebrewes to whom the causes were nothing so reasonable as also for that the ministery without comparison is of more value more honorable in the Gospell then in the law and lastly for that the Gospell recommends the poore dearely to vs and with more riche promises of recompence then the law The third vice may be in the paiment of their rents to their Lordes and creditors to whom as they may vse subtletie and eyther defeate or delay them of their duty so in bargaining for corne and wyne they may sell corrupt wares in diuerse sorts for the which it hapneth by the iustice of God that in the end pouertie is the reward of those people ioyned with recompence of euery fatall and miserable calamitie eyther vppon them or their houses Pastors and heards men are bound with diligence faith and care to cherish their flocke and with that affection that they defend them from al peril of rauine for the which they are to giue accompt to their Masters as if they were their owne And therefore to the sicke they ought to applie remedie and giuing strength to the weake not to abandon the worst from their eye perpetual care to the end they may vaunt with Jacob to haue ben good heardes men wherein pastors Ecclesiasticall are here aduertised spiritually touching their pastorall office for whose cause I haue adioyned this little addicion and so leaue them to the consideration of their high fuÌ„ction in the lesson giuen to good common heards men ¶ All other estates are comprehended in those that haue bene already debated the explication of the qualeties of persons Chapter j. AL other vocations are contayned vnder those that haue bene already debated So that if any other estate seperate as Embassadour Orator or other of infinit profession as messengers intelligencers interpretors or spies with others of that rate woulde know how farre their offices stretch according to the Scripture they shall find them comprehended in the former estates aboue all other things the Embassadour being the faithfull substitute of his Prince or coÌ„mon weale ought not to reueale the secrets of his legation whereby eyther the affaires of his Prince maye be hindred or aduauntage giuen to the forreine Magistrate he ought not for his glory profite or pleasure to practise any extraordinary innouatioÌ„ or be inuested in any estate to the disaduauÌ„tage of them from whom he is sent For which act Hermolaus Barbarus a man of great knowledge Embassadour for the Venetians with the Pope taking the patriarchship of Aquilea was publikely condemned by the Senat in the losse and depriuation of the priuilege and Burgeship of Venice and had it not ben for the credit merit of his former seruice ioyned with the diligent intercession of the Pope he had bene in dauÌ„ger of capitall sentence By this as it were by the waye may be warned our preachers the Embassadors of the liuing God neither to say or doe any thing in Gods name further then the coÌ„mission of his word will beare nor to hope for or take any presents of spirituall promocion eyther to corrupt or tempt theÌ„ to disguise the truth couering the apparant vices of their benefactors against whom God commaundes them to speake boldly vppon paine of his iudgements not to hold their peace as doth the dogge which forbeareth to barke when his mouth is filled with meate Touching the Orator I maye send him to the office of the aduocate for the conueniencie that is in those two estates Betwene whom this is onely the difference that the aduocate alleageth onely the lawes for such affaires as may be decided by them the Christian Orator decks his matter with eloquent phrase prosecutes it by popular reasons by arguments sometimes very likely and most often necessary iustefieth his proofes by histories aswell holy as prophane to perswade his purpose and enforce his causes of coniecture whereof in the law can be raised no certaine proofe The aduocate and he reason both to one end as to defend the iust and accuse condemne the euill doer perswading in thinges honest profitable and necessary whither touching the Church or temporall estate The spie is as a faithfull and wise seruant of his Prince or Captaine that vseth him of which estate he ought to make no conscience being assured that the war wherin hee is employed is iust as being proclaimed thorow the kyngdome as a matter of consent by the Prince his counsell and graue estates and signified to the enemy So are Josua Caleb and others sent to espie the land of Canaan authorised by Moyses of whom if the rest had bene of the like fayth and courage as were Josua and Caleb so many miseries had not falne vppon the Israelites There resteth now to treat vppon only the qualities or diuers fortunes as the saying is of men that is to saye riche and poore ouer and be sides that we haue alredy touched of them in the Chapter of hospitalls reléeuing the pore togither with the qualities of the learned and ignorant men that be good and such as are of worsse sort these qualities we finde in all estats trades and vocations some riche and some pore or partâ—y rich if they be conferred w such as are extreamly pore or halfe pore if they be measured with them that excéede in wealth so may we iudge of the other qualities wherin afore we discend to discribe amplie the dutie of the riche and pore we may note three thinges by the waye the first is the riches is no honorable preheminence nor makes not an estate of dignitie therfore let not the riche man by any credite or reputation of his wealth aspier to honor or dignitie aboue others nor others attribute more to him then to the simple honest pore in regard of his aboundance wherin certayne Christians euen in the primatiue Churche reteining yet the error which they had being Pagans bearing more honor to the riche then to the pore the common fault of the world were greuously rebuked by Saint James charging them in the crime of acception of persones with vnrighteous doing wrong to God and to the pore for God sayeth he estemes asmuche the iuste pore man as the riche yea he séemes to beare more fauour to the pore adopting them the heirs of his Kingdome which he giueth to such as loue him Saint James also rebukes the honor that is giuen to richemen in great assemblies for the only respect and name of
in which I am bolde to repose much for the protection of this my small labour and therwithall according to my long profession I humbly dedicate my selfe and seruice to your Honour on whom J doubt not but God will suffer still to attend that good Aungell which hee appointed to bee the guide of Tobias and to accomplishe all his vertuouse and iust desires At my chamber in the Blacke Friers this xvj of May. 1574. Your Honours in assured and faythfull seruice Geffray Fenton ¶ A Table of the particular Chapters thorow the whole treatise The first Booke WHat is first requisit in the well gouerning of a common weale how Ciuill pollecie ought to be conformable to the celestiall gouernement what good commeth of good pollecie what maner of gouernors and iudges ought to be chosen to direct publike estates Chap. 1. fol. 1. ¶ What gouernours God hath chosen and how he hath declared them by miracles they ought all to be instructed at the entrey of the tabernacle why the great benefite comming of good Iudges and why god doth ordeine some wicked Chap. 2. fol. 6. ¶ Gouernours chosen according to GOD make present profe of their election to the profit of the common weale Let them know how to commaund and subiects how to obey the better to make their common weale florish as inferior members obey the more worthy Magistrates ought to be as Fathers the lawe must be inuiolable but specially one true amitie betwene the gouernour and the subiect Chap. 3. fol. 11. ¶ There be two principalities or pollecies which ought to be knit together in vnitie of frendship as the soule and the bodie without difference they ought to aide one another with perpetuall succours Chap. 4. fol. 16 ¶ The faultes of the Clergie ought to bee corrected gouernours ought aboue al things to prouide good Preachers that the rude and plaine sort may be taught in familiar doctrine All sortes ought to be constrained to be at the sermon such constraint is authorised by the scripture is both profitable to the coÌ„mon weale and wholesome to such as are constrained Chap. 5. fol. 20. ¶ The wise worldlings now a dayes would not willingly haue sermoÌ„s as also certain pastors desire nothing lesse theÌ„ to preach laying the blame of the miserie of this time vppon Sermons Chap. 6. fol. 25 ¶ A refutation of such as hold that people are not bound to heare so many sermons wherefore are the Pastors if they feede not the flocke with the foode of the Scriptures Chap. 7. fol. 30 ¶ In how much good Phisitions are necessary to coÌ„mon weales by so much such as be euill are hurtfull and daungerous who ought to be chosen Phisitions in a towne Chap. 8. fol. 35 ¶ Abuses hapning in the world by the supposed name of Phisitions Apothicaries and Chirurgions Chap. 9. fol. 42 ¶ God hath erected Phisicke and willeth that the Phisition bee honored Chap. 10. fol. 48 The second Booke JVdges and gouernours haue of God many seuere commaundements in the Scripture to exhibit iustice by rightfull lawes Chapter 1. fol. 52 ¶ Iudges are warned not to be credulous nor to iudge by reports to take heede of affections and not to iudge by perticular opinion c. Chap. 2. 62 ¶ In humane things Magistrates ought to followe the lawe naturall and in causes diuine the doctrine of faith and the loue of god c. Chap. 3. fol. 68. ¶ Men may vse the morall lawes of the old testament but not the ceremoniall and iudiciall applied to the times and maners of the Iewes which Iesus Christ also S Paul doth confirme these were natural therfore ought to be eternall c Cha. 4. fol. 72 ¶ The law naturall grounded vppon reason was two thousand yeres in vse without other ordenances sauing the Sabaoth and Circumcision c. Chap. 5. fol. 78 ¶ Gouernours ought to punish by death such as God condemnes to eternall and temporall death c. Chap. 6. fol. 83 ¶ Sinnes coÌ„mitted against the second Table are worthy of death euen so deserue they eternall damnation c. Chap. 7. fol. 89 ¶ Diuerse punishments of whoredome according to the diuersitie of kyndes of the same sinne Chap. 8. fol 94 ¶ Continuance of the punishment of this sinne according to his other kindes Chap. 9. fol. 98 ¶ Theft was not punished in the law but by restitution of double treble and foure fold but now for iust causes it is punnished by death theft by necessitie in some sort excusable Chap. 10 fol. 102 ¶ There is a double lust or vrlawfull couetousnes forbidden vs c. Chap. 11. fol. 108 The third Booke ENumeration of sinnes wherof men make no conscience and are oftentimes in the condition of greeuous sinnes their qualitie and grauetie do vary c. Chap. 1. fol. 115 ¶ Flattery is declared very hurtful to commoÌ„ weales families it makes young people rise into great pride c. Chap. 2. fol. 119 ¶ Let none glorifie himselfe but in his pouertie necessitie and affliction c. Chap. 3. fol. 123 ¶ Scoffers men of pleasant conceit pretending none other end but to encrease pleasure are rebukeable but more if their testing torne to the reproch of any so do they offend god Chap. 4. fo 129 ¶ Plaies which of themselues beare no vice are not disalowable in respect of their ends and lawfull causes vnlawfull games at Dice are causes of much euill Chap. 5. fol. 133 ¶ Daunces with their wanton songs at this day are vaine and vnchast Chap. 6. fol. 137 ¶ Minstrels are vnworthy of the state and fellowship of townes men as also puppet players c. Chap. 7 fol. 141. ¶ Idlenes is a vice most common bringing with it most other offences yet no conscience made of it Chap. 8 fol 147 ¶ The ritch sort haue more to trauell then the poore and in what such as labour in mind trauell more then the painfull laborer Chap. 9. fol. 152 ¶ Gouernours ought not to suffer any idle men in their common weales c Chap. 10. fol 156 ¶ In all creatures is seene a perpetual labour whetâ—â—â— in heaueÌ„ in earth or in the sea c. Chap. 11. fol 161 ¶ There be diuers sortes of idle men some worke certain howers c. Chap 12. 1â—5 ¶ Loyâ—e eâ—s accustomed to begge wil be applied to no other trade c. Chap. 13. fol. 169 The fourth Booke THe simple impotent and true needie poore we ought to hold in singular and deare care Chap. 1. fol. 172 ¶ Many haue giuen all that they haue to the poore to follow Iesus Christ in hope to be happie c. Chap. 2. fol. 176 ¶ Compassion ought chiefly to be showed to poore maydes for the infirmitie of the kind c. Chap. 3. fol. 180 ¶ Hospitalitie and almes in all times haue ben in singular estimation c. Chap 4. fol. 183 ¶ We must not feare that by giuing Almes wee shal be poore for God c Chap. 5. fo
forbare to meddle withall getting by this meanes full power and libertye to make the sound sicke and to geue death to suche as are but litle diseased the same being more familiar with him then to cure one onely Ephemerides or an Ague of one fit Such one shal beare more renoune then euer did Hipocrates or his interpretour Galien and his name so plawsible that in it is drowned the estimation of others in whom is more knowledge iudgement Honesty and Sad experience So that these counterfeites in whom is none other experience then in cōmon Herbes or receiptes or haue the faculty to make Distillations applying them to all diseases without iudgement of the reason or obseruation of Ages complexions Times Places and other Circumstaunces shall drawe more Dignitye and Credite with their masking behauiour then other Phisitions whose skill is approued by aucthoritie of the Vniuersities Wherin if these deceiuers deserue rebuke seueritie of paine the common people is no lesse reprehendible for their hasty credulity Therfore it behoueth the Magistrate to bée so muche the more prouident in these cases by how muche the life of man is precious being committed to the hazarde of such men Who so euer hath any processe of det House or land hee wil recommend his cause to the best Lawier hée can finde Much more doeth the case of life require care and prouidence specially where is more perril of death then profe of knowledge And now touching the seruice of good Phisitions in common weales this is to bée obserued in their election that they bée learned faithful wise and well experienced it is a good argument that they are learned if they haue diligentlye studied Philosophie and beene three yeres at the least resolute practisors in Phisicke and ten yéeres in the medicine Theorical employing twoo of the last yéeres in Anathomie in the knowledge of Herbes and in Pharmacopole to vnderstand the composition of al medicines those thrée things are to bée learned by the eye To the wisedome of a Phisition is required an exquisyte iudgement whiche is made perfect by experience wherin by necessary reason they ought to haue good vnderstanding séeing they haue the life of al sortes of men in iudgement with power to dispose without appeale to any higher Iudges but to God where to all other inferiour Courtes belonges this prorogatiue That albeit the Iudges bée neuer so wise yet there is liberty to appeale to higher places And if in a common consult assembly of Phisitions to debate vpon a disease there can bée no good resolution where is no grauety of learning experience much lesse ought a yong phisition to bée receyued whose want of practise takes from him the estimation of iudgement and experience So that it is highly necessary to the credite of a Phisition to study the time appointed and duly runne ouer the thrée thinges aforesayde Then let him haue conuersation certaine yéeres with learned Phisitions practising in Cities and good Tounes A custome which certaine phisitions vse to their learned disciples carying them with them when they visite their paciēts explaning by palpable demonstration of the eye hand the true practise of the Arte Which sort time of exercise wyl bring vnto them hability of practise wherein they néede not faile for want of experiēce the like is obserued amongst Lawiers who hauing ouercom the discourse of the lawes take not vpō them forthwith the state of pleaders for so might many causes suffer hazard but obseruing two or three yeres the examples of the most famous counsellers of a court haunting the bar rather to heare then pleade they searche out the Counsels writinges and memoryes of excellent Aduocates and so gooe out perfect Maysters hauing as good habilitye to pleade at the first as if they had had no other exercise during their life Euen so it is not for yong Phisitions to practise their prentise cunning vpon fat monkes which beare no importaunce in the worlde and muche lesse in Hospitalities or Vplandish Tounes afore they come to the chiefe Cities the same being as muche as if they should bée counselled to goo kill the world or at least to learne the meanes thereunto Let them honour their beginnings with the presence and testimony of the best Cities drawing their practise from the example of the most excellent in that arte And making profe of their learning by publike disputes and aucthority of auncient professours let them shewe Certificate of the continuaunce of their studie and time of their Degrées Herein it maye bée sayde that in regarde of the time of this Studye it is necessarye that suche as Aspire to the Arte bée eyther verye Ritche or at least furnished to beare out so chargeable a Cost I must in déede confesse that that common weale suffereth great inconueneience wherein the poore sort make profession of Phisicke For as pouerty being voide of power to releue the time of so long studie hath lesse meane to furnishe other necessary charges as Bookes whereof they must haue great stoore for the due searching out of the secréetes of that Arte So it is for the most part gréedye of Gaine aspiring to wealth whersoeuer they may finde it And being neuer satisfied they fall by increase of newe and freshe profite into extréeme auarice It is written that the first professours of this Arte were Ritche men and great Lordes as amongest others Apollo Esculapius and Hipocrates Whose truth and maner of adiuration as I wishe might stande alwaies afore the eyes of suche couetous people as séeke to enter into the studye of Phisicke So I woulde also that the example of that Pagan him might kéepe our Christian Phisitions from periurye by impietye as abusing this Arte eyther by ignoraunce auarice rashnesse infidelity or peruerse affection They were at the first Arboristes Pothicaries and Surgeons as appeareth by the last Chapter of Genesis where the Phisitions had charge to embaume the bodye of Iacob the same being also expressed in the .xxi. chap. of Exodus and by all the auncient bookes But since the world beganne to multiply and Ambition Couetousnes beare rule ouer the heartes of men of one Estate they haue made thrée yea a fourth which bee Arboristes whereof there bée companies in diuers places notwithstanding Phisitions holde the most honourable most gainefull and least painful Estate being as maisters to iudge and command the others vsing the seruice of the Arboristes and Pothicaries ioyntly to discerne the simples and the Pothicaries alone to compose drognes and minister thē to the patient And imploying the Surgeons to cut or Anothomise and doo handy Cures vppon the outward partes of the bodye the Phisitions reserue them selues onely for the inward partes and iudgement of purgations afore the Surgeon apply his Plaster or make incision But such is the malice of time and men that in these twoo last Estates who ought to bée subiect to the phisition hath béen found no small abuse by vsurpation of the Arte
none shoulde be receiued into the degrées of Doctours without proofe of so long time studie after he be admitted to the state of Maister of Arte wherein if they haue not studied seriuslye or haue aspired to the degrees by fraud and supposition of witnesses or if they haue conuerted to other exercise the time that shoulde haue béen reserued to searche out that knowledge they committed wrong chiefly to God with whom it is not lawfull for any to enter into degrée and aucthoritie to teache if hée be not expert in all his Lawe To this may be ioyned the prouidence of the elders by whom it was ordeyned that in this case none shoulde employ time in other studie then in the Scriptures to the ende that beyng resolute in that knowledge the worlde shoulde not bée led in errours and false doctrines It were therefore a good order to be obserued in Vniuersities and places of congregation not to sende any young Preachers or Nouises into the countrey before they haue expressed their doctrine afore the auncientes and multitude of the religion that in the same exposition wherin they must teache their congregation abroade neither adding nor diminishing when they shall preache to the multitude For other wayes there were daunger that without this long custome or diligent exercise of priuate preaching these young prentises woulde deliuer to their audience suttle and false propositions which we call either vaine doctrines or heretical although they helde them without any wicked or peruerse wyll Besides hauing once pronounced them they woulde be ashamed to renounce them and so the people in the meane while should stand seduced And if they do renownce them the multitude woulde not afterwarde beléeue them easily because in opinion they woulde holde that they were constrayned to denie them as we reade that Berengarius was not able to reduce those whom he had seduced by ignorance So that as there woulde be alwayes feare of some errour so it coulde not be without blasphemie to the trueth of the Scripture to suppose in place of the same a falsehood and that in the Pulpit which being the seate of trueth such as are appointed to pronounce it ought to haue knowledge of good iudgement great wisedome perfect vnderstanding and holy affection pretending no other ende or purpose but the honour of God and health of soules without aspiring to particuler glorie séeing all glorie is due to God Let them beare no affection to couetousnesse and much lesse to please men but studie and preach to edifie forbearing for malice to any singuler person to exhibite bityng inuectiues in generall speache and lesse against estates Here when we speake of Preachers who ought to be such in all perfection of excellencie we meane Curates and Pastours which by the charge and duetie of their Pastorall profession are actuallye bounde to discharge that estate For as all other Preachers are but their Vicars so if it belong to the Curate to be no lesse learned then his Vicar is it not then contrary to all order and reason that he shoulde be raised into estate and dignitie aboue others if he expresse not greater perfections as in wisedome doctrine experience and vertue Why is the head raysed aboue the other members of the body but because he is endued with more excellencies of nature I wishe that none shoulde make practise of this profession without knowledge of all the Scripture and absolute interpretation of the holy Doctours which if it had béen obserued in the first institution the Church had béen replenished with learned and feruent Pastours Neither had the worlde swarmed with these newe opinions if they had well studied and obserued the Doctours of the Church This reformation also belonges to such as enter into the exercise of the lawes and all others that aspire to offices for the function of which belonges singuler knowledge to vnderstande the lawe and mainteyne it in all Courtes and not to lose anye lawfull cause by ignoraunce or for not being resolute in the Lawe in which default or if by corruption the equitie of a good cause be confounded the Lawyer is bounde to iust restitution ⧠God hath erected Phisicke and vvilleth that the Phisition be honoured but that vve vnderstande that all sicknesse comes of him and therefore vvoulde haue vs to aske health of him and to pourge our consciences of sinne Abuse of Phisitions vvith counsell hovve to kepe vs from diseases ⧠The .10 Chapter LYke as the Almightie as the wise man saith hath created Phisicke for necessitie the same appearing in so manye sortes of Hearbes Plantes and medicional Droages together with manye other things profitable to preserue and restore health wherein there is a dignitie and honour to the Phisition as the Minister of the same highe God So wée are tyed also to this further consideration that séeing our diseases for the most part and most often deriue congruentlye of our sinnes it is requisite with the aduise of the Booke of Wisedome to offer our selues to God in prayer and penaunce for remission of our sinnes to the ende Phisicke maye succede to good profite in his vs For if the cause of our sicknesse remaine stil in state and nature the arte and indeuour of the Phisition bringes forth no other effect then an increase and innouation of infirmityes and doeth profite no more then the Surgeon who thinketh by Plasters to heale an Vlcer within the body which hath already corrupted and putrified the boanes The same being the cause why in olde time men called first vpon the spirituall Phisition in confessing and receyuing Iesus Christ Much more ought wée to repose in God then in the phisition with prayer that hee dispose vertue into the Medicine for the Cure of our diseases If wée pronounce blessing and Grace vppon the meate which wée eate euery day and sanctify it by the word of God why should wée not reserue the same deuoute reuerence speciallye where the matter is of more great and necessary importaunce Ochosias in his sicknes hauing recourse more to his phisitions and supposed Gods then to the God of almightye power was tolde by Helizeus that hée should dye Aza suffering paine in his feete whiche grewe to a goute put confidence in Phisitions and neuer demaunded Cure of God whereby hee coulde not bée healed And albeit the phisition hath power ouer such diseases as haue theyr naturall causes as such as come eyther by Surfet of meate and drinke or superfluety of distemper Yet if God bée offended let the patient offer reconcilement by repentaunce and demaunde cure of him But where immediatly God sendes the disease it is in vaine to apply Phisicke without there bée first a reconsilemēt as is expressed in the sicknes of Ezechias So that in al infirmities let vs first haue our recourse to God and then resort to the indeuour and art of the phisition Like as also in such as bée true Christian Phisitions and vnderstand the counsel of God it is
reserued for them in the fornace of hell ¶ In humane thinges Magistrates ought to follow the lawe naturall and in causes deuine the Doctrine of faith and the loue of God It vvas necessary that God by his Scripture reneued the lavve naturall for it vvas darkened by sinne and the lavve of faith and of loue deuine vvas altogeather vnknovven vvithout the doctrine of God according to both the one and other lavve the Magistrate maye make ordinaunces so that they tende to the confirmacion of the same or haue a likenes vvith them The .3 Chapter GOuernors of common weales thus raysed to a state of diuine honor by the which they haue the title of Gods as hath béene recited in the former Booke the better to enhable them to this deuine office peculiar and proper to God which is to iudge rather in wisedome discrecion and perfection let them imitate God who iudgeth perfectly without errour then folowe man in whose nature is propertye of errour and with his perticular reason oftentimes bringes forthe actes contrarye to reason Let them also at all times folowe one rule deuine certaine and infallible which shall leade them in a deuine course and exercise of theyr estate Let them haue alwayes in theyr hande for the managing of humane and ciuill affaires the lawe natuturall I meane the lawe general proponed by the scripture making it their Loadestone to direct infallibly the state of all their doinges That is the lawe wherunto euen Iesus Christ sendes vs in all common and humane actions meaning wée shall not doo to others that which wée would not haue done to vs as withall Let vs doo to others what wée woulde haue done to our selues whereof the Gospel geueth this interpretation Thou shalt loue thy neighbor as thy selfe Vpon this foundacion al Lawes customes and constitucions ciuill and humane so farre forth as they bée good and iust are grounded But if there bee any ordinaunce wherin is not conteyned this precept of the Lawe naturall or agréeing therewith I meane in affayres concerning onely the profit and benefite of men it can not but holde of iniquitye So that it behoueth that it comprehende something necessarye to the socyetye of man profitable and honest lyke as the Lawe ought not to bée made to geue fauour to pleasure or bring hurt to any one and muche lesse to suffer dishonour or villanye to bée done Thus the Lawe naturall in her generall foundation being in this sort aucthorised by the holye Scripture standes to vs as a rule for al ordinaunces in causes concerning humane gouernement But touching the faith the loue and seruice whiche wée owe to God in thinges deuine and spiritual wée haue an other lawe the foundacion of al holy deuine ordinances I am thy God c. which is thou shalt loue thy God with al thy hart with all thy vnderstanding with al thy soule and with al thy strength which commaundement Saint Paul includes in the natural loue towardes our neyghbour as in déede a man can neuer loue well his neighbour but that it is for the loue of God as the cause formal and effectual of the other friendship And this law was no lesse natural then the other imprinted in the hearts of the fyrst men But the corruption of nature vaine opinions and wicked manners haue so strongly peruerted the iudgement of men that God sawe a necessitye being indused by his mercy to reueale to man this lawe yea reuealed him selfe for men knew him not and muche lesse loued him Thus this first lawe was cleane defaced whiche was easely séene touching the lawe to our neighbour for that there were not many men in the world in whome was desire to doo pleasure to others without recompence of asmuch or more benefite but natures for the most part bearing inclinations to enemities vsuries quarelles pertialityes factions warres with other infinite cōspiracies raised mutually of one man against another And consernyng faith knowledge loue of God all men had declined and erred by extreame transgression wherfore God gaue eftsones these preceptes and the explication of the same by diuers documentes for theyr better vnderstanding and according to the same hath erected many lawes and ordinaunces tending to those twoo endes I meane to vnderstand and kéepe those twoo commaundementes Touching faith hée hath reuealed it to vs expounded and caused it to bée expounded by his prophetes and Apostles and according to the same wée haue also statutes and Lawes reduced into twelfe Articles of the Creede euen as the workes whiche wée ought to doo in charitye and loue of God are comprehended in the ten commaundementes So that sith gouernours ought neuer to erre in iudgement it is méete that they iudge according to these twoo lawes And séeing there can be no others but eyther they haue affinitye with the Pagans or are replenished with iniustice and impietie there is great necessity that these bée thorowlye studied And so loking with déepe iudgement into the lawe of nature they may erect ordinaunces tending to the sayd thrée endes necessity vtility and honestye being all concluded in one generall whiche is the common wealth they maye also ordaine paines for the transgressors by the conformety of those which they sée conteined in the lawes receiued and accustomed in al Christendome euen so in the lawe of the loue of God they maye also make statutes to induce men and leade them to that loue and if any haue lost it A thing happening by sinne they maye make ordinaunces of reconcilement according to the precedent of the auncients by the exhortacion of the Prophetes as to fast and assemble at Prayers which was vsed in the time of the Iudges of Hester the Niniuites and Machabees without expresse commaundement of God. ¶ Men may vse the morral Lawes of the olde Testament but not the Ceremoniall and Iudiciall applied to the times and maners of the Jevves vvhich Iesus Christ and also Saint Paul doeth confyrme These vvere natural and therefore ought to bee eternall notvvithstanding for charitye to our neyghbour and loue of God and for aduauncement of faith that lavve sometimes is not to bee vsed at the time vvhen men do greatest seruice to God vvhich then is an acte of perfection The vvise man can not faile to Judge vell according to the lavve of nature The .4 Chapter BVT because it maye bee asked of some whether magistrates may iudge according to the deuine Lawes of the olde Testament séeing the Lawe of Moyses was abolished by Iesus Christ The lawe saith Saint Luke and the Prophetes led man no further then vntill the time of Saint Iohn Baptist And as the lawe of nature before Moyses conteynes not but certaine examples of Iustice so the lawe of the Gospell medling not with Pollitike ordinaunces entreates onelye of mercye as is séene in the grace which Iesus Christ shewed to the adulterour Go thy wayes sayeth hee and sinne no more And touching humaine lawes it séemes that men ought not
corporall death is decréed in the Lawe of nature and other seuere iudgement of God inferred to the wicked as to Cayn for kyllyng his brother by the tremblyng of his bodye to the murtherers by the sworde to the worlde for his delightes glorie and whordome by the flood to them of Sodome and Gomorrhe for sinnes against nature by the fire of heauen to the adulterers and rauishers of women by terrible vengeaunce and to the chidren of Iudas who had done abhominable actes by paynes of suddaine deathes which they sawe euen by a naturall iudgement pronounced or inflicted as to Thamar for committing whordome and to the Sichimites for the Rape of Dina the daughter of Iacob If gouernours punishe not suche faultes by like paynes at the least let them ordaine others either conformable or neare approching them alwayes considering that corporall paines in the lawe bée figures and foreshowes of the eternall death which sinne deserueth In like sort where they sée in the Lawe of Moises certaine sinnes to bée punished by the body let them iudge them right sore displeasing and hateful to God who loueth his creature so dearelye as hée hath geuen him his owne image and likenesse and for whome he hath made the inferiour heauens the earth and the Elements with all thinges conteyned in the same and for whose cause hée sent his proper sonne vpon the earth to suffer all miseries yea most cruel and sclaunderous death And therfore being thus instructed bothe by the lawe whiche punisheth certaine sinnes with death specially suche as bée against the ten coÌ„maundements of the Moral Lawe or directly against Gods honour our neighbour or a wholâ— common weale and also by the Gospell to whom certeine sinnes are so abhominable as it condemnes them to eternall death and perpetual tormentes where is gnashing of téeth and lamentable sighinges they maye conclude suche offences to bée worthy of death specially where a whole common weale is iniured or offended For touching secréete sinnes wherein is no meane of proofe let them refer them to the iudgement of God and to the repentaunt Men sayeth the Scripture haue no power nor facultie to iudge but in matters apparant to the eye God séeing into the heart discernes the secréet things wherof hée defendes the iudgement to al others But where God is offended the coÌ„mon weaâ—e iniured there let theÌ„ follow the iudgement of god which we know to be thundred vpon sinners committing such faultes Therefore let Iudges bee well aduised and geue no libertye of life to suche whom God hath already condemned in heauen both to corporal and eternall death Let them acknowledge that they are here erected as imitatours executours of his iudgement Let them remember Saul who pardoned Agag whom God had condemned to death and Saul for his indulgencye was reproued depriued of his kingdom Let them not also forget the grace which Helias shewed to his dissolute children who for that they were abhorred of god were the cause of his death I meddle not with the reproches which God gaue to the gouernours of Israell because they suffered sinne with impunitye suffering suche to liue who had defiled the earth with theyr wickednes people abhominable to God and worthy so many deathes as they had committed horrible vices And therefore hee condemneth those Iudges euen so often to eternal death as they gaue sufferaunce to others to commit suche faultes without inflicting vpon them corporall death To this let them adioyne this aduertisement that as one member corruptes the rest so the rotten part disposing continuall infection into the rest of the body deserues to bée cut of euen as the good Surgeon not suffering a Canker to encrease cuttes it of so soone as it beginnes to appeare Let them not doubt but that according to the Gospel al euil wicked men which the Law of nature and Moises condemne yea the humane lawe also according to reason do adiudge to death ought to die For as the Gospel so aloweth al those lawes as is before prooued S. Paul aduiseth the Corinthians by them all others to take awaye the wicked man who being corrupt in maners corruptes others for which cause he compares them to the leuine aduising notwithstanding that the punishmeÌ„t come from the magistrate who hauing the sworde is a iust terror to the offeÌ„dor for that he carieth it not in vain being the minister of god executour of his law which euen in the gospel condemneth the man that hath done euil Wherefore al men disposed into the action of wickednes must be punished by the magistrate otherwaies he should bring abuse to his estate Is it not the magistrate by whom S. Paul willeth that all such in a coÌ„mon weale should be cut of by death which vexe the church and are mutinus sedicious iniurious false prophetes wherin because it may be douted to what vices the scripture appointeth punishment specially by death I meane to declare by order the paines of such as the law coÌ„demneth to the ende the magistrate leaue theÌ„ not vnpunished in his coÌ„mon weale nor iustifie such by which he should draw malediction as god hath already condemned by the scripture Heare we must not winke at an error of our time receiued almost thorow al christeÌ„dom which is that we obserue no better the imitacion so often recoÌ„mended to vs of the iudgements of God to leade vs being also commaunded in the scripture according to the same in the punishment of sinnes which is a kinde of infidelitye and ignorance of God or presumptuous boldnes or at least an inseÌ„sible dulnes This error deriueth partly from the humane lawes made by the Pagans whose gouernment being led for the most part by fleshly reason suffred impunity for many sinnes which God by his law condemneth to death as diuinations sorceries diuers sorts of magike with whoredomes sauing women whoremongers for men that made the lawes were exempted the virgins vestal or incestuous women with their adulterors condemning no more coÌ„mon vseries excessiue interestes with like sinnes which God abhorreth Gouernors of common weales ought in no wise to hold conformety with these Pagan iudgemeÌ„ts But reforme them making felt the grauitye of such sinnes by the rigour of worthy punishmeÌ„t Men were wont to haue regard only to punishe such sinnes as séemed to beare preiudice to a coÌ„mon weale and therfore sinnes common against god or which of their owne nature be common or Publike wherin the world delights without contradiction are left vnpunished the same being an occasion to prouoke the wrath of God vpon a whole nation destroye whole kingdomes If the auncient canons of the Church bée wel searched it wil be found that al such offences are punished by long straite penance as are also al othes yea the most execrable that men tooke in vaine of god or of the gods diuers opinions of religion although they were absurde wicked and lastly inuocation to the
God and as it were to deface him Besides man being the headde and ende of the workes of God for whome all thinges were created and subsist and for whose restitution God toke vpon him the qualety of man shedding his Blood in the same to whome the Aungelles serue in earth as his ministers and for whome God hath prepared so excellent a kingdome in heauen what offence then doeth the murderer to committe slaughter on a creature so dearelye estéemed of God and so artificiallye made that neyther the heauen the earth nor all the perticular creatures in them can not holde comparison with that incomprehensible workmanship hée that shoulde breake the Image or feiture of a King or raze or plucke downe one of his Castles which hée had erected with great pompe coste yea if the King had employed the life of his proper sonne to make it vp againe after it bee destroied would the King euer receiue this man into grace it is not therefore without cause that in the scripture there is neuer grace graunted to the murderer it is also forbidden to take the price of blood vniustlye spilt meaning that in the Iudge is no power to consent that the Parents of the dead should sell the death of him that was murdered but that life should bee rendered for life neyther doo I thinke that there had béene any paine sufficient to punish the effusion of blood if it had not beene ruled by the Lawe seeing that in true equitie it can not bée possible to satisfye so vile an acte yea though the partie endured straite and long fasting to praye incessantly to God to distribute all his goodes for Gods sake put on héere cloathe to suffer harde lodging and passe in effect thorowe euery pang and passion of a Martyre That is no satisfaction where restitucion is not made with the like who hath power to geue life in exchaunge for lyfe what iust recompence can bée offered to the parentes for the slaughter of theyr Childe or howe can the Sonne bee satisfied for the death of his Parentes euen so in other murders there can bée no iust satisfaction and muche lesse any equalitye So that if for razing or burning a materiall temple or sometimes a common house the offendour suffereth iustlye the torment of the fyre howe shoulde hée escape who pulleth downe to the earth the true and spirituall temple of God and his sacred house Dauid by whom was wrought the death of his Capitaine Vrias coulde neuer haue pardon of God notwithstanding his great penaunce in continuall teares wherewith hée sayde hée watered and bathed euerye night his couche before hée had proued infinite miseries and his sonne conceiued in adulterye dead Yea knowing the lawe to bée inuiolable hée would not graunt Pardon to the murderer Ioab his great Constable notwithstanding the merite of his many seruices and being the onelye meane by the which hée recouered his Kingdome so well did hee know the indignation that God bare to sette murder and suche as by malice spill blood which cryeth on earth continuall vengeance afore God against the murderer and against the Iudge that delaieth sharpe and spéedy iustice yea also against the inhabitauntes of the place if they bée carelesse to procure seuere punishment this is also one argument that the effucion of blood is of great displeasure with God for that who so killeth another by chaunce being frée from malice farre from any moode of grudge must of necessity withdrawe him selfe into a Toune of refuge assured by the lawe there to remaine vntil the death of the great Priest otherwaies there is no suretie of his life From thence comes the custome of our time to sue to the Prince for grace in cases of such murders For much lesse that the lawe geues pardon to the Traiterous or malicious murderer seeing shée giues power and commaundement to kill him yea euen afore the high Aulter of the Temple The Lawe forbidding murders and distributing as hath béene sayd seuere punishmentes hath also a meaning to restraine and defend the causes motions propratiues to such sinnes as iniuryes choller 's inimities wicked cousayls false reports detractiōs diffamations enuies desire of reuenge couetousnesse debates quarels factions warres The which causes for that they were not wel vnderstoode in the lawe Christ toucheth expresseth some of them when he saith vvho is angrye vvith his brother vvithout cause is vvorthy of condemnation but more hée the speakes an iniury to him thirdly who with the hart of an enemy accomplisheth the iniurie if hée that calles his brother or neighbor foole bée of hel what punishmēts are due to contencions detractiōs vniust violences if he that beareth hate to his brother in his heart bée a murderer afore God expressing this damnable grudge by outward signes by which the magistrate may bée induced to certainty of iudgement is he not bound to put in execution the sentence of the scripture specially if they bée propratiues to the murder such as séeme to geue apparant motion to the facte But if the doctrine of god were rightly preached vnderstoode how could there bee any assault or acte of murder when euen to bée angry hate or speake euil of our neighbor brings with it the paine of eternal damnation Let vs loue one another yea beare such affectiō to our enemies as to die for them according to the example of Iesus Christ who loued prayed and did many benefits and dyed also euen for his enemies ¶ Diuers punishmentes of whoredome according to the diuersitie of kindes of the same sinne ¶ The .8 Chapter THE thirde commaundement forbiddes whordom of what kind soeuer it be fornicatiō which wée call simple as betwéene a man a woman not maried hath béene alwaies in the law of nature condemned to the fire as witnesseth Iudas who condemned Thamar his moare being accused of whoredome aftershée had béene the Widdowe of twoo of the dead Children of Iudas by succession of death as the Lawe and custome of that tyme did beare yea hée had committed her to the fire if hee had not béene guiltie in the fact In the law of Moyses if the Daughter had defiled the house of her Father with actes of lust and that hée knewe of it shee was stoned to death with her whoremonger yea if she cryed not out in open voyce in what place soeuer the violence was vsed shée dyed by the Lawe and her rauisher also the most excusable fornication was condemned to infamye and gréeuous correction of fines Moyses forbadde that there shoulde bee no whoore nor stewes and in respect of the grauetye of that sinne the lawe receyued the offering of a whoore no otherwaies then as money for the sale of a dogge In the new testament such whoredoms are pronounced worthy of eternal death then nothing lesse doo they merite corporall death according to God Christ sayeth They do transforme and defile a man and Saint
his people to dispence with his son To be short there was neuer Nation so barbarous which did not punishe adulterie by death or at least heauie paynes And therefore it is an indulgencie very cryminall afore God that there is no common punishment to this detestable sinne to the which by all reason is no lesse due and merite of gréeuous paynes then to the Théefe whereof this furthereth the proofe that besides the grauitie which we find in fornication there be foure things greatly enforcing the enormitie of the Acte First it is cōmitted against the thrée essentiall partes of mariage as faith linage and Sacrament The faith which was geuen in this Mariage is broken which bringes periurie and by the ordinaunce of the Lawe the periurer ought to die the othe was made solemnly in the Church vnder inuocation of the name of God And the contract of faith and the othe made betwéene the parties aucthorised by the Priest and approoued by all the Churche as a signe of mutuall fidelitie signified by the King geuen vpon the Maryage day Linage is hindered by a commixture of the seede of the Husband and whoremonger or at least it is vncertaine to whom it appertayneth What certaintie hath the adulterous woman of her children whether they be her husbandes or her whoremongers And in this vncertainty and doubt what conscience can she haue to nourishe them at she charges of her Husbande and suffer them to put on the habite of his lawfull heires If she knowe it is not her theft the more And if hanging be a Lawe to Théeues what execution to such people There is also a Sacrament as S. Paul calleth it in Iesus Christe and the Churche which is a signe of the inseparable coniunction of the Lorde with the Church whom he hath maryed in faith and hath geuen him selfe wholly to her and become one fleshe with her in receiuing her into communitie of all his benefites with promise neuer to abandon her the Church hauyng lykewise promised him to cleaue to him and remaine firme in his faith lawe and obedience without taking other Lorde or Religion but his Euen in the like maner man and woman marying together make publike protestation to follow this holy coniunction in the faith and vertue whereof they receiue grace and sanctification in their Maryage and so protesting to liue together in all vnion of holynesse chaste and perpetuall societie according to the inuiolable example of Iesus Christe and the Church What great impietie is commited when they defile this Sacrament Is it not a prophaning of sanctification which is one of the sinnes against the first Table And if it be not a kinde of Heresie to adulterate and corrupt a holy thing at least if they beléeue not the mystery conteyned vnder this Sacrament it can not be but infidelitie so that if a Christian prophaner of a Sacrament an heretique or an Infidel deserue paynes of death what is due to the adulterer by whom it is thus depraued Besides the periurie of faith and hinderaunce which he geues to procreation by the vncertaine commixture of straunge séede there is in this vice a perpetuall grudge and resolucion to do murther either of the Husbandes part to whom the wrong is done or on the wiues behalfe by whom is endured the iniurie of her Husbande or by the rauisher whom gelousie enableth to all bloody actes Many are the slaunders prodigall expenses theftes Rauins and other inconueniences which come by adulterie but more murthers then by fornication I speake not here of Sodomitry with other beastlynesse so abhominable before God and man that the earth ought not to beare so infamous mōstrous actes Bawdes in the auncient church for the vilenesse of their profession notwithstanding their perpetuall penaunce coulde neuer obtayne admission to the holy Communion so great indignitie did the olde fathers impute to those wicked sellers of Christian flesh If he that selleth the seruaunt or handmayde of another meriteth condemnation of death how much more haynous is his desert who entertayneth a lust after the daughter or wife of the Father of a family Here must not be forgot that with the acte it selfe is forbidden all causes moouing or entertayning whoredome as gluttonie dronkennesse idlenesse wordes lookes gestures vnchaste writinges and féelings dissolute and indecent daunces and superfluous riche ornamentes with other such like sturring to wantonnesse which causes most often are no lesse mortall then the effectes that followe them Kepe you from gluttonie dronkennesse and cares of this world saith Christ S. Paul reseruing no porcion of Gods kingdome to drunkardes biddes vs not to bée drunke with Wine where is superfluitie and dissolucion And to the dronkarde guiltie in vicious actes the Philosophers of the auncient time iudged double punishment as S. Paul besides their depriuation from the kingdome of heauen pronounceth them worthy of excommunication ⧠Theft was not punished in the Lawe but by restitucion of double treble and foure folde yea and seruitude but novve for iust causes it is punished vvith death Theft by necessitie in some sort excusable in the prohibition of theft the causes are also contained By this commaundement it is defended to take avvay the honour of another False vvitnesse is more vnlavvfull then theft neither hath it any grace in the Lavve All deceiuers hypocrites and lyars are condemned by these last preceptes ⧠The .10 Chapter THE fourth commaundement of the seconde Table is Thou shalt not steale the transgression whereof in the Law of Moyses was not punished with death but by restitution of double treble and sometime foure folde And in whom was no abilitie of restitution they were condemned to perpetuall seruitude till the wrong was satisfied by iust seruice publike theft as robberie violent theft and murther were condemned to death in the Lawe wherein was no excuse of pouertie as had simple picking whereunto was ioyned no custome but mooued of malicious wyll and affection But because those simple theftes supported with this charitable fauour rose to the state of high and noble robberies they became after by wise aduise subiect to the sentence of the Gybbet Wherein also this was one consyderation that who embeaselleth the goodes of another séemeth by consequence of the euyll that many times happeneth to take away also his life The bread of the needie saith the wise man is the life of the poore and who beguileth them of it is a bloody man He that taketh away the bread that hath béene gayned with the sweate of labour is as the man that kylleth his neighbour whereby may be concluded that the blood spyller and he that deceiueth another are brethren as séeming to haue an affinitie of euyll the same beyng eftsones confirmed by a notable text of the sayde wise man that who offereth vp his sacrifice compounded of the substance of the poore cōmits no lesse offence thē he that afore the eyes of the father killeth his proper sonne So that
much it is an instrument to sow discord among brethrē This cryme of false witnesse can haue no excuse as hath theft nor stayeth not vppon one poynt certaine to do wrong but sometyme it rauisheth a mans goodes sometimes deuoureth his life most often endangereth his honor wherein if in the acte of one of these thrée euyls is sufficient cause of death howe much more is he wretched in whom they all thrée concurre with equall power Salomon compareth it to a Dart a Sworde and to Arrowes as if he shoulde attribute no lesse euyll to it then a wicked man may do with those thrée instrumentes Besides all this he contemneth the Iudge and derides his iudgement and by consequent both God and his iustice beléeuing as an Atheist either that there is no God which vnderstandes his falshood and not punish it or not fearing him stands in carelesse state and defieth him in what he can do against him and so is a contemner and prophaner of Iustice and of him which administreth it in the name of the Soueraigne Iudge the same being a sinne against the first Table in this case The false witnesse is adiured ordinarily in the name of God to speake the trueth and therefore is periured wherein he committes eftsones a crime most damnable for which cause Salomon saith often times that much lesse that he shall escape vnpunished but that he shall perishe miserablie the same falling vpon the two olde Iudges of Israel who falsely deposed against Susanna Therefore gouernours of common weales haue great reason to search diligētly after such plagues and to restraine all pardon and grace from such wretched offendours The wise man saith that if false witnesse bearers were but simplie in the case of lyers théeues they had alredie inherited perdicion much more then in so great cōcurse of offences do they iustly deserue seuere punishment No lesse iustice is due also to their subornors inducing them to lye to periure them selues and depose falsly to the domage of another the like also to all falsefiers with counterfaite stampes signes and seales of Princes or priuate men corrupt Notaries making false contractes caryers of vntrue reportes and lyes to be short the like iustice is due to all other working falshood either by worde writing actes subornation or supposition whether it be in case of doctrine or life Such as deceiue by faire wordes as flatterers by faigned promises as abusers by scoffes as Maskers and Cosoners with other Pharisées Ypocrites and false Prophetes being the children of Satan the great father of lyes and shifting ought to passe vnder rigorous punishment For such falshoodes are not onely preiudiciall to our neighbour but also do derogate for the most part the diuine honour for that God being the trueth it selfe is by lyes and falshood falsified and dishonoured either through ignoraunce of God or for want of his feare which is a kinde of infidelitie ¶ There is a double lust or vnlawfull couetousnesse forbidden vs as the vvife daughter or handemayde of our neighbour by the vvhich is forbidden all fleshly lust and the desire of the vvealth honour and life of any man this couetousnesse is the cause of all sinnes and the resistaunce of it is a counter defence against all sinnes to our neighbour meanes to resist it and not to suffer to seede any roote of sinne for by litle and litle it grovves great and becomes desperate against all remedies The .11 Chapter THE twoo last commaundements forbid concupiscence whiche without this prohibition many woulde haue thought to bée no sinne and are as preseruatiues of the other former which be Thou shalt not lust after thy neighbours wyfe nor couet his house his fielde his seruant his maide his Oxe his Asse nor any thing that is his I call them with good reason preseruatiues séeing God in them forbiddes vs all lust aswell after women pleasures with Gluttony as the desyre of other mens goodes in gréedines In the same is forbidden al coueuetousnesse of Estates honours and dignityes by ambition presumption and glorye and no lesse the thyrste after another mannes life by hate enuye or Auarice Wherein we are expreslie commaunded to beare desire and will to doo pleasure and seruice to our neighbour by the contraye defence to haue no affection or disposition to hurt him This wicked lust is the principall roote and first cause in the corruption of nature to make vs Whoremongers to become théeues to commit murder to enter into false testimony and to be stained with all other vices So that as when the Lawe stoppes the conduittes of these common offences against our neyghbour shée foreseeth that the vices rising therupon ouerflowe no more the worlde So if the first societye comprehended in this lust or thirst after glorye and pride were as well chained that shée issued not out of her vncleane channell whiche is our nature corrupte in Adam restrained by the first commaundements aswell of the first as second Table by the which man is taught to humble and make him selfe nothing before God expressyng the same humility in obedient heart and wyll to such as haue fatherly rule in a common weale there should be no more ouerwening ambition vaine glory nor presumption causes of so many intollerable euylles enuyroning the worlde And hauing remedies in these first commaundements such as God hath prouided for vs we must not fayle to arme our selues therewith and refraine to do the thing wherwith he may be offended The remedyes are fayth holy doctrine continuall prayer and assistaunce of the holy spirite inspiryng into our heartes secrete mocions to do well together with diligent exercise of vertue and studie of moral and pollitike disciplines by the which we are enterteyned Ciuilly in a state of common duetie towardes our neighbours and common weale Let therefore gouernours of common weales vse prouidence that of these originall springs there issue out no infect or corrupt ryuers which then comes best to passe when diligence is most applyed to youth to exercise them in good doctrine loue to vertue the better to entertaine those graces which they haue receiued in their first renouatiō by faith baptime For as it is a thing easie that a Tree notwithstanding in her first nature she be wylde and sauage yet beyng well griffed doth bring foorth and deliuer to her labourer good and swéete fruites with continuaunce of the same fertilitie being relieued at the roote and often lycoured euen so it is easie to a Christian when he is griffed and renued in Iesus Christ by baptisme where he hath taken the holy Ghost the aucthour of euery good worke to bloome in good wyll florish in doctrine fructifie in all good workes the roote of that trée being holy spirituall diuine taking her norriture of the worde of God and which Trée is made liuely by the holy spirite augmented fortified enterteyned by the sacraments specially by the sacrament of the Communion which is
séeing man is the holye temple of God wherein the holy ghost dwelleth and the bodies also the holy members of Iesus christ who being holy hath incorporated them in him Is not he then truly holy where the Chalice or Cup a thing insensible is not but for the vse of a holy thing consecrated made holye What sinne therfore is it to conuert the vse of this mēber the tongue into vaine fonde speach which worse is to speake vnchastly to pronounce euill of another to sweare to blaspheme which be thinges not onely prophane but damnable reprobate and restraine it from exercise of holye discourse for which ende it was created of God and reformed by Iesus Christ as of purpose to praye and prayse God to teache and instruct And as to suche as speake vanelye the soddaine iudgement of God is pronounced so let the scoffer and idle inuentour of Pastime looke for theyr share in the same iustice Saint Paul commaundes vs to redéeme or buye againe our time whiche hée sayeth is done in speaking and perpetual well doing of thinges holy and edifying restoring in that sort the season which wée had lost in actes of vice and vanitye afore wée knewe God which is a satisfaction of dutye which hée requires of vs when hée sayeth Doo penaunce for with repentaunce and mutacion of will which is the first act of penaunce the change also of the fact or worke is requisit geuing recompense to our power to the iniuries and wrongs which we had done to others If we haue abused our time in vaine idle talke or employed it in vnlawful things what better recompense can wée aforde then to vse holy speaches of God and dispose our handes to actes of compassion and charitye Plynie being an Infidel but an excellent Historian was so gréedye of time that hée made Conscience to employe a moment otherwaies then to benefite Theophrastus sayd time was deare and an expence very precious meaning that it ought not to be spent vainelye what then ought to bée the consideration of the Christian who knoweth that as well of the meanest moment of his doinges as of the least minute of his time and wordes he is to yéelde reason to God. Therefore let Magistrates whose doinges ought to holde conformetye with the iudgement of God and are heare as the scripture sayth to make him obeyed in his commaundementes and statutes vse prouidence in a cause of so greate importaunce and dispose theyr office by such wisedome as time a gift so precious maye not bée turned to the abuse and dishonour of God. I condemne not heare myrth in things indifferent admistred to a good ende as eyther to refreshe the minde or recreate the Sycke the same being as a medicine to a spirite troubled and is then best approued when it tendes to edification as was that of Helias to the sacrificatours of Baal Crie lowder sayeth hée for perhappes your God is at rest in his Inne or vpon the way or els he sléepes crye therfore alowde that he may awake As much may be sayd of honest profit or necessary pastime such as Isaac tooke with his wife by familiar recreation and as Susanna did when shée walked in her Garden washed her selfe where shée was inuaded by the twoo corrupt Iudges of Israel and as also is written of S. Iohn who sometimes would hathe him selfe with his Disciples but would not enter into the bathe wherein Cherinthus an Heretike had bathed him selfe fearing least for the wretchednes of the Heretike the bath should fall In these and such like things which of nature are neither good nor euil the consideratiō of the ende and intent measureth alwaies the praise or dispraise wherin let vs obserue the saying of Iesus Christ If the eye bee simple al the body is illuminate as who say if in séeking thy profite or prouiding for thy health thy ende bée good and that the thing which thou doest meane bée pleasing to God thy worke is good for so did christ suffer him selfe to bée annointed on his head féete by Mary Magdalen the ende entent being commendable where if shée had employed lo long time and trauaile about another for delite onely and pleasure it had béen an act of vice euen so iesting pronounced of a wicked wyll or to dishonour or scorne any man can not bée but mortal sinne by reason of the ende and corrupt intent And these scoffers Parasites and table minstrelles who no lesse vaine in heart then vicious in affection practise an estate of squirilitye with an entent to deuoure other mens goodes maye sée howe farre they offende God and howe iustlye they stand subiect to seuere correction ¶ Plaies which of them selues beare no vice are not disalowable in respect of their endes and lavvfull causes Vnlavvfull games at Dice are causes of muche euill ⧠The .5 Chapter GAmes which of them selues beare no vice as suche as are deuised to recreate the minde or restore the vertues or natural faculties of the vnderstanding trauailed in Spirituall actions are not by the same reasons we gaue to honest Pastimes not to bée reproued no more then we may reprehend sléepe after labour of the body and the minde To refreshe the minde it is good to exercise the body with games of labour the better to entertaine strength and health as also sportes prepared to the exercise of an act necessary to a common weale as the practise of warre is verye profitable to which sports were trained by the institucion of Romulus the youth of Rome of fiftene twenty yéeres to rise by that meanes to a further habilitye to Armes And albeit they are rather painefull exercises whose ende is profitable instruction then simple games which bring intent of recreation yet they beare but the name of sports because there is no serious grauetie in their actes being as then ordained not to strike and kil but to prepare youth to a more agilitye in warre afterwardes In such like sportes men of warre should passe their time in truse peace to the end they fal not into delicate idlenes These sportes as they maye bée resembled with the exercise of students in the Retrician scooles touching declamations to forme speaches in Courtes so of simple sportes whose mater ende are not euil men may make theyr exercise as of medicine for cure of diseases not making marchandise or traffike of it for gaine For so it could not be properly called sport or playe but matter of good earnest for that sport ought to be referred to som honest ende Otherwaies who excedeth the ende of sport ought to suffer gréeuous punishment not only as vnprofitable but as sclaunderous to the common wealth For play is occasion of infinit euils as is expressed commonly vpon the experience of yong men now a daies without reckoning the losse of their time where Salomon commandes vs to trauaile withal our power without intermission al that the hand may worke do it sayth hée
continually for after death thou shalt haue no more worke to dooe meaning whilest thou liuest doo as muche good as thou canst for after death thou hast no more time to trauaile Play is also occasion of theft companion to gluttony a baite to whoredom a mouer of quarels and murders It is written in the story of the Corinthians that plaies were causes of their ruine for this reason Chilon a philosopher being sent in embassage frō the Atheniens to Corinthe to treate of peace for there were warres betwéen those .ii. tounes finding the Corinthians vpon a Festiuall daye so generally set at playe that not one of them would vouchsafe to enquire what was the ambassador and much lesse the cause of his comming And when he sawe that aswell the counsellors and chiefest as the rest were so caryed awaye with the delites of theyr playes that hee could not haue worthy audience hée returned at the instant iudging it to great indignitie that the magistrates and Senate should ioyne them selues with the folly of the popular sort And iudging that the best meane to reduce such incenset people were to assaile them by Armes perswaded the Atheniens therunto who afterward would neuer graunt them peace Playing at tables such like sléeping games are called of Aristotle the sportes of women for that to men those sportes are proper wherin is exercise of the body Touching playes at hazard wée finde them vncomely for all men but specially indecent for the christian profession For as the plaiers are led more by fortune chaunse as they terme it thē by wisedom or ability of the mind which is contrary to the nature of sports wherin is sought recreatiō by some industry of labor or dexterity of the spirit in which the praise is alwayes geuen to the vanquisher So in that play is no glory at all and much lesse duty of praise to the player because he doth no acte to deserue it The minde loaseth his practise reason hath no place the iudgement is confounded and the body hath no exercise the same being the cause why by the iust iudgement of God that kinde of playe neuer contenteth the player for that the more hée playeth the more ryseth hée in desire being prickt foreward with hope of profit abandoned to couetousnes wherby it hapneth that the gaine rising by that playe turneth seldome to profit being rather of a nature so wicked that it drawes men into disorder makes thē poore euen to nakednes retaines them in that basenes of minde that euen in the hardest winter they sit suffer as slaues the rigour of many cold nights with their féete benōmed vnder a cold table wherof are bred gouts reumes litargies appoplexies and yet these miserable plaiers haue no féeling of their wretchednes so swéetly are they lulled in the delites of this playe by the wicked spirite the very author therof For these such like reasons there was neuer christian who estéemed not playe vnlawful wherof a womā pronounsing her selfe a prophetis for holding opinion of certaine heresies was cōuinced by an Auncient and learned Bishop who iudged her not to be such one as she made her selfe estéemed for many reasons wherof one was for that shée was séene to playe at cardes and Dice at hazarde A pastime which neuer any of our religion was séene to vse The Philosophers estéemed them vnlawfull for that they haue no similitude with vertue delude reason and delite not so much the mind as they trouble it For as to the noble spirite nothing is more pleasaunt then when he may winne glory by the show of some excellency so nothing can be more contrary to his nature then eyther by sleight or fortune to bée vanquished by his inferior ouer whom by dexterity of nature actes of vertue hée is superiour Plato likewise would not geue sufferance to those plaies amongst his Disciples to whome when they excused them selues that they did no great faulte hée said this litle vice draweth to a greater offence meaning that from litle faults not thinking theron we slide into higher abuses if the humor of the first vice bee not restrained What then shal our christian gouernors say to our ordinary gamesters but euen séeing they abuse so many sportes and practise the plaies of Infidels contrarye to christian profession to forbid some moderate others aswel by measure and limitacion of time as by rate of money to loase at play the same being a necessary bridle to the affection of plaiers who séeme not to bée maisters of them selues the winners so gréedy of gaine and the losers of perplexed hope and desire to recouer theyr losses for which cause if they seldom geue ouer when al is lost at least recouering a new supply they ronne to a new reuenge so finde no ende in their playes turning theyr time into vnlawful acts and so from quarrels iniuries othes renounsing of God yong men fal into inuentions of theft and robberye with other practises of more wickednes Some haue placed Hunting amongst the sportes and pastimes of noble wittes wherunto Zenophon séemes to allure Princes great estates as to an exercise worthy of them hée sayth there is nothing aspireth so nearelye to the fierce fight with the enemye as to pursue the wilde Beast against whom must bée vsed art industrie labor and watching and sometimes suttletie and force to withstande daunger onely it behooueth the noble man so to choose his time for this exercise that he bring no incommodity to the countrey by reason of their corne Grasse Much lesse ought he to preferre his delyte to any pastime when his office is to consult in necessary matters abstayning from all vpon the Sabboth day And as hunting to the ecclesiasticall sort is an exercise most indecent so there is no lesse cause of restraint to meane people who haue to follow any faculty or arte profitable to the common wealth and necessary to the releefe of their priuate life Daunces with their wanton songes at this day are vaine and vnchaste Musicke of an Arte liberall is conuerted to an vnvvorthy vanity vvhat Daunces shoulde be lavvfull vvhat Daunces Musicke and Songes vve ought to vse a examples of holy men vvho neuer vvould be seene in Daunces ⧠The .6 Chapter DAunces and Roundes no lesse then wanton Musicke nowe a dayes are more dissolute then in times past yea resembling the vnchaste customes of the Pagans without faith and ignoraunt of God the same béeing a manifest token of the general corruption vanity of the present age And Musicke which according to the auncients was an Arte liberall in the which men praysed God song exaltacions to the noble actes of the elders recreated mindes heauyly loden with passions and reléeued bodies wéeryed with actions of trauayle is now become an arte of al vanity and filthynesse helping to the seruice of Sathan the delite of the worlde and pleasures of the fleshe I deny not but Daunces were in vse
so muche more is hée strayned to geue reckoning to God of the distribution of it And therefore if any saye vnto you you haue inough to lyue vppon without trauaile tell him he is eyther a flatterer or verye ignoraunt not knowing that God by his intollerable ordinaunce hath bounde vs al to trauaile without excepting any creating and apointing vs to labour as hée hath made the birdes to flye sayth Iob And if Adam afore sinne was put in the Terrestrial Paradise to trauaile there as the scripture sayth much more is man bound thereunto after sinne ¶ The Ritche sort haue more to trauaile then the poore and in what Such as labour in mind trauaile more then the painefull labourer A proofe hovve idlenes is the cause of other euilles Idle men are malice dreamers Exhortacion not to follovve idlenes Exhortacion to trauaile by apte comparisions vvherein idle Beastes are expulsed from the societye of others that trauaile The .9 Chapter GReat trauaile belongeth to the Ritch man who more then any other hath as it were his worke cut out if as hee ought hée discharge the dutye of his estate towardes God For howe many sicke and néedly people be in his toune so much the more is his trauaile to visite them to distribute amongst them of his owne proper welth and to procure contribucion of the other sort to whom in cōmon belongeth that charge ouer the poore If according to saint Paul the poore artison bée bounde to trauaile with his handes not onelye for his owne reliefe but also to haue meane with the gaine aboue his owne necessitye to geue ayde to the wantes of others how much more is the ritchman strained to the distribution out of whose abundance maye bée spared without hurt a compotent portion to sustaine many Such as are to trauayle in minde as the pollitike and ecclesiastical Pastors haue a burden of labour farre more heauy gréeuous painefull then the others For by how much the spirite is more noble excellent thē the body by so much is his labour more vehement painefull consuming all the vertue and force of the body Wherof it hapneth that in such people as in their estates are vsed in the trauayle of their mindes are for the most part founde infirmities and weakenesse of body subiect to diseases drye leane and thinne rather the images of dead men then of bodyes bearyng life And where we sayde that from idlenesse deriued all other vices euyls we may well call it the very sincke spring of all corruption of maners from thence comes whoredome as is expressed by Ezechiel in the example of Sodome Gomorrhe and appeareth also in Dauid who walking in his Gallerye beholding a farre of Barsabe bathing in her Garden entred into lust committed adultery with her Where if his minde had not béen in that leasure and abstinence of businesse or if as be confesseth in his Psalmes he had then as at other times thought on Gods Lawe prayed or béen occupied in great affaires as belonged to so great a Lorde he had not fallen into so wicked an acte Was not the idlenesse of Eue the cause of her destruction and our death If she had been busily employed to labor in the earthly Garden where God put her with Adam she had not wandred to beholde curiously the fruite that was defended her nor had spared her eare to the tempting of the Serpent no the Serpent woulde not haue come to haue entised her to an acte so miserable Idlenesse makes men théeues gluttons and disposed to all wickednes and therfore the ecclesiastick saith That it teacheth men much malice Therefore is it sayde and seene in experience that people of Cities be more subtile deceitfull and malicious then those of the countrey because to their ease in the citie is ioyned time and leasure to dreame thinke vppon malice a naturall inclination of Adams séede whereto the vplandishe sort being still followed with labor there is no respite of tyme nor dispensation of trauell Salomon repeteth in many places that néede and pouerty be the two ordinary handemaydes of negligence and idlenesse calling them most foolish that follow idlenesse séeing he that trauayleth hath wherevpon to liue in an other place hée sayth that the slow hand opneth pouertie but the hande of great workers bringeth richesse he exhorteth the slothful to trauell by the example of the Ant who appliyng diligence to oportunity laieth vp his releefe liueth in plenty The Pismyre spareth not in the sommer to heape vppe little graynes to féede him in the winter wherevnto he is not taught by any schoolemaster the like industry is in the Honny bées yea in thinges profitable good and necessary to our lyfe their trauell their industrye their art their paine and the profit that our liues receyue by them is ynough to moue shame to ydle men and bring them into a trayne of trauayle for profit the Oxe the Horsses and the Asses do trauell then man who hath so manye doctrines and commaundementes to draw him to labor can he deserue lesse then publike confusion and punishment and in the ende to dye of hunger in his extreeme age therfore sayth the wise man who trauayls not shall fall into such necessitie that he shall begge yea God will punishe him on such fashion that he shall finde no man that will giue vnto him Let the fable of the Pismyre which trauelled alwayes and of the Crycket which spent the Sommer in singing bring him to beholde the truthe The Crycket after Sommer is spent hauing not to liue vpon but begging for his sustenaunce asketh almes of the Pismyre who demaunding what he did in the sommer aunswered that he song then daunce now if thou wilt sayth the Pysmyre for me my store serues mine owne turne and I haue néede of it Great is also the example of prouidence in the Bées who with an industry aboue the Ant make profitable good and artificiall workes all being resolued in trauell some in the feeldes and others in their Hiues not one of them losing the opportunitie of the weather and if there be any dranes amongst them who being eyther vnprofitable or ydle seeke to deuour the common store of hony and liue of the labors of others the whole companies driue them out of their commonweale as vnworthy of the socyety of the true laboring Bées In their order pollicy and trauelsome lyfe is expressed good example of order in commonweales polleticke wherein as there ought to be no tolleration to anye ydle bodye but all the world driuen to follow some vocation so where is a loyterer let him with the vnprofitable dranes be expulsed punished according to his merite and if the silly Bées also trauell in common and ayde one another not sufficing to gather only for themselues but also for vs what iust shame and condemnation may be ascribed to Christians who ought by nature and are by grace all members conioyned
them If to men vsing great estates and offices be reserued an vniuersall reuerence What lesse honour is due to him that makes them worthy of it and by his industry brings them into the merit of such high calling If wise and learned men be famous through the world for the benefites that growe by their counsell commaūdement and authoritie is there lesse dutie of renoume and immortall praise to such as are the authors of those benefites by their learning If men learned in the lawes profite so much common weales If Phisitions be so necessary for that in them resteth the cure of bodies If lastly by the deuines wée finde comfort to our heauie soules how much are we bound to such as are the first causes of these deuine fruites who are the schoolemasters without whom and the foundation by them layed in those doctrines they had neuer ascended to those seates of honour when we sée a goodly building so excellent in beautie that the worlde giues it singuler estimation what can we ascribe lesse to him who laied the foundation and raised the worke to that excellencie then the principall praise For if faire delitefull and profitable workes be so generally praysed nothing lesse is due to the hand that fashioned them Who delites to behold a goodly picture doth great wrong to the painter if he ascribe not much to the commendation of his skill yea if there were layd on but the first coollers yet the beholder ought to be thankfull to his industrie and labour But if such as nourish our mortall bodies deserue great affection memorable renoume much more are we bound both in loue and perpetuall dutie to them that minister foode to the immortall spirites of little children if so great reuerence be reserued to Phisitions for helping the health of bodies which one day must die notwithstanding Is there not more merit of honour to such as cure our soules of immortal diseases The scripture pronounceth many textes to the shame of those which despise scholemasters of which profession Christ séemed to make his Apostles when he spake to Peter if thou louest mée féede my Lambes What other thing is it to féede then to nourish teach in good doctrine and the Lambes of the flocke of Iesus Christ according to the natural propertie of speaking are young children whom he holdes no lesse deare then his proper fleshe I saye not that vnder that name are ment all sortes of people and yet it can not be denied but that those littleones deserue chief instruction For S. John after he had taught in diuers countreys being compelled to leaue them for a time and go elswhether by speciall writing sayd to the little ones comfort your selues O ye young ones in that you are by the grace word of God strong and vertuous for that the woord of God remaynes in you and that you haue vanquished the wicked spirit through the grace and merit of Iesus Christ Yea Christ him selfe caused the little children to come into his schoole blaming the Apostles being yet of the flesh by cause they let those littleones for comming to him as though he would not haue taught and holpen them aswell as euen the greatest but he commaunded to bring them to him and pronounced them in that instruction and imposition of hands which hée gaue them worthy of the kyngdome of GOD saying that to those and such like the euerlasting worlde belongeth Then such as receiue little children into discipline exercise the office of Iesus Church the same sturring vp the Bishops in old time to take into charge of discipline and teaching little children as also did both the one and the other S. Iohn and the Prophets had many disciples who otherwayes were called the children of the Prophets it is written that many holy men went thorough the world to teach schollers with this intention that with the rules of learning they should also instruct them in the principles of faith and by that meane winne the Fathers mothers to Iesus christ amongest these Origen was not the least zealous and S. Gregorie the Pope refused not this vocation for certaine houres of the day For which considerations a certaine learned doctor of our time and chauncellor of a famous vniuersitie had no shame to go thorow the Colleadges of the vniuersities at certaine conuenient houres and teach little children in familiar doctrines which he did for the loue zeale of God And being oftentimes reproched by other doctors that he shewed an example vnworthy his place specially for that there were sufficient tuters to that purpose he aunswered that they were as fleshly doctors resembling the Apostles not yet in full libertie of the spirite who by glorious opinion forbad little children to approche neare to Iesus Christ alleadging that there was no dutie of accesse to him but by those that were graue I aske of those fleshly doctors whether the shepeheard that kéeps the Lambes of a Father of houshold do not as good and agréeable seruice to his Master as if he had in charge greater shéepe If a Father shew more deare loue to his little children then to those that haue riper age foloweth it not by congruent reason that such as giue succoures to those little ones and kéepe them from daunger deserue better recompence of the Father then if they had done seruice to his greater sonnes If the little plant in the garden of any Farmer be so much cherished that the eye of the owner is seldome from it hée then that watreth it prunes it and defends it from the cropping of beastes and other iniuries what seruice doth he to the owner Yea what greater pleasure can he do to the Farmer whose young plant without this industrie were subiect to spoyle without hope to yéeld any fruite euen as if the little Lambes of the flocke were lost and the young children corrupt there were no exspectation of restitution of that losse and corruption The schoolemaster then hauing in charge these little lambes of Iesus Christ and the preparing of this tender plant of his gardeine which is the Church and lastly the leading of these little children being the delites of the Lord how acceptable is his loyall and diligent seruice to his Lorde and to God And if such as sclaunder these little ones through wicked doctrine example deserue to haue fastened to their necke a milstone and drowned in the bottome of the déepest Sea What recompence or reward is due to those tutors scholemasters by whome those littleones are instructed and led in example of all holines Are they not worthy as Daniell sayeth to shine as the firmament and starres of heauen in euerlasting glory and to be called the greatest of the kyngdome of God Yea according to Iesus Christ euen the most happie of all And if euerie one ought to receiue the reward of his trauels as there is no estate of more hard laboures more great paines more perpetuall perplexeties and
in communicatinge to her parte of all his benefits and making her with himselfe coinheritor of his Paradise Could hée showe her more great signes of perfect amitie yea hee hath conioyned himselfe with her as one flesh making hir flesh of his fleshe bloud of his bloud and bones of his bones as we beléeue Eua was taken out of the ribbe of Adā whereby he acknowledged her to be his fleshe bones And for vertue of that coniunction he saied that touching cohabitation togither man should leaue Father and mother to cleaue to his wife yea so great is this coniunction and inseparable vnitie that no more can it be deuided then the fleshe of the ribbe being connaturall to it by consent and order of nature can be separated from the bone nor the body disioyned frō his head wherein man may vnderstand with what loue hée is bound to his wife how he ought to loue her as his proper fleshe with resolution to liue with her in amitie vnitie of indiuidible will as he séeth her conioyned to him by indissoluble communion both according to the first ordinance of God and by the seconde renouation alliance which Iesus Christ hath made with his church in spirituall mariage with this a thing knit to true loue let him thinke that the woman was taken out of the ribbe of the man to signifie that she should bee hys companion and not cut out of his héele to be his handmaid and subiect For that cause S. Peter calleth the woman coinheritrix of grace and life with the man and with S. Paule exhorteth husbandes to entreate their wyues with all gentlenes and cohabit with them by discretion as being weake vesselles giuing them honour and not to gréeue them eyther with too great burden of busines or by worldly or fleshly lettes whereby their prayers may be hindered meaning partlie with the councell of S. Paule that man and wife sometimes ought to refraine mutuall cohabitacion of their bodies to exercise themselues in prayer and fastinge as when there is preparacion for the communion whiche Ioell commaundes also to doe in tyme of penaunce when there is question to reconcile God with teares and fasting then is the tyme sayeth he that the husbande should deuide bedd with his wife and shée forbeare her mariage couche the better to praye to god For notwithstanding such cohabitacions and actes of the flesh in mariage are not of themselues in respect of the purpose of that institution vnlawfull at all tymes yet because they draw the spirit of it selfe diuine and heauēly into corrupt thoughts quenching the spirituall force and action of the same and as it were weaken it of power to rayse it selfe to God in pure and liuely contemplacion they can not be but hurtfull without moderation For which purposes if men be bound to fast and to qualefye their vnrulie lustes with better reason ought they to absteyne from suche actes which no lesse or rather more but in other qualitie peruert the spirituall faculties of the mind then either aboundance of meats or plentie of wine yet the scripture séemes to giue no such expresse commaundement touching cōtinencie as of abstinence as not to condemne the inuincible infirmitie and incontinency of many fleshly creatures who euen in mariage haue not power in respect of their custome to absteyne easelie Here the mā and wife are to bée aduertised that séeing mariage of his proper institution is a thing honorable and vndefiled let them not deface and stayne it by vnlawfull and immoderat pleasures more beastly then naturall let them remember the warning of Dauid Be not sayeth he as a Horse or Moyle in whom is no vnderstanding let them beware that they séeke not after inordinate passions which prouoke to actes of Pagans sayeth S. Paul let them be without perturbation of mynd as not bearing anger nor grudge agaynst any man let them not lurfeyte of eating and drinking nor be subiect to gluttonie and dronkenes For it is most certayne that the procreation shall resemble the qualities and corrupte natures of the Father and mother and therefore Diogenes not without cause séeing a yong boy wanton and giuen to wine gaue iudgement that his father begotte him when he was dronke as also most commonly bastardes be leacherous by reason of the vnchaste lust of their Father and mother wherein they were engendered But nowe to the lawes and rules which the husband ought to gyue to his wyfe according to the doctrine of god First the better to prepare her to humilitie she ought to acknowledge in her selfe such frayelty and infirmitie by nature both in mynd and body that as Aristotle sayeth without the guide of the man she is no other then as a matter without a forme and naturally can not liue without his direction as being drawn out of the ribbe of man and therefore what shée hath touching her body is deriued of man and was made for him and not man for hir being the first in creation forbearing here to recite all that may be sayd particularly touching his preheminence onely I maye alleadge in generall that as the man was not seduced by the Serpent as was the woman so the reason of the great error and fall of the man was the obedience hee bare to his wife contrary to Gods commaundement for the which she also was first condemned and made subiecte to more miseries then the man. These textes beare this intent to make the woman more humble and obedient aswell to God as to hir husband for that by hir nature she is easely caried in to arrogancie pride ouerwéening glorie and disobedience as being envenomed with the poyson which hir great mother Eue tooke of the Serpent suttill arrogāt proude glorious cruell here the husbande must giue hir to vnderstand that in nothing God is more displeased then in pride and disobedience done aswell against him as to her superiours Then lett him discende to the declaration of his superioritie ouer hir according to Gods creation in nature according to his holy ordenaunce according to the example of Iesus Christ by whome he is apoynted head ouer hir with authority as to a husband with promise not withstanding to vse this preheminence to hir benefit and contentment with loyall amytie here he must not for gett to putt hir in rememberaunce of the confederation which they haue made togeather to liue in holynes according to the similitude of the sacred coniunction and marriage of Iesus Christ with his church and that in all mutuall honesty and holy conuersation on with an other lett him then prescribe lawes and rules fitt for a wife That she serue God with all hir hart and loue hir husband only with franck obedience to his commaundementes giuing no occasion wherin he shall perceiue that she hath eyther said or done any thing to the offence of God Secondly lett hir beare to him affection and care as to hir husband and head as he for recompence must loue
maried according to Jgnatius caried with them their wyues and nourished them togyther with their parentes and poore of the Apostolicall reuenue For as who holdes no accompte of his houshold and domestical familiars is as an apostate and more wicked then if he were an infidell so wee ought not wickedly and wrongfully thinke that the Gospell takes away any humanitie naturall pietie but rather nourisheth susteyneth and confirmes it making it spirituall in true loue and duetie and so much the more perfect as the doctrine is more excellent then the doctrine of nature and Moyses It is a question of many whether a man is more bouÌ„d to nourishe and succour his father mother or his proper wife whereunto may bée aunswered that in the case of obedience and subuention there is more bounde of dutie to parents but not touching cohabitation And to proue the bonde of dutie to parentes it is certayn by treble right naturall diuine and humane which including an immutable and inuiolable bonde can not bée weakened or abolished by mariage aswell for that it is the first most autentike and hath a tâ—eble bonde for euery law hath his proper obligacion and subiection where this hath but one touching corporall cohabitacion as also for that it bindes mariage with a new subiectioÌ„ that the wife with her husband ought to straine all their power and meanes to reléeue suche as by mariage are made their father and mother and to helpe their grand parentes by whom both they and their fathers haue being in the worlde There bée yet these causes consequent and as it were accidentes to the former reasons which ought greatly to stirre vp children to honor their parentes that is to saye the inexplicable loue of fathers and mothers to their children their care in their first nouriture or nurssage their continual trauelles and perplexities to preserue and prefer them lastly this iust consideration that as they behaue them selues to their parentes so to expecte the lyke recompence of disposition and experience in their children towardes them The loue of parents is so great to their children that they sticke not to take to them selues the greeues and displeasures of their children not refusing sometyme the hazard of death to preserue their little-ones from perill And the scripture neuer commauÌ„des them to loue their children to nourish nor prefer them because by nature parentes haue that forward inclination but they are enioyned in many places of the scripture to discipline instructe them in the loue of God as therein prescribing to them the manner how to rule and moderate their affections not louing their childreÌ„ otherwaies then God loueth them neyther to let their zeale be so vehement fleshly and partiall as with the shée Apes to destroye their children nor yet with extremitie of affection to holde them in seueritie feare and so make them at vnwares towards or weake sprited wherein albeit thei are forbidden for that they are alwayes restrayned to moderation in discipline yet in holding ouer a hard hand vpoÌ„ theÌ„ thei expresse the best and truest affectioÌ„ and leade them in the readiest waye to the estate and reputacion of honest men Great then is the bond of dutie obedience and affection of the child to his father and mother if with his vnthankfulnes he be not altogither out of the sense and iudgement of nature yea he shall aunswere to that so perfect loue for God in this case challengeth that he ought to bée beloued of vs by reason If I be a father sayeth he where is the zeale wherwith you loue me as children do their Fathers Here if any will obiect certain mothers procuring vntimely birth to their children or others that kill them after their deliuerie to auoyde dishonoure I aunswer that to such mordering mothers expressing worse nature then the most fell or fierce beastes who cherish lick their litle ones ofteÌ„ times fight for their safetie ther can not be deuised lawes seuere inough for their punishmeÌ„t yea Moyses as after him Licurgus Solon erected no prescript lawe for such morders nor againste children likewise that killed their fathers as estéeming it an offeÌ„ce to which man coulde not ascribe sufficient seuere worthy punishment Touching the cares labor and industrie in bringing them vp ther is no estate subiect to so many perplexities the mother specially bearing the infant in hir belly what care hath she to preserue so precious a frute and in hir trauell is there greater panges or more perill of present death how long remaines she in weake estat and sicknes what paines takes she to norish it what be hir sorowes if it wéepe if it miscarie if it falle sicke she fasteth to féede it and being hongrie restraines foode from hir selfe to appease the vnruely appetite of hir childe she with hir husband offer their bodies to pasion of colde and heat yea somtimes go naked to cloath wrap and entertaine their children What recompence of affection and dutie do these cares and perplexities of parents deserue of the children where in if they be necligent how can they a voyde the crime of ingratitude or be innocent in the vices proper to the reprobate yea let them assuredly trust that the displeasures wronges and disobedience which they do to their parents by the iust measure of Gods iudgment shal be retorned in more heauie greuous qualitie vppon themselues by their proper children for so we finde hapened to a contemtuous and disobedient childe who trailing his father by the haire of his head out of his owne house This is but a iust recompence my sonne sayth the father seing that euen the like behauior I shewed to thy grandfather in this house which now thou vsest to me But of the contrarie we read that many weare the benifites and graces doubled vppon the obedient children of the patriarkes as is expressed in the example of Joseph to whom his father Jacob gaue double blessing aboue his other brethern because he honored him with more seruice then they for ende let children in all thinges discharge the right and law of pietie to their parents with this consideration that because Fathers represent God on earth he will take the disobedience done to them as an iniurie ment to him selfe moreouer in the consideration of their dutie and ayde to their parents let them remember that in succouring their necessities they offer acceptable seruice to God for the which as we haue said their recompence is layd vp both in earthe in heauen which with suertye to finde at the hands of their owne children the like measure of relife in their necessities together with the same rate of comfort if they fall into impotencie of age But if they fayle of this dutie they stande in hazard of treble condemnation of death as they are bound to that office by treble lawes hauing interest in all such acts of humanitie euen towardes all olde straungers according to the reuerent
seruitude and seeing them disposed to their seruice with a franke and liberall will gaue them libertie wherein I wishe and exhort that no man holding of the gospell which is a law of libertie and grace bée surmounted by such as were vnder the lawe of seruitude and Moyses in the which the Jewes enfréeed their poore brethren bond men in the vii yeare of their seruice and in the Jubilei gaue libertie to all the other slaues of straunge nations or at the least such bond mē were as their marcenarie seruauntes hauing yearely hyer for the labours they tooke in hande to the end that with tyme they might redéeme their miserable condicion But now eftsones to the dutie of a Master wherein as we haue spoken of the loue and gentle dealing which he oweth to his seruant so hée must vnderstand that with this loue he must minister to him doctrine and discipline Doctrine in instructing him in the rules of faith according to the example of the Iewes who neuer tooke bondmen whom they caused not to be circumcised and taught in the law so leading them in good examples of faithfull Jsraelites as for whose faultes they shoulde aunswere euen no lesse then for the rest of his familie There be thrée things sayth the wiseman necessary for the good entertaining of a seruant bread discipline and worke as to the Asse men giue prouender beating and his burden by the bread is vnderstoode sufficiēt noriture being too great iniquitie to kéepe seruants at trauell and make small allowance of sustenance if the Oxe reserued for the plough giues ouer his worke when he is faint for want of meate why should the poore seruaunt be shortned of his allowance by whose industrie both the plough goeth the Ox is preserued and the Master liueth discipline is due to him for that if he be not well instructed nor of him self wel giuen he workes with an euill will and encreaseth in vices as hauing not tasted from his infancy of any good instruction For that cause sayth the wiseman it is néedefull to offer him the racke that is a good correctiō specially when he ronnes either from his Master or frō his worke euen as the Asse must féele the cudgell whē he will not go But when he corrects him selfe or commits any light fault let the Master saith S. Paule pardon his offences as hee will haue God to remit such as he hath done so often times in the Scripture and the perpetuall paines which he hath deserued In that sort S. Paule willeth Philemon to pardon Onesyme a bondman who in his running away became a Christian by his doctrine he willeth to rebuke him without rigor and kéepe against him no passion of euill will but receiue him as his deare brother to serue him in all temporall and spirituall things And therfore let the Maister take héede not to be bitter against his seruaunt by hate for in that case S. John saith he should be as a murderer and much lesse do him wrong by malicious choller crueltie and impacience For he must remember that he hath a Master in heauen and that the other is but as a seruant with him of that great Maister wyth whom is regard neither of Lord nor master nor acception of persons but iudgeth equally the one as the other in all things touching well or ill doing Let him not then thinke that either his person shal be more worthy or his workes better accepted bycause he is a master or a Lord of greater estate For there is but the multitude of vertues which stand in place of credit and fauor wherein both the one and the other are indifferently receiued And hath not Iesus Christ employed his life and bloud indifferently for the one and other Then touching estate and greatnes according to the world it is but vanitie and a certaine apparant felicitie and the chaunce of worldly things may be such that this day a Master and to morowe a seruant which we read hath hapned to many Let him consider lastly whilest he is a master to make accompt to God of his authoritie and rule which he hath receiued of him where in he is so much the more subiect to reckoning by how much GOD hath called him aboue the other to that estate Touching trauell let him rather kéepe him in continual worke then ouerlay him with heauy labors measuring his bourden accordinge to the rate of his strength to beare it Let him not followe the example of Pharao in the time of Moyses who of a wicked wyll layd vppon the people of Israel more great and hard laboures then they were able to ouercome beating them if they perfourmed not their compleat taske of worke which hée prescribed to them aboue their forces wherein the oppressed Israelites crying out to God were heard in their complaintes to the ruine of Egypt and drowning of the Kyng and all his proud armie The Master ought neuer to suffer his seruant to be idle but at resting times in the night on the holy day he ought to kéepe him exercised spiritually eyther in prayers or to heare Sermons giuing him no libertie to hunt after gluttonie and vnlawfull playes which two kyndes of most daungerous idlenes aboue all others are causes of infinit euils to many men but specially to seruants and the young sort In which reason the wiseman saith that aswell as the Asse ought to be fed with prouander so hath hée néede also of the bastonado the bridell and the burden so must the Master sometime entertayne the seruaunt with the noriture of the rod and worke not giue libertie to his nature which of it selfe wyll raise him into disorder and disobedience sayth Salomon only his correction must runne in a course of amitie of a Christian Father of housholde who hath commaundement from S Paule to do that which is iust and reason to his seruant whom hee ought to estéeme as his spirituall sonne and companion according to God of the life to come The wise man aduiseth him also if he be faithfull and wise to loue him as his soule and to giue him fréedome and aduauncement as in déede the seruant puts his soule which is his life his bodie his laboures and industrie to continuall paines for the seruice of his master so did Abraham loue his seruant Elizer cōmitting to him all his most waightie affaires and for recompence if hée had had no childe hée had succéeded him in his inheritance In the gospel we sée how the Centenier loued his seruāt trauelling carefully for his health when he was sicke In whose examples may be reprehended now a days many masters who handling hardly their poore seruants sende them in their sicknes and impotencie to hospitals but if they haue but an Ox sicke or a horse lame they fayle not to aplie remedies for their cure as bearing more care to a beast then affection to a man who toucheth them in Christian brotherhoode touching
shall pronounce Wherein the Curat and hée ought to be as the spirit and soule in the gouernement of the bodie and as Aaron and Moyses knit in indissoluble amitie to establish a cure peaceable and happie to the people the pastor preaching doctrine the gentleman ministring discipline to reduce by force the wicked and disobedient in whom is no readines of wil to Gods seruice or ciuill order But if eyther in matters of doctrine or temporalitie there happen causes of hard dicision wherein the one without preiudice of conscience cannot determine and the other by his coūsell can assure no certaine iudgement Let the curat returne the cause to the Bishop if it be ecclesiasticall and Gentlemen appeale to the higher courtes temporall as we sée in the old lawe God ordayned both the one and the other court with diuersitie and distinction erecting in euery court Iudges superior for the graue and hard causes others more inferior to debate matters of meaner qualetie So that as Curats are as first iudges spirituall and Gentlemen as temporall and seculer for the courtes ciuill the second are as seneshals or baylifs the highest as presidents coūsellours So yet all causes requiring dispēse of the law or that haue néed of grace are sent to the Prince in whō only is power to make chaung lawes vpon iuste causes to him only belongs the gifte of pardon grace euen in such causes of crime as deserue death But now to retorne to our gentilman seing he is iudge of his tenaunts let him resort to the instructions of our second booke the better to leade him in that estate and if eyther for the nomber or grauitie of causes he call to him a iudg let him chuse him by the rule and prescription of our first booke not suffering him to pronounce affected or faulse iudgments which is a vice most heinous against God whose iudgments be iuste and euen as a balance acording to the which the iudgments of men ought to be ruled wherin in déed as iustice and iudgment belonge properly to God such then as execute them vnder him in lawful authoritie ought to obserue his commaundement and manner in the measure of iustice and iudgments otherwise their vsurpation makes them guiltie of high crime afore the heauenly iudge Togither with this order of iustice the gentilman is bound to kéepe and defend his tenants as the shepherd his Lambes that they be not deuoured of vagabounds spoyled of théeues and mordered by robbers But as the good shepherd watcheth ouer his flocke defends it from woulues chasing them with dogges takes them and hanges them on trees to terifie others not to anoy◠the slocke euen with such liuelie diligence ought the gentilman to pursew roages and rauinors seruing to no other vse but to deuoure a countrie causing them to be hanged in publike places by the highe waye side and to exinte vtterlye that wicked generation And if their skinne be worthy any thing I meane if they haue substance remaining uppon their rauinus trade let it be distributed to such frō whome it waa vniustly taken In consideration of such regiment guarde and defence of pore contrimen the gentilman hath rents and reuenue and is honored feared and loued and called Lord of such as resort vnder him Wherfore doth he only in a parish weare a sworde but that to him a lone belonges the defence of his people and to serue the prince Therfore so often as he is called Lord and that with reuerence and homage they bring him rents and benefites let him euen so often remember for what cause he is raised into such singuler estimation and by what merit he aspired to that dignitie of honour And if eyther by his proper vertues or desert of his aūcestors he hath atchieued that estate of noblenes Lett him euen by the same vertues retaine and kepe his repuacion by the which he got it Let him thinke the honor is not due but to vertue authoritie belōges not but to the wise and discrete no more are his rentes reuenues constituted for other purpose then for the regiment guarde and defense of his tenantes as the farmor takes not the fléese and milke of the shéepe but to féede and kéepe the flock since he is a Gentleman let him refraine from all actes of villanie let him not bée ignorant wherefore he hath the name of noble which according to the Gréeke signifieth bright as a cléere light and in Latin it is hée that is knowne and renoumed generally hée can not shine with cleare light nor be knowne famous thorough the world but by his enseignes and valiant actes not sparing his life for the defence of the church and his Countrey employing his body and goods for the support of Gods honour and put his life in hazard to deliuer the people from extréeme daungers which he could not doe but by seruinge and praying to God liuing soberly vsing iustice and wisedome in his actions magnanimitie and patience to the reproches of his enemies tolleration of hunger cold with other passions of hardnes and kéeping no reckoning of the woundes he hath receyued traueling in the action of these high vertues for a singular charitie towardes God whose honour with the common spoile of the people had else stand in hasarde Then this noble Gentleman passinge so many perplexities to put in suertie and rest a towne or a region can the merite of his vertues bring to him lesse rewarde then the title name of noble both according to the Greeke and Lattin phrase hath he not wonne and purchased rentes and reuenues that hath wasted his proper liuing for the benefite and publique sauetie Euen so who followeth not the vertues by the which this name Honour Renowne and Rentes haue ben gotten howe can hée deserue the vse benefit or estimation of them yea what degeneration doth he expresse from his auncestors by whom they were gotten with the sweat of their bodies and common daungers of their persones should he not bring foorth dishonour if he followed not their steppes If he be giuen to vices greatly would hée darken their noble vertues if he be a coward much more would he deface their high and valiaunt attemptes and if he giue not him selfe to the maintenance of the church and defense of the people specially such as he hath in singuler charge what imitacion of his vertuouse predecessours who reposed all their glorie in the happie occomplishing of these things thinking they could not woorthely retaine the name nor the honor or at least holde them by false and vniust titles if they conserued not the iust causes of those dignities as also vnworthely possessed their rentes and reuenues due by their originall nature to the exercise and hyer of such noble enterprises Gentlemen then not liuing within the limites of religion but persecute blaspheme and vnder the title of their noblenes not knowing the woorthines of it doe manye iniuries despise others
calling them villains peasantes and varlettes who notwithstāding are their norsses that put the bread into their hande wherewith they liue they make readie the meat and wine wherwith they are fedde they prepare the garmentes that cloth their bodies the horses whereupon they are moūted and put into their pursses the money that supplieth their common vses and for recompence they are beaten if they whyne as the saying is when they iustly complayne Such Gentlemen also whose delite is laid vp in dronkenes and whoredome to the dishonour of God and slaunder of the people such whose couetousnes is not satisfied but with the spoyle of their people yea drawing the skinne quicke from the carkasse taking the pullettes from the widow and the best shéepe from the farmor and from the poore husband man the haye and oates wherwith his traueling cattell should liue such as promise and performe not borrowe and paye not againe follow their hawking and huntinge oftentymes to the hurt of the countrey as when corne and grasse are in their encreasing season suche as are serued with the labors of their tenantes without recōpense and straine their horse their oxe and cariadge to their proper worke without satisfaction To be short who so euer wrongeth in any sort the meanest that is can not in any equitie merit the name of Gentlemen and much lesse enterprise vpon a title so honorable in whose life are expressed suche apparant effectes of dishonour and publique infamie can they in actes of villainy and vices worthely displaye the honourable enseignes of vertue and nobilitie will they make noblenes the cloake to oppressions and wronges which by vertuouse actes is raised the beautie excellencie and dignitie of houses he is not gentle in whom is founde violence or tyrannie and farre from the name of a Gentleman whose conuersation expresseth dissolute deformed dispositiō no he is a villain in equitie whose lyfe is stayned with actes of villainy as of the contrary vertue doth rayse and enoble villains of blud and race yea vertue only is as the soule of noble families without the which they were but as vaine and dead By which reason as to our place and estate of nobilitie is tyed higher and greater pretences of vertue so also by reasonable congruence the more higher wee stande in title and dignitie the more notable are our vices and faultes as a skar or deformitie in the face showes more then if it were in the hand or foote because those partes be more inferior and lesse apparant yea one small vice in a Gentleman is more reprocheable to the world and damnable afore God then many faultes in manye meaner people as in the law a prince ouer a whole nation offered as much sacrifice to God for his sinnes as the whole multitude for their common offences for the in place where hée should expresse to his people exāples of vertue and leade them in conuersation of ciuill lyfe he giues publike occasion to doe euill for that his errors being knowen draw the multitude to imitacion If a Gentleman so often as he falleth vnderstood the grauitie of his damnation where as his lightnes leades him some times to glorifye or vaunt his nobilitie to shake his sword to manage his great horses and to muster in gorgious garmentes and armour as pompes of his nobilitie he would euen so often common with his carefull thoughts how to discharge and acquite that dutie of a good and Christian Gentleman such one according to our prescription I denie not but touchinge his generall estimation with the world he must maintayne place and countenance according to his house and race both for the honor of the vertues of his auncestors and to expresse in him selfe fruits resembling and worthie of such trées Let him haue castels horses armour and ornamentes aunswering the estate and maiestie of his house and withall let him to that honorable prerogatiue expressed in those visible fignes ioyne the consideration of his office which is to leade his people whose nature is to beare reuerēce and loue to suche as are worthie of them in equitie obedience order and feare as in déed it hath ben a perpetuall custome in all ages and Countreys that as in Kings Princes Noble men and Magistrates haue ben more perfecte exāples of ciuill and christian order so to such hath ben alwayes moste due and decent all stately pompes whether in ritch iewelles apparell horses or costly houses wherin this care is carefully and continually to bee applied not as preposterous men to make of the accessary the principall of the shadow the body and of the accidence the substance but alwayes to entertain the autētike first causes of the nobilitie of the house which ar religiō Iustice and zeale to Gods honour and the defense of his Countrey accompanied with wisedome aduise sobrietie temperance and inuincible magnanimitie by whiche vertues Josua Othoniel Sampson Jeptha and Dauid haue wonne honour to them selues and perpetual noblenes to their houses ¶ The dutie of Aduocats or Councellours at law Chapter ix ADuocates or Councellours at law are not as coadiutors to Iudges and Gentlemen Presidents and chiefe Iustices to decyde and determine but onely with their aduise by opinions and reasons alleadginge customes ordinances statutes and lawes they serue to explayne causes of their clyentes leauing the iudgement to the Iudges called and constituted To euery one of those the wise man speaketh open thy mouth to the dombe meaning speake for the ignorant man and vnderstand the causes of al persons consider well that which is iuste and take vppon thée the cause of the poore and néedie as if he had saied thou which art Aduocat receyue the causes of all suche as come vnto thée and their complaintes for that thou art bound to all by thine estate speake liberally for the poore in whom being no knowledge to deduce their case they haue lesse meane to informe the Iudge such instructe both what they shall saye and doe be no partie eyther in councell or mayntenance to a wicked cause nor suffer any to doe wronge to the poore to whom the wise man séemes to perswade moste compassion for that to such is seldome showed fauour or credite of men for God hath giuen thée grace to speake and opened to thée the vnderstanding of the Lawes to the ende to minister helpe to others as to the toong hée hath gyuen the facultie of spéech to speake for the whole bodie and for euery perticuler member chiefly when any of them is grieued and in cases of wrong euen so the Lawyer which is the toūg and interpretor to the body polletike and of all men being in affaires and busines ought to spare no compassion to the cause of the poore disposing his office to iustefie right and bring all wrong to punnishment wherein besides that he satisfieth at the full the office of his vocation yet in soliciting for the poore he doth a seruice of greatest merit with God in seeing iustice to
be kept one of the first actes of vertue and in iustifying the innocent he defendes him from violent oppression and preseruing his smal porcion of goods kéepes him from the hospitall and his wife and familie from perishing by hunger In sustayning the cause of the poore and procuring condemnation to the wicked he doth double worke of mercie obserueth that which so often God recommendes in the Scripture wherein the Iudge executing the good aduise and exhortacion of the aduocate accomplisheth the iudgement of God doing an act of high praise and worthy of eternall felicitie The aduocate thus being the mouth of the people and chiefe enformer of the Iudge ought not to bee ignorant in the written lawe customes statutes and ordenances of the land helping his wit with the art of reasoning and his iudgement with general experience in all affaires wherein the science of Logicke morall discourse and specially the studie of polletike reasoning may bring great helpe to him for if by ignorance hée giue wicked counsel and leade the partie in a vaine expence of money to pursue an vniust cause or if by indirect or suttle dealing hee cause an other to loose his righteous sute though the lawes of ages and countreis appoynt him no punishment yet being guiltie both to the one and other losse I doubt not but by the lawes of heauen and conscience he ought to refine to the parties the full damage hapned by his corrupt counsell No lesse punishment but greater shame is due to the ignorant iudge giuing corrupt sentence by the perswasion of the aduocate as to whom it belonges to be more wise and resolute not deseruing to sit in the seate of a Iudge afore he haue thorowly passed the office of an aduocate and practised lawes in publike court which hée had read in priuate studies But if the aduocate entertaine by couert sleightes and suttleties vniust causes procuring cauillations by delayes to weary the man whose sute is good and enforce him to a hurtfull accord and so by his shiftes peruert iustice into iniquitie besides that he is bound to satisfaction of the losse yet he is not out of the perill of Gods curse Aduocates and procurers who by entertayning processes in delayes empouerish good men and become riche them selues and such the very instruments of Sathan as eyther bréede or norish quarell betwéene parties are condemned to all wretchednes by Iesus Christ For if such as be peaceworkers be happy of common congruence thē who hindreth confoundeth or delayeth peaceable causes are ordayned to misery as by whom is set abroche among neighbours the vessell of grudge malice hatred sorowe heauines and vtter vndoing and also losse of time in their established trades and vocations wherevnto they are called by God and if they be not the causes directly that their clients offend God in many sorts at least they kéepe them from seruing him restrayning al their hart thoughts and industrie to the furthering of their proces which cannot bée but a kind of impietie yea oftentimes it hapneth that by the dilatorie shiftes of solicitors and attorneys many rich clients sée no end of their cause in many yeres whereby it hapneth that he that preuaileth reapes not so much as he hath spent and he that is ouerthrowne is sent to the bagge wallet being afore the beginning of the sute of good estate of habilitie To such as be the occasions of this euill I aske this question if they be not iudged by their owne lawe which sayth such as giue the occasion of euill séeme to do the euill it selfe if the sinne bee as great to him that holdeth as to the other that cuts the throte of the iust mā is there any grace or distinction in the sentence touching the Iudge specially if he may apply remedie and abuse his meane Let no man erre by couertures of writtes or wrested titles of the expounders of the law or orders of courtes for in what sort so euer they do wrong to any man according to iudgement and conscience which with great aduise ought to be considered more then the opinion and comments of writers hid vnder the shadowe of the lawe and yet against the lawe which of it selfe is iust and good so that it be not abused they worke their owne depriuation of the life eternall The vnrighteous sath Saint Paule shall neuer possesse the kingdome of God And who are more vnrighteous thē such as worke against the iudgement and intencion of the lawe and contrary to the secret aduise of reason and sense of conscience which is not blinded through affections and custome of euill Would those smooth and coosening Lawyers if they were in the state of their simple clyents attribute it to wel doing to haue with them their best bloud drawne from them without féeling and that which remaines become too corrupt for horseleaches Let them thinke vnhappie is the gaine wherein vnhappely is wrought the destruction of poore soules What other thing doe counsellors and attorneys committing to their Clerks Bookes of length and many lines and consequently of more gaine to them selues but draw by suteltie money out of the poore mans purse What other thing is it then to impugne God hurt their conscience seduce the Prince the Court and the world and vnder cooller of that iust and lawful gaine to commit manifest theft whereof they stand condemned in the iudgement of God where all suttletie shal be reuealed which Saint Paule calleth darknes and all iniquitie examined not according to the vaine fancie of couetous fleshly men which think there is no other iniquitie but that which is séene and palpable to the hand but euen the most suttle craft that may be imagined shal be by the euerlasting eye so clearely spied and descerned that it shal be iudged worthy of death one of the offēces that most displeaseth God is the sinne of the Deuill as to be a deceiuer a Traytor a dissembler malicious author of quarrelles suttle and polletike to do euill it is said the Deuill that appeared to Eue hid vnder the visible serpēt was of all other creatures most craftie suttle Then if our aduocates and attorneis being instructed in the deuils sutteltie sticke not to glorifie themseiues to haue so good a teacher and master to learne them by good reason as they practise his instruction and example they are also to receiue with him a common rewarde and recompence yea let them be assured that the suttle are taken in their owne snares and that no councell cunning nor reason stande a fore God who being able to confound all will call into terible iudgment al such masquid and disguised suttelties is it not a vaine and foolish sutteltie to beguile a poore man of a halfpeny and for it to be condemned to lose a crowne what folly more then for the gaining of certaine transitorie drosse here on earth by suttle means to be condemned to the losse of all goodes body and
that the lawe bindes to no restitution though the wares bée solde at double prise all these spéeches and the effectes that followe of them are of the very inuencion of Pagans wretchedly vpholden and entertayned by pagan christians whose eyes of vnderstandinge couetousnes hath closed vp and restrained them from the cleare light of reason infused into vs from heauen euen by IESVS Christ the self light But all men what so euer not hauing these two lawes of conscience ready to serue thē in contracting bargayning selling buying choppinge chaunging and in the traffike of euery particular marchandise I saye if he doe not all in conscience as a brother ought to doe to a brother and one friende to an other abandoning deceyte in euery dealing for in case of desire to gayne by deceite bloud and brotherhoode friendship also will swell against it he ought not to aspire to the reputacion of a christian as hauing no place there séeing he hath not obserued those two lawes as the first letters of his christian Alphabet But here the Marchantes alleadge that it is so with all the worlde and if they should goe so stricktly and iustly to work the principall and necessarie charges would not be gained Little doe they remember in this that it is forbidden to conforme our dooings with the worlde but to reforme our selues in spirit to take vp a new life conuersation truely Christian not louing the worlde nor any thing therein as vnworthie of loue nor to followe the errours of the world springing of glorie couetousenesse and pleasure Let vs rather estéeme this worlde wretched as to the which Iesus Christ would not once vouchsafe to imparte one onely prayer but hath prophesied vpon it malediction in respect of the miseries who followeth then the guide of this diring cursed and blind world is it not directly to suffer him selfe to bée ledde into the bottomes of hell Touching the other point that by selling iustly is no great gaine let them behold the persuasion of Dauid that a little is better with the feare of God then all the ritches of sinners what doth it profit to gayne a whole world for certain daies and loose a paradise for euer Oh you Marchantes of little faith fearing to féele necessitie if you liue in the state of honest men beholde the man following his vocation in the feare of God and liuing accordinge to his lawes is assured by the word of GOD not to fall into want but that God will ayde him and giue blessing to his labours where of the contrary it hapneth that the deceyuer is beguyled and who doth wrong to an other findes recompense of wrong and what he feareth hapneth often tymes vnto him yea albeit God suffer him to become ritch by vnrighteouse meanes his wealth taryeth euen no longer then we sée a landflud fallings in great aboundaunce and presently passeth away and the place become drie And as we see in dayly experiēce that the second or third heires of suche marchantes vniustly enriched sell their houses shoppes liuinges and become bankerout leauing no other remembrance then that which a foule smoak leaues to a new whited wall So the small stocke of a good and vpright marchant takes his encrease by little and litle as the corne and grasse multiplieth into plentie yea his succession becomes an infinit generation There bée marchantes of honest pollicie but of couetous intenciō who selling at reasonable rate do often times gayne more then others for setting reasonable prices of their wares they draw more buyers and by consequence more vse of money whereby it happeneth that gayning but a groate in a yarde hée findes his encrease more in the yeares end then an other that with a slow vent gaines a testor in euerie yarde who to auoyde the hazarde of his wares by long kéeping and because he would rayse a great gaine selles his wares of credit to chapmen in the countrey but at his owne price some tymes double or treble aboue their proper worth thus selleth he time which is none of his and beguiles simple people who eyther not knowing the value of his wares or at least constrayned to take them by necessitie whereby the marchant bound by Gods lawe to reléeue and fauour the necessities of the néedie leaues thē not in this but committes them to raunsome and afterwardes when payment comes layeth them vpon the racke distreyning their corne their haruest and for a small matter leades away the substance that should nourishe them their poore families all the yeare There be also that vse a worse trade encreasing their money by monthly loane which they call honest interest but because aswel monthly vsurie as the lewd dealings of many marchāts their broakers being as the deuil his disciples are sufficiently detected punished by wholesome lawes of many christian nations I wil not here touche any person in perticular much lesse discourse vpō the whole abuses of interest men hauing now to do with publike trafficke of marchauntes who to the other lawes aforesayde séeme to haue one more concurring with thē which is the rate of markets the state of times and the consideration of places whereby as they may as lawefully gain at on time as they casuallie loase at an other which is the common fortune of marchaunts so let them take héede that in the meane and pollicie to make their profite they be not founde the causes of the euill season or to abuse the market or the place as for example there are in on citie an hundreth or more of the most principall marchaunts who doubting the dearth of corne with in the yeare or at least hope to gaine much by bargaines of corne go from market to market to restraine corne in the season that they sée it good cheape and somtimes make it rise higher to enforce pore men to sell to them By which intolerable trafficke all the corne of a countrie is drawen into their handes and yet will sell none during the store of the countrie But when it falleth wherby the necessitie of the market redobleth the price then those corne marchaunts or more properlie cormorantes begin by litle and litle by mutuall intelligence eyther to sell one after an other or euerye one to féede the market with his proportion or else sell in their priuate garners by their discreation raising at wonderfully and extorted gaine here if they saye they sell according to the rate of the market and are ruled by the estate of the time and place they may be aunswered that in taking the benefit of their owne lawe which is but concurringe they transgresse the two first lawes seeming to do pleasure to others with the common ruyne and miserie of a whole countrie and so by their vnlawfull gaine abuse their vocation they only are the imediate causes of the dearth of corne for if they had suffered eueri one to sell his corne according to his necessitie and forborn to
their wealth a kinde of Idolatrie to honor a creature vile and insensible in a man as is riches and not reuerence the pore by reason of his pouertie which notwithstanding is most acceptable and honorable with God as being innocent and without hurt where in the riche man according to the Apostle is founde many actes of oppressions which haue fauour of impunitye albeit they deserue extreame iudgement To dispise also the pore man is double sinne as both retorning in iniurie against God who hath made the pore aswell as the riche yea honoreth him with his more singuler graces as apeared euen since the time of the lawe chusing for his prophetts men extremelye pore as also againste the pore man himselfe who with his present pouertie feeles yet an other affliction when he findes him selfe dispised Secondly riche men ought to be perswaded by faith that their welth comes not altogether by their labors their witts nor prouidences for sayeth Salomon the blessing of God makes men riche and keepes them from suffering affliction it is of mear grace that God makes some to prosper in the goodes and affairs of the worlde with out suffering losse or vexation And as ther be many that trauell no lesse then they yea with equall industrye prouidence and care and yet are vnder the yoke of pouertie So then let riche men attribute nothing to them selues but all to the bountifull prouidence of God by the mean of some little labor which they take as if they would attribut the fertilytie of a good ground yelding for one graine aboundance of corne being but simply tilled to the prouident ordenance of God and not to their industrie manuring seeing there is no ground which though it be tilled and fatted with great labour and sowen with neuer so good séedes will yet yéeld no fruite neither in plentie nor price because the blessing of God hath not bene giuen to that ground to make it riche in corne euen so the poore are ordayned of God to their estate of pouertie I meane the good sort for such as by negligēce by whoredome or other vnthriftines become poore are causes of their owne decaye as there be that contrary to the ordenāce of God get riches by vseries and other vnlawfull meanes deseruing not to bée called the rich men of God but of Sathan as also such as by misgouernement become poore are not called by the poore of God and as such are not true poore falling into pouertie by their owne vices and not poore by God but by his permission so also riche men are rauinors by the suffring power of God and not by his will. Thirdly rich mē by faith may apprehend Gods prouidence bearing them fauour and frendship to establish them in prosperitie ease aboue their other bretherne as belonging all to one heauenly Father drawne out of one mother which is nature and qualified of cōmon elementes touching the constitution of the body whom they sée subiect to more pouertie and affliction for the which as they are bound to a more action of thankes to God so let them search the cause why he reserueth such fauour for them and why also and for what ende there bée so many poore euen to the ende of the world which can neuer attaine to ritches on whom if it had so pleased him he might by the opening of his plentiful hand haue bestowed great ritches as he did vppon Job after his extréeme pouertie In consideration of all which causes it will fall out necessarie with our purpose to prescribe aswell to the ritch as the poore their particular dutie according to god First then the riche ought not to swell or presume by any opinion of his ritches nor the poore fall into infirmitie of hart by reason of his pouertie and much lesse estéeme him selfe of inferiour grace with God or estimacion amongest men according to one self iudgement of reason but with Saint James let him take occasion to glorifie him selfe in God of his poore and abiect condition in hope to be exalted as of the contrary the ritch arrogant man hath to feare to be throwne downe after this life the same being expressed in the example of the wicked riche man cast by wicked spirites into extréeme necessitie and horrible tormentes of hel where the soule of poore Lazarus was caried by Angelles into the bosom of Abraham The promise of Gods kingdome is made onely to the poore and therefore if the riche wil be saued let them buy it of the poore by true faith and charitie and almes with deedes of compassion You rich men saith Iesus Christ make you friendes of the Mammon of iniquitie that is of the richesse which induce men to much euill draw mindes to vnlawfull lustes torment hartes with wicked cares make their owners idolators being vniustly gotten are also carefully kept and by their abuses are the causes to infinit people of euerlasting damnacion In this also the rich sort ought to feare for that GOD giues riches to many as their porciōs which they haue to looke for from him according to the saying of Abrahā to the riche man in the Gospell My sonne thou hast already receyued thy pleasures and Lazarus likewise his paynes in the world content thy selfe if thou hast at any time dou any good as prayed to GOD or heard his word thou hast ben sufficiently payed for it thou canst not passe from a vaine pleasure to a true and perpetuall pleasure from temporall richesse which thou didst abuse to an euerlasting felicitie from worldly glorie honour whiche were thy delites to a glorie eternall which as a swéete reward is reserued for this man on whom the world threw contempt because of his pouertie Wherein then as the rich men of the worlde haue more occasiō to submit in humilitie and feare so to the poore is giuen comfort and hope to bée exalted for whō the more miseries perplexities and contemptes they haue suffered in the world the greater recompence is layed vp in the ioyes felicities and eternall delites of heauen ¶ Still touching the qualities of personnes Chapter ij RIch men considering in thē selues that wealth is a gift of God and not the onely fruite of their industrie as they ought to glorifie the Lord so by how much hée fauoureth thē aboue others by so much are they bound to submission and humble recompence of thankes giuing with encrease of loue towardes him because without their merite he hath aduaūced them to goods as foreséeing that they could not easely beare the pouertie and miserie of the world They haue also to consider that he hath blissed them with so great store to the end to make distribucion to their poore bretheren for which purpose as their heauenly father raised them to that plentie to the ende that in their liberalitie might be expressed their office of brothers So if they failed in this zeale what iniquitie did they to their brethren hauing right in the goods
Augustin let me releeue him whose necessitie is first offred to me drawing by my example rich men to reléeue others In this case the rich man refusing to ayde the poore is a tyrant and vniust possessor of the goods of others for that the superfluitie is a due portion of the poore according in the wordes of Saint Basill The money saith he that thou kéepest in thy coffers the apparel not seruing thée to vse and the vittailes that thou hast in aboundance are the goods of the poore ouer whose right thou dost vsurpe In this he séemes to holde conformitie with S. James that the rich men ought to sighe and wéepe for the miseries that will happen to them whereof he alleadgeth thrée causes the first for that they kéepe their gold and siluer till it ruste and haue no néede where many poore bodies perish of hunger and that their garments are gnawne with moathes where infinite poore creatures stand naked subiect to the iniury of the weather The second is that they paye not reasonably suche as serue them whose crye pearceth the very eares of the lord of hostes demaūding vengeance of their iniquitie The third is that they make great cheare and anoynt their throats with the liccorous sirops of swéet meats suffer the téeth of their poore brother to bite no bread nor his stomacke to be refreshed with whole some liccour Many other néedy people remaine in a Citie who notwithstanding their trade and occupation are driuen by some ouercharge of children or casualitie to sel their necessary implements and sometime the very instruments of their occupation not being hable to borowe and hauing shame to aske Of Christian amitie and how many sortes of friendships there be Chapter iij. HAuing not yet spoken of the dutie of a friend but in generall sort nor of Christian charitie wherein consists the perfection of a Christian and of moste deare commendacion in the Scripture it cannot be impertinēt to inferre some discourse therof the necessitie of our purpose so requiring Amitie is of foure kindes as naturall ciuill carnall such as was amongst the Pagans and Christian or spirituall The two first haue their approbation euen by the scripture the third which is carnall hath ben by the iudgemēt of good men reputed corrupt as in déede it is and much reproued according to the doctrine of god Naturall friendship is as the loue of parents towards their children and one kinsman or countrey man to an other Ciuill amitie is got either by conuersation and society of men together or in respect of profites eyther receiued or hoped for this friendship is called of the Philosophers humane and as it were due of common office But better is it expressed whereby it is called a vertue morall when it vnites mutually heartes and willes together sometimes it is but of the one part which is the cause of Tullies opinion that such is the force and propertie of vertue that it constraynes men to loue such on whom there goeth but an opinion and reputatiō of honestie though they neuer saw nor knew the persons But notwithstanding the reasons and iudgements of the Philosophers touching that kind of amitie the Scripture will neuer repute it a vertue if it haue not a purpose and end to the honour and loue of God without which end much lesse that all vertuous actions haue any recompence or glory afore God but with Saint Ambrose that kind of amitie is accompted corrupt as not done to that end which the Scripture cōmaundes by which we are cōmaunded to do al things for the honour of god Fleshly amitie or friendship is contracted vnder a hope or present enioying of goods honours and carnall pleasures And sometimes the naturall and ciuill amitie degenerate into this damnable loue being most often the very loue wée beare to our selues deliting more in our owne glory and pleasures then in GOD or that concernes our saluation Where vppon it is sayd that men vppon the end of the world shal be so worldly and fleshly a signe of reprobation that they shal be more feruēt followers of their proper delites then of God This loue Saint Augustine with good reason sayth is the foundation of the Citie of the Deuil as the loue to God is the ground worke of the holy citie of the soueraigne Lord Christian loue is that charitie which so often God recommends to vs comprehending an entier loue with all our power to him and a sincere amitie without fiction to our neighbour euen by the same measure that naturally we loue our selues with this intēdement alwayes that all be for the loue honor of God as the cause end of al amitie al our actions to the end to receiue for it eternal retribuciō This amitie leads directs makes perfect the natural ciuil moral friendship euen so corrects altogether that the is carnall as being corrupt by wicked affections makes it turne into spiritual by spiritual conuersation as if a man louing his wife onely for that she is faire and riche and for his beastly pleasure a Pagan loue and little differing from the affection of a whoremonger to his concubine and being afterwardes instructed by Christian doctrine with what zeale he ought to embrase his wife in mariage loueth her not for the reasons of the flesh aforesayd but as his companion of grace coenheritrice of the glory of heauen louing hir with that spirituall and true loue wher with Iesus Christ loued his Church And as a Father louing his sonne not simplie nor naturally but with a worldly affection as making him his Idoll falleth to loue him afterwards in God by Christian institution that is according to the prescript of the Scripture kéeping him in discipline and vertuous exercise Thus the whoremonger is conuerted and forbearing his fleshly affection to his troll will hate in him selfe and hir all damnable lightnes and neuer looke on hir but with a displeasure and remorse of his sinne which after their conuersion she is also bound to do And if there bée daunger eftsones to fall they are bound to restraine sight and mutuall company and stand vpon their gard no lesse then such as hauing ben once enuenimed with a swéete poyson by an antidot preserued from death will beware eftsones of charmes or swéete liccours neyther is penaunce of any force if the sinne bée not altogether abandoned and all carnaletie abhorred And if in déede amitie to speake more properlye bée a vertue more then morrall and not affection onely according to the error of some Philosophers it can not be ioyned with vice for so théeues other of vice albeit they vaunt of frendship in susteyning one an other can not truly be called frends but confederats in league conspiring by common consent to do euill Amitie is perpetuall as is all vertue of his liuely and proper nature So that such as loue richmen by reason of the proffites they receiue by them are not
God who beareth no malice to any man he hath made as hauing declared therein his power his wisedome and his boūtie For which three things we must acknowledge his handy worke with thankes giuing Besides we know that God is not but charitie and loue and who is constant in charitie dwelleth in God and God is firme in him as of the contrary who hateth any man hath no perfect charitie and by conclusion cannot be of God So that as we are first bound to loue GOD with all our heartes so in the second place we ought for his sake to loue al men with a true perpetual loue as our selues But if we find them possessed with any vice or faulte louing still the creature we may hate that which we sée not to be of God and hated of men as knowing that in God there is nothing but integretie and what els is good and vertuous These be the causes why we ought to loue the soules and bodies of sinners as being the hādie workes of God but lawfully maye we hate their sinnes and wicked condicions as we ought not to loue any thing in the Deuill but his creation which is deuine since touching the rest he is nothing but peruersitie of his proper will for which cause he is called wicked as not taking pleasure no which is worse not hauing power to delite in any thing but to do euill the same being the reason why so often we are commaunded to shonne him and not to suffer him to enter into vs by any pleasant suggestion but to resist him estéeme him our onely enemie a serpent and venemous Dragon a rauining Wolfe a roaring Lion a théefe and murderer séeking after nothing but by suttletie force ambushes and treasons to betray our soules yea if it were not by his wicked and wretched temptations we should neuer haue enemies malice or miseries no not once haue the thought to do wrong one to another the same being the cause that our sauiour Christ calles him our enemie it is he only whom we ought to hate and all that is in him except the spirituall substance the first creature of God it is he onely whom we ought so much to detest as not once to hear him sée him or séeke to learne any thing of him in whom is nothing but deceite lying abuse and murder it is he of whom wée ought to take nothing that he offreth for he corrupteth all that he giueth And séeing he is a poysoner let vs alwayes take héede that he enuenime not our thoughts with vaine and wicked pleasure with infidelitie consent to euill and that he poyson not our wordes with vanitie iniuries detraction lies false othes and blasphemie nor infect our workes or actions with ipocrisie or dissembled intention nor by any other trangression of Gods commaundements This wicked spirite hath stretched out his snares in all places and dispersed his poyson throughout the worlde he entrapped Eue in the earthly paradise and poysoned hir with lust of glory which as an infection hee hath earst distilled into infinit nations and persons his ginnes are so suttlely wrought and layd that they are espied and auoyded of none but such as are humble and lowly such as liue in continuall contemplation of Gods wisedome and his holy feare such as resolued into spirite haue no conuersation with the flesh and the world such as are strōg in fayth and of that immouable loue to God that they take no other pleasure but to do his commaūdements Suche doeth the spirit and wisdome of God instruct to espie and breake his suttle snares and giue them remedies against the poyson of that venemous basiliske Touching amitie cyuill which we get by societie of studie by coniunction of life and similitude of estates and functions or in recompence of benefits we may conioyne it with the Christian amitie by the which it hath his confirmation and is made better and more agreable to God By this if I loue better him that is thus my frend then an other professed vnto me by cōmon Christian amitie I do no wronge to no Christian frēd for the I take nothing from him of the which is his I mean of the which I owe him in true spiritual loue in the same sort the loue natural is not deminished by the christiā amitie but is made more firme spiritual as the Christiā Father louing better his owne sonne then an other childe forgetts not for all that to expresse effectes of Christian amitie to the other So that by this loue parents kindred and Christian neighbours may loue one an other with greater loue and yet do no wronge to others touching the zeale which they ought to beare them as we sée by the comparison of the fier where in is resembled charitie and perfect Christian loue which béegins first to heat and burne those thinges that are presented nearest to it I will not hold for all this that in case of election of a magistrate friendship is to be expressed for that there perticuler amitie shoulde giue place to publike friendship as where is more neede of vertue veritie and iustice then of singuler loue onely for as vertue being deuine is and ought to to be preferred afore all humaine affections So he in whome is most reputation of wisdome learning ' integritie iustice although he stand to vs neyther in parentage nor kindred yet for the friendship we beare to the publike or common weale ought to haue our voyce to the state of magistrate And in case of iudgment the father being iudge ought not to be partiall to his childe his kinsman his frend nor dearest familiar For there perticuler friendship giuing place to publike regarde hath no respect to affectiō but to reason right and iustice And séeing as hath ben sayde that amitie aswell naturall as ciuill ought to be ruled by christian frendship and that directed according to the will and comaundement of God with whome sinne is condemned and detested we ought to beare to our frend no percialitie of fauor support nor councell to the hurt or dishonor of an other much lesse obey his fancie plesure or will so far furth as it may bring detriment to the estate of his soule we must not flatter him to the ende to please him in any thing dishonest or vniust much lese heare or incline to him in any thing against God or the puritie of our conscience which we are bound to kéepe altogether to God The gréeke prouerb is the we ought to loue one an other euen to the alter the is so far forth as God be not offended eyther by othe or other vice no who maketh a lie to further the benefit of his frend yea or to fauor his owne life offends God what interest soeuer it bear to father or mother magistrate Kinge or Emperour ¶ How a common weale is gouernened and wherein it erreth Chapter iiij IN al estates in their particular function discharge
that happen in the world they are alreadie well proued to discend directly from God and not by any prouidence of fortune as the Epicuriens and Atheists of our time beleue nor fatally according to the opinion of the infidels togither with the Astrologians who attribute all to their aspects constellations oppositions and reuolutions of starres and much lesse according to the philosophicall perswasion of the Phisitions bringing in the alterations and corruption of Elements and naturall bodies not raising vp their spirites to the consideration of the deuine prouidence that the soule gouernes not better all the parts of our humane body then the great God rules measures this huge world not suffring the least herb or plant to moue or grow without feeling his vertue and power Nor little bird to fall vppon the branch of any trée without the prouidence and will of that omnipotent mouer of all things nor lastly the least haire of our head which is not kept in reckoning by him The Phisitions or later Philosophers do oftentimes beguile themselues by the second causes as making them the imediat or first causes of any euill that hapneth which is a kind of infidelitie not fixing their iudgmeÌ„ts but on things which they see as when the South wind hot and moyst hath blowne much most commonly in a yere when ponds lakes and fennes are corrupted when in a dearth of vittailes people are constrayned to eate vnseasonable meates when the ayre is close and giues out an euill seat when the winter contrary to his nature is hot and sootie when many vile and vememous beastes engender vppon the earth and caterpillers frogges and other vermine fall out of the ayre when such signes appeare the Phisitions say they are the cause of plague sicknes not considering that GOD vseth these second causes ordeyned by his prouidence as instruments and manifest signes of the same prouidence that for this reason By those signes he giues warning to the world that he prepareth to execute his iustice vppon people nations and by these foretokens inuites and aduertiseth men to fall to submission and supplication for pardon to the end he thunder not suddenly his ful indignatioÌ„ rigor vppon sinnes A child séeing his father prepare rods and bindes them shake them in his hand hath to thinke that he hath offended the time of his scourging draweth neare and therfore in feare teares humilitie he ought to fall prostrate afore the knées of his father as we haue afore aduised By these meanes sayth Joel what know we if God of nature good and reconcileable to our vices wil be conuerted and aforde grace at the least he will not condemne our soules if with a changed harte we performe action of penance when the Prince by long counsell and aduise causeth to be erected in many publike places of his Realmes great scaffoldes gibbets and the instruments of torment such as haue offended the law haue no meane to flée what other thing can they thinke of this preparation then a resolute purpose of the Prince to execute smarting iustice vppon them great is their present feare but farre greater the griefe displeasure which they ought to haue of their offences ought they not to call into practise all meanes seruing for their deliuery yea if they tary till they be led to the scaffold their haÌ„ds and feete bound with other attires of high offenders being ready to be offred to the execution there is small hope or expectation of mercie let them go themselues with their halters about their neckes and taking their best frieÌ„ds to solicit in their intercession to the Prince let them discouer true effects of contricion and imploring the frée mercy of the Prince let theÌ„ offer restitution to the parties offended and better obedience and behauior here after in them selues so shall they with Dauid not suffer the vtter most rigor of iustice or els auoid it altogither as the Jsraelites escaped it in the time of Jonathas the Niniuits also by their seuere woÌ„derful penaÌ„ce eueÌ„ so al these second causes are but signes instruments of Gods iustice tokens preparations and fore shewes as according to the examples of the rodds skafoldes and gibbets by the which he declares his anger and disposicion to punish sin The semblance that is made the preparation and the rod as they are no causes of gods iustice but it is for the punishment of our sinnes that execution is so aparantly prepared So after such shewes and warnings doeth not the Father begin to scourge his sonne Doth he lay aside the rod afore he sée the amendment of his sonne or at least some hope that he will coreâ—t him selfe and not returne eftsoones to his naughtines The childe can not accuse the rod as the cause of his scourging much lesse the trée where it was gotten and least of all his father that layd one the lashes But entring in to the vew and iudgment of his owne life let him accuse himselfe and saye that his sinne is the first cause of the euill that he suffereth For if he had done well because the lawe is not to punish the iuste he had not feared that rod as in déed to speak properly he feareth it not though he haue offended but feares his father which holdes it in his hand since the rod can do him no harme if he be reconsiled to his father ¶ To remedie all euils the causes must be taken away the discrtion and wisdome requisite there vnto Chapter viij I Would we were as good Philosophers touching our faith as Phisicions be in their medicines and phisick Then would we apply as good spiritual cures against sinne as by them are ministred temporall remedies to heale and preserue bodies from diseases They assone as they deserne the second causes of a sicknes apply present prouision to the place where they remaine they minister purgations to kepe bodies from corruption by euill humors they cause the stréets and straight corners of the towne to be clensed lest the ayer congeale infectioÌ„ they make fiers abroad to mortefie and purge euill smells and within howses disperse and strew perfumes They prescribe sobrietie and forbid excesse they banish all vnsauerie meates bringe in abstinence from cohabitacion they apoynt Methredat and other preseruatiues and giue order to weare Rue and other strong hearbs proper against the Plague In like sort if we vsed spirituall meanes to kéepe vs from euill doing we should with the fact of sinne auoid also the perills miseries that are brought with it yea if assone as we deserned the second causes threatning signes of the vengance of God we would purge our selues of all wicked affections and vices not suffer in our commoÌ„ weale impunitie of sinne but performe one holy and generall conuertion and conuersation according to christianitie we should not only tourne away the hand of God from vs but eftsones restablish his gracious
more often reproches yea being euen as little martyrs so there is no profession wherein are lesse faultes For the Masters séeking but to comunicate their learning with their disciplrs neuer endure their vices if they speake euill they correct them if they do euill they are punished they neuer giue them libertie of idlenes though they allow times of necessary recreation In this estate is nothing but chastitie for which cause they are called Pallas and the Muses being Mayds by which occasion not without cause the Poets fained Pallas the Goddes of wisedome and mayde with hir nine mayden sisters the Muses who also as they signifie the exercise of sciences contayning in it virginitie and perpetuall honestie so they are called sisters as being all of one mutuall societie and indiuidible coniunction There is no thing but vertue and godlines in a schoole and therfore it deserues well to be called a religion if in any bookes of the pagans there be wordes vnciuill bearing to vnchast loue or expressing nombers of Goddes the schollers are aduertised by their tutors that they are spéeches of infidelles which knew not God and therfore in taking the rose they may leaue the thornes and being taught the good they are also warned from that which is euill What resteth now more to be alleadged of these detractors and scoffers of the estate of schoolemasters so noble and happie and almost the generall cause of all the benefites that are done in the worlde where they being men of vaine and light spirites are also a people vnprofitable and a burden and charge to the earth Rattes and deuowring vermin of the garnors of good men bycause they haue not passed by good schooles where with ciuilitie in spéech and life they might haue learned some Art profitable to their countrey and honorable to themselues when they die they cannot leaue any testimonie that they liued vppon the earth for that to them posteritie can prescribe no memorie of god These scoffers by contempt call schoolemasters Magisters and Dominos which turnes as a glory to them for that they haue those names common with Iesus Christ saying to his Disciples you call me Magister and Domine sum etenim so schoolemasters are Magistri by the state of their teaching and Domini for that they commaund their disciples and giue lawes to their affections and lustes where those dispisers of good men for whom according to Salomon the terrible iudgements of God are prepared are thralles and slaues to their passions yea it is to be feared that they are euen the bondmen of Sathan whom they obey and are the executors of his commaundements whereof the greatest and most pernicious is to contemne the good sort and vex with violence and wrong men of learning and vertue being an estate that most batter the kingdome of Sathan bring ruine to his tirannie But notwithstanding their scoffes and vaine impediments they are both Lords and Masters as exercising both authoritie and discipline in their iurisdiction of their small common weale aswell as the greatest Magistrate of the earth and to scoffe with those scoffers we may say they haue their scepture in hand with distribucion of high inferior Iustice for they condemne iustefie and absolue when they condemne there is no appeale yea there is such direct pollecie in their coÌ„mon weale that it suffreth neither disorder nor confusion where it is hard to these inciuill iesters to put order in their small families compounded perhaps but vppon two or thrée persons but crying some times as the blind man wheÌ„ he hath lost his staffe strike sometimes without measure or reason reaping by their disorder a gréeuous curse to themselues and families whereuppon is no great cause of merueile for that being not hable to gouerne themselues for want of discipline they haue lesse capacitie to rule others For end let them remember the sentence of Seneca that euill doth he merit to commaunde others which hath not himselfe liued long vnder the discipline of good Masters and learned to obey their commaundements So that with Salomon I may aunswere them at full that a wicked man can not but leade his toung in wickednes and who abhorres good men are detested of God. An exhortation to young children to studie Chapter xiiij MOreouer waighing with the comon benefitts comming to comonweals the sweet profitts that growe to singuler men by learning I exhorte all young men to the studie of the same their nature speciallie inclining and their abillitie consenting making coÌ„scieÌ„ce to lose one only minute of time according to the examples and counsel of Theophrastus and Plinie Whereof as the on in saying time was a most precius expense signified the no more ought men to consume vainly the least parte of time then to make prodigall expenses or wast of a most delicat meate so the other held all times lost which were not imployed in studie the same being the cause that he would not suffer his reader to repeat to him one word twise alleging that it hindred his time to passe further and learn that which yet he knew not where â—he consented with the moste part of all wise men whose opinions were that in all things ought we to be liberal sauing of our honor time in which two things being so precious we ought to be so sparing as not to be prodigall in eyther of them not to our very frinds But to come to knowledg and vertu they must first demaund them of God who is the only disposer of theÌ„ the lord sayeth Salomon giues wisdom and knowleg and discresion comes from his mouth who hath néed of wisdome let him aske it of God sayeth S. James who giues it abundauntly and reprocheth none of that he giues them but enioyneth them to humilitie for on the humble and méek he bestowes his grace secondly it is necesarie to take suche masters as we haue described good learned diligent and discret Thirdly ther must be aplied great labors and seruis trauell which abeit séem heuy and painfull at the beginning yet after the first taste be past they shall féele a most swéet iuyce or likquor in the frute of lerning for which cause Jsocrates resembled learning to a trée whose root is sower and the barke bitter but in the frutes is a most pleasant delightfull tast Plutarch wills men not to stick at the labor that brings any great or excellent benefitt for with the infinitt and glorius recompence afore God and the whole worlde of suche labor the custome of those paines makes the burthen easie which was right aptly aduised of Cato that vertu hath hir exercise in hard trauells which passe away but the frute ther of remaines eternall being a perpetuall inward delight of the mind of man Therfore muche less that labor ought to terifie or with draw young witts from studie but in the consideration of knowledg accompanied with profitt pleasure glorie and immortall name ther is great cause to
conuite them to a voluntari forwardnes besides that by custom those labors are made easte and pleasant conteyning in them a feeding delight the same iudgment may be made of vertu of whom learning is the norsse and most faithfull preseruation which is the reason that as a man riseth in knowledg so he encreseth in studie more then at the beginning And being come to greater skill he féeles not at all the grauitie of his paines for that inward delight of mind which he findes therin and so aspiring as it weare in an ambicius zeal to learning he findes that the knowledg he hath gotten is nothing in regard of that which he is ignorant of according to the aunswer of Socrates that his knowledg was yet nothing in comparison of his ignorance Fourthly to attaine to lerning it is expedient to vse with the labor you take inteligence or vnderstanding of that you learne order of studies repeticion conference and exercise of memorie and stile Intelligence aides the iudgement order repeticion or conference and stile frame the memorie which of all other faculties of the mind is most necessary to knowledge as being the gardien or kéeper of them for as the immagination aprehendes the vnderstanding comprehendes debats and iudgeth So the memorie reteins as a tresur coÌ„serues what so euer is heard seen and red And to haue a good memorie it ss necessary to vnderstand perfectly that is learned seing to things well vnderstand memorie is a faithfull and plentifull storehowse order serueth as an artificiall memoriall which was familier with Symonides and for that he was iudged to excell in memorie Repeticion engraueth the impression of things which you will reteine and therfore if was a custome amongest the folowers of Pythagoras to repeat euery day that which they learned the day before which made them aboue al other Philosophers most singuler in knowledg as indéed we know nothing but what we haue committed to the gard and kéeping of our memorie for if wée haue learned much at times and do not retain it we cannot say we know it if we cannot remember it and apply it as the occasion of our purpose requiers no more then that man may be called riche which gained much in times past and kept little but better may he be estéemed welthy who hauing got much hath of that to serue his vse plentifully do pleasure to his frieÌ„ds So that aboue all let young wittes exercise their memorie by diligent and perfect intelligence of the whiche they studie then by exact meditation and after by repeticion in them selues or conference with their companions not learning that which they doe not communicate or dispute with an other the better to commit it to writing or else reduce it into common places which wil be to them as certaine perpetuall memorialles The woll must lye long in the dye the better to take a continuall cooller other wayes much lesse that it wold be dyed to an excellent and lasting hew but of the contrarie the cooller would be course and yet fade quickly it is then requisite that tutors who haue iudgement for their Disciples applie carefully these meanes or better if they know any for the better institution of their schollers not doubting but that memorie as doth the spirite is quickned by that exercise and séemes to rise into dayly encrease by that meane euen vntill it touche the type of singular perfection There bée that haue readie wittes and sharpe memories by nature but nature without art without doctrine and exercise is a thing maimed and vnperfect but hauing the ayde of these it yéeldes wonderfull fruite euen as the fertill ground wel tilled fructifieth the better without which industrie it would yéeld an vnprofitable haruest to the owner And as there is no ground so barene by nature which by plowing fatting and laboring is not reduced to some fruiâ—â— by the same reason there can not be such dull wittes and short memories which by the benefits of the meanes aforesaide are not sharpened and made better This I bring in by the way the more to sturre vp young spirites feeling such weaknesse of nature to trauell to correct them by those industries as we read Demosthenes by importunat and continuall laboures reformed so well his vice of nature being giueÌ„ to stutt and very vnapt to learne that he came to excell euen the most excellent Orators of his tyme In this sorte then both the one and the other young wittes aswell sharpe and forwarde as slowe and dull are exhorted to gette knowledge for the which togither with actes of true vertue they are truely acknowledged worthie of the name of men as without them they are but creatures masked rather then men neither worthy of worldly honor nor resolued of the certaine meane to their saluation and much lesse able to comprehende what God is knowledge will enable them and set them oute to what estate they like to follow and bring them honor though they will not make exercise of learning And besides the pleasure they shall receyue by it swéet profite and assured honor yea be it that they professe estate of armes a lyfe séeming farre estraunged from learning euen there also doctrine giues the greatest ayde according to the fame of the Athenian Captaines who being learned men brought foorth actes more valiant and wonderful then others and by learning the great Alexander Caesar Augustus amongest other princes most learned haue brought no small renowne to their enterprises and actes of warre For this cause the poetes haue fayned Pallas signifying science armed and as a leader of a campe meaning by that fiction that an armie is most suerly guyded by Captaines learned as in whom resteth most suttle and sharp spirites and a settled iudgement of all the pollicies and strategemes of other auncient Captaines conquering townes couÌ„treys and kingdomes Besides this the memorie of such valiaunt actes would perish were not for the writings of learned men who being Captaines as Thucidides Iulius Caesar and Iosephus or at the least men at armes as Salust haue a better order of descriptioÌ„ then such as know nothing but by heare say to such as hold that learning make mennes mindes fearfull to much deliberate or thoughtfull it may be aunswered that in the liberall and noble minds it rather workes an effect of greater courage as is most certaine in the former examples And touching thought it is necessarie to coÌ„sider with aduise when where and howe to direct attemptes of warre wherein as it is found true in common experience that councell and discretion in warres do more then force so it falles out most commonly that battailes gouerned with rashe boldnes bringe foorth vnhappie issues where wisedom ruling fortune séemes to goe with Gods deliberat prouidence For a last prayse of learning in attemptes of warre we finde that the Lacedemonians painted the nyne Muses armed declaring that men of knowledge doe then best dispose and instruct in warres when