days of her Youth wherein she had plaid the Harlot in the Land of Egypt Yea perhaps this guilt will be found in some respects greater than the first because it 's likely that then there was less knowledge and more temptation than now there is This contemplative wickedness nails on the former guilt and contracts more this demonstrates that the man would be always sinning if he could and that he is a meer stranger to true Repentance I deny not but that the first sudden glance of the memory upon former Vanities may be pleased but 't is only a surprize every pious Soul hath them still in remembrance and is humbled in it Thus Holy Augustine in his Confessions reflects upon his Robbing an Orchard in his younger days with all the heart-breaking Aggravations imaginable Thus Holy David cryes out Psal. 25. 7. Remember not the Sins of my Youth nor my Transgressions Labour you to write after their Copies let the remembrance of your former follies be always bitter never dwell upon the thoughts of them but with a Sigh O what a Fool what a Beast have I been O what have I done I am asham'd yea even confounded because I bear the reproach of my Youth Jerem. 31. 19. Make not the Wound to bleed again by rubbing it afresh lest it fester and grow incurable at length Let it appear some way that it is not want of power but want of will that makes you Sober A diligent care to avoid the Sins of your present Age and State will be a good proof that you would not commit the faults that are past if you were to live over your life again A better Life is the best Repentance And so much shall suffice upon this unpleasant but necessary Subject concerning the Sins of Old-age which as they should be matter of our hearty Grief so they should be the subject of our holy Iealousy and continual Caution For tho perhaps we may not be guilty in them all yet it is as unlikely that we are clear in all So that whereinsoever the Spirit of God hath in these Papers or otherwise found us out it is our indispensable duty to watch and pray with all seriousness and constancy against the same and tho they be rooted never so deep we must mortify and pluck them up tho we should they are grave Seneca's words pluck our very Hearts up with them For as one Disease is sufficient to kill the Body so any one Sin unmortified is able to send Body and Soul into Hell. On the other hand it will be one special token that we are upright before God when we keep our selves from our own Iniquity Psal. 18. 23. And yet this is but the one half of our bounden Duty For if you pluck up all the Weeds out of your Garden it will be but a desart place unless you procure some Herbs and Flowers therein so tho we should clear our Hearts of these Vices we shall have but naked and empty Souls unless we be furnished with such Graces as are proper for us which is the next point now to be treated of CHAP. IV. The Graces of Old-age SECT I. FOrasmuch as Old-age is liable to so many vicious Habits it greatly concerns all that are in Years to excell in some eminent Qualifications which may praeponderate the other or else Old-age would be a Miserable Age indeed Now tho we may well hope that they having been so long in Christs School have throughly learned Christ that they are indued with every Grace and instructed to every good work yet there be some Peculiar Graces wherein the Aged do or should excell Not that any of them is confined to Gray Hairs alone for as all the Sins above-mentioned may be found in those that are young so also the following Graces do apparently shine in many of them whereby they promise a plentiful Harvest in after-time if they hold on or mend For alas to speak the plain truth too few possess them all and too many are strangers to them all And therefore where I describe them with the following Excellencies understand it rather by way of Instruction in what they should be than by way of Assertion of what they are and you must remember also that the Denomination is à parte potiori the better sort have them and all should endeavour after them for since they are actually possessed by some they may be certainly obtained by all The First Grace most proper for Old-age is Knowledge They have or might have a great measure of all kind of Knowledge having read so much in the Book of Nature and in the Book of Providence But there is a nobler Object of their Knowledge which is God himself his Word and his Ways Herein the Aged person hath been versed for a long time 1 Ioh. 2. 13. I write unto you Fathers because you have known him that is from the beginning There is no Truth Duty Case Sin or Temptation but they have either heard or read something concerning it and that often and therefore must be supposed to have a more clear and distinct knowledge in all these things than younger people Young people think that they know much but Old people cannot chuse but sigh and smile at their ignorance They find that the more Knowledge they have the more Ignorance they discover in themselves and wherein they have been confident in their younger years they see cause to alter their sentiments afterwards For Knowledge is either Infused or Acquired by Study Reading and Converse In these the Aged must needs out-strip the Young as having been much longer conversant in the use of them and for the former the Holy Ghost doth commonly impart these Habits in the use of means and so every way the Old man hath the advantage in this accomplishment Now Knowledge is that wherein the Image of God partly consists it is the glory of Angels and it is the honour of Man. Those therefore were a strange sort of Friars in Italy that Luther writes of call'd Fratres Ignorantiae that took a solemn Oath that they would know nothing at all but answer to all questions with Nescio unless men were resolved to renounce both Divinity and Humanity at once No doubtless saving Knowledge is to the Soul as the Eye to the Body of great excellency and of great use 'T is this that Crowns the hoary head and conveys Beauty unto wrinkles Prov. 14. 18. The prudent are crowned with knowledge It s true many there are who have tasted of the Tree of Knowledge that have never tasted of the Tree of Life and knowledge of it self puffeth up so that a man may have all knowledge and yet no Charity 1 Cor. 13. 2. Yet as it is true there may be much knowledge without a grain of Grace so it is certain there cannot be one spark of Grace without Knowledge For how shall a Man know Sin unless he understand the Law of
That 's the happy man either young or old who is like Athanasius Magnes Adamas of a temper and converse to attract Love and Respect and yet of Principles and Resolutions to withstand in a good cause all opposition The weakness of your Limbs and Senses should be compensated with stability and strength in your Spirit The Aged mind alone grows young We faint not saith the Apostle but as the outward man perisheth so should your inward man be renewed day by day 2 Cor. 4. 16. For this purpose you should weigh and examine your Principles well Those of Religion by the Rule of the Scriptures those of humane Life in the scales of Reason and having once well fixt them alter them not upon every Suggestion The manifest cause of most mens Unstedfastness both in Iudgment and Practice is their rash embracing of those Points that should have been well weighed at the first for what they have swallowed down by Wholesale they will Vomit up again by Retail in time of tryal My Lord Verulam's observation is very true He that begins in doubts will end in certainties and he that begins in certainties will end in doubts Add to this a conscionable Practice of your sound and honest Principles This will acquaint you with that comfort and sweetness which will stablish your mind in them more and more A rotten Heart is apt to produce a giddy Head whereas righteousness both directs and keeps him that is upright in the way Prov. 11. 5. with chap. 13. 6. All the parts and learning in the World will not fix the Head and Heart like Sincerity It is good that the Heart be established with Grace Heb. 13. 9. Experience in Religion will make you stedfast in Religion And lastly Pray earnestly unto God to make you stedfast See how emphatically the Apostle Paul mentions this 2 Thes. 2. 17. Now our Lord Iesus Christ himself and God even our Father stablish you For we are weak Creatures yea Knowledge and Grace are but Creatures but earnest Prayer will ingage the help and support of Almighty God who can and will stablish strengthen settle you 1 Pet. 5. 10. SECT VI. THE Sixth Grace wherein Old-age doth or snould excell is Temperance and Sobriety That 's the Injunction of the Apostle Tit. 2. 2. That the Aged men be sober grave temperate By this Temperance I understand that Fruit of the Spirit which bridleth our inordinate affections in all outward mercies or more strictly which observes a right mean in desiring and using the Pleasures of the Senses and so in respect of Meat it is Abstinence in respect of Drinking Sobriety in respect of other carnal pleasures Chastity All these the Temperate man curbs by holy Reason and by holy Force Hereby he stiâ—…es the inordinate Desire and restrains the Use within its due bounds he mortifies the unlawful and moderates the lawful pleasures and recreations of the Body He neither absolutely refuseth them nor inordinately desireth or useth them Now this Grace is very proper tho not peculiar to Old-age They especially do or ought to excell herein There is indeed a Proverbial saying that Wine is the Milk of Old-men some intemperate men there may be of every age but God forbid that this Proverb should be adaequate to Old-age True it is that where there be the decays of Nature there is more need of reparation and that the most reviving means are expedient for that end Whereupon Plato permits ancient persons to drink more liberally to alleviate their troubles and to soften their Spirits as Iron is softned by the Fire But commonly the Aged are by Gods Grace weaned from the excesses of Youth The Lusts of the Flesh the Lust of the Eyes and the Pride of Life have too usually their distinct Seasons of rule or at least molestation in the Soul of man. And the First having had its course in the time of Youth its reign is expired and the Aged must now combate thâ—… other Two as well as he can The Decays of natural strength are great helps to the Old-mans Temperance he cannot if he would Eat and Drink and act his Lust as heretofore and altho this Inability doth not make him a Temperate man yet hereby the Discontinuance of the Acts weaken the Habit and his contentedness therewith and his hearty thankfulness for this reformation may be accounted real Temperance especially when he can reflect upon his former disorders with Grief Hatred and Shame Now they find by experience that a man may live more comfortably and healthfully with less Meat less Drink and less Sleep than young people indulge themselves withal and other carnal pleasures are indifferent to them because desire doth fail and it is much better and easier to want desires than to fulfill them as it is far better not to Itch than to have the pleasure of scratching where it itcheth But now the pious Old person hath really crucified the Flesh with the Affections and Lusts His Sins did not leave him but he hath left them They have not heard and read the Scripture so long in vain which every where disgraceth and condemneth all excess and riot all Chambering and Wantonness and obligeth all Christians to deny themselves and to pluck out the right Eye that doth offend them They have found by experience that as true Vertue so true Satisfaction is only found in a Mediocrity and that all extremes and inordinacies are offensive both to the Mind and Body I said of Laughter it is mad and of Mirth what doth it Eccles. 2. 2. This was the Verdict which wise Solomon brought in his Old-age when he had not withheld his Heart from any joy c. yet then he concludes all was vanity and vexation of Spirit and there was no profit under the Sun Eccles. 2. 10. Besides they who have lived long have seen the woful Effects of Drunkenness Uncleanness and Luxury how many Bodies they have destroyed how many Estates and Families they have ruined and what small pity the miserable Spend-thrift meets with in those persons and places where he hath consumed his substance These and such like observations have contributed to the Aged mans Sobriety they have been Pillars of Salt to him So that any Licenciousness in a person of Years as it is most pernicious to him so it is intolerable to him It makes them the objects both of laughter scorn and detestation Every excess in them debilitates their Nature sullies their Reputation and shakes their Grace exceedingly When Old people fall they fall with a great weight and are crush'd more than younger people and perhaps they have more difficulty to rise again Far more excuses are found for the Lapses of young people than can be pretended by the Aged their faults are crimes and their crimes are prodigies As their Diseases so their Exorbitances are far more dangerous Let it therefore be your constant care to keep your selves within the bounds
fail us our Skin to wrinkle and the pillars of the house to tremble we should mourn for that woful Disobedience and Ingratitude which was the Original cause of the decayes of Nature When your Eyes cannot do you service in Seeing let them do it in Weeping for this root of sin and misery Say not that you are unconcern'd in what was done by another time out of mind For certainly we should never feel the effects which we daily find to cur smart if we had no hand in the procuring cause of them They who would perswade you that no sin is inherent in you but that its only contracted by imiâ—…ation and custome must needs yield that the Decayes the â—…eebleness and the Dyscrasy even of the temperatest man in the world must proceed from some wound upon humane nature which the Creator would never have inflicted without a fault O therefore let us not only lament our Actual and daily offences but let us go up to the Spring and bewail that first rebellion which is the root of evil both of sin and punishment I say again when thy bones ake and when thy hand shakes let thy heart mourn for the Sin that hath poyson'd thy nature and made thee miserable The body which was the Instrument in the crime is justly the Subject in the punishment SECT II. THE Second which is the Immediate and Natural Cause of Old-age is the Dryness and Coldness of the Temperament of the Body There is according to the Old Philosophy a certain Native Heat and Radical Moisture ingenerated in all mankind at their Conception whereby Life is preserved The one is like the Flame the other like the Orl that feeds it Diseases and Disasters are like a Thief in the Candle that makes it wast the sooner but if no such thing happen yet the Lamp will consume and at last extinguish All the supplies of Food and Physick are not able to maintain nor repair that Heat nor that Moisture but a cold and dry temper grows upon the Body till it be quite exhaust and wasted It is true some there be who have derived to them from their Progenitors a greater measure of radical Heat and Moisture and therewith more lively and vigorous Spirits and these meeting with no external Inconveniences do continue longer in their strength as may be observed in some Families every where as some generous Wines will preserve themselves from decay much longer than others but at length they grow acid and spiritless so in tract of time that Moth of Mortality which lurks in all our Bodies will fret that Garment into Rags Things which are Compounded must dissolve contrary Qualities in the same Subject tho never so equally temper'd will work out one another No care or Art can preserve these Houses of Clay for as much as their foundation is in the Dust Job 4. 19. SECT III. THE Third sort of Causes which may be termed Preternatural and Adventitious that do accelerate or hasten Old-age some of them are such as these 1. Unwholsome Air. For the Air being the constant Food of the Vital parts must needs contribute much to the Repair or Decay of the Body and the more impure it is must consequently impair and weaken it Hence and from the Corruption of Food it is not improbable that the Age of Man after the Deluge became so much diminished insomuch as Arphaxad who was the first-born in the New World lived scarce half so long as those before the Flood as appears by comparing Gen. 5. 27. with Gen. 11. 13. the Air being now become more impure and unwholsome than it was before However it is most evident that people do commonly at this day grow weak crazy and impotent who live in those places which mourn under a malignant Air and others are fresh and lusty at the same years that injoy the blessing of a purer breathing 2. Secondly Diseases are another Cause that brings on Old-age For these must needs weaken that strength of Nature whereby our life is supported Psal. 39. 11. When thou with rebukes dost correct man for Iniquity thou makest his Beauty to consume away like a Moth and not only his Beauty but his Strength and Spirits for the Hebrew runs there Thou makest that which is desirable in him to melt away And thus it was with holy Iob. Thou hast filled me with wrinkles which is a witness against me Job 16. 8. His grievous Distempers had made him old before his time Thus we daily see divers persons who in respect of the number of theiâ—… years have not pass'd the Meridian of their Age yet by reason of their Sicknesses and especially the Dregs which some kinds of them do leave behind them are old in their very Youth These are like Storms without which battering the best built House will the sooner bring it unto ruin Holy David said of himself Psal. 119. 83. I am become like a Bâ—…tle in the Smoak that is my natural moisture is dryed burnt up and withered And Hezekiah by reason of sickness complains Mine Age is departed and is removed from me as a Shepherds Tent Isa. 38. 12. Thus the Lord doth sometimes weaken a mans strength in the way and shortneth his days Psal. 102. 23. implying that a mans life is like a Iourney through this into a another World now by Diseases he weakens us in the way as we are travelling through the World causes us to commence Old per saltum and shortens our days so that by this means some have but a winters day of life while others injoy a longer 3. Thirdly Another Cause which hastens Old age is immoderate Care or Labour Each of these when they exceed a due proportion do exhaust the Spirits and produce early wrinkles whenas being moderately used they do us no hurt but good It is indeed a part of the Curse pronounced at the Fall on Adam and all his posterity Gen. 3. 19. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou return unto the ground and the carking Heart and sweating Face hastens man to the Ground One of these alone immoderate Care or immoderate Labour will do the work but when the mind within is eaten up by continual thoughtfulness and the Body without is harrast with extreme Labours no wonder that Weakness Languishment and Old-age hasten on a pace then doth our strength give place to labour and sorrow for it is soon cut off and we fly away Psal 90. 10. Great indeed is mens folly thus to ruin themselves sith it is certain that neither our immoderate cares nor our immoderate labour do us any good at all less Care and more Prayer would avail us much more yea and they do us much hurt they disquiet the Mind they disturb the Body they provoke God to leave us to our selves and then we shall soon find that it is vain to rise early to sit up late and to eat the Bread of Sorrow whereas the blessing of
the Lord it maketh rich and he addeth no Sorrow with it Prov. 10. 22. Assure your selves if moderate care and labour will not bring in Riches then they are not good for you and whatsoever is gained otherwise hath a Curse in it and will bring misery on the Body or on the Soul here or hereafter 4. A Fourth Cause which hastens Old-age is Intemperance that is excess in Eating or in Drinking or in lustful Embraces Any of these especially the last do bring Old-age into youthful years Sad it is that our Life being in its utmost extent so short and our Bodies by nature so frail we that have a desire to live and who for that end will be content to use the most irksome remedies should yet so commonly invite distempers by our Luxury and so shamefully dig our Graves with our Teeth and deprive our selves of the residue of our years In so much that altho in St. Hieroms time he affirmed that there were reckoned five thousand Martyrs for every day in the Year save one yet we may sadly conclude that Bacchus and Venus have had daily more Martyrs if we may so call them in one place or other of the World than Iesus Christ. In this sense doth Seneca truly say Non accepimus brevem vitam sed fecimus From whence come for the most part those pains of the Gout Stone Dropsy Convulsions and Apoplexies with such other Distempers but from Intemperance in some of the foresaid Objects A moderate use of Meat Drink and conjugal rights as it doth tend much to the alacrity of the mind so doth it no less to the Health of the Body but excess in any of them doth either suffocate Nature or else impoverish and exhaust it as it is observed of the more lecherous Creatures that they are short-liv'd in comparison of others If therefore you would arrive at a good Old-age good in respect of the comfort of the Mind or in respect of the welfare of the Body oppose and check your unruly Appetites resolve with the Grace of God Hitherto thou shalt come and no further conclude I am a Man yea a Christian and not a Brute and consequently am not to be guided by Sense but by Reason and Religion which teach me to use all these outward comforts so far as they will promote the Glory of my Maker and the present and future good of my Body and Soul. 5. Fifthly Inordinate Passions of the mind are another means to bring on Old-age such as Anger especially Sorrow For these do manifestly prey upon the Spirits and also produce such bodily Distempers as do hurry people into Old-age before their time Hence it was that Valentinian the Emperor by an excessive straining of his Voice in an angry reply against some Offenders fell into a grievous Fever which at length brought him to his End. And for Sorrow the wisest of men tells us Prov. 15. 13. A merry Heart maketh a chearful Countenance but by Sorrow of the Heart the Spirit is broken And when the Spirit is broken the Body must sensibly wast and decay For these Passions like a Torrent or Land flood break down and overthrow all before them you know a River while it proceeds with its usual stream passes harmlesly yea profitably through all the Fields and Meadows and makes no breaches on the Banks on either side but when a suddain and excessive Rain swells it up then it lays about it without mercy and tears up the Ground the Fences and Trees on every side And even so our Passions being moderate are innocent and useful but he that hath no rule over his own Spirit is like a Flood of Water broke loose or like a City that is broken down and without Walls Yea there have been Instances of such as by sudden Grief have grown Gray in a few days time and there be hundreds that carry the Badge of their great Sorrows on their Heads long before a due course of years would have brought them Let us not therefore suffer these Vultures to feed upon our Hearts nor yield our selves Slaves to these unruly Passions which war not only against the Soul but even against the Body and will ruin both except they be restrained and mortified by the Grace of God. Philosophy hath gone far in this work God forbid but that Christianity should go much further There are also other both Moral and Natural Causes of Old-age but these may suffice The curious may satisfie themselves elsewhere And by these Causes you may easily discern what are the best Preservatives against Old-age For tho no Art or Care can prevent the unavoidable access thereof yet effectual Means may be used to deferr it 'T is true Galen tells us of a Philosopher who affirm'd that there was a way to prevent it and wrote a Book of it when he was forty years old but the said Author takes notice that when he was arriv'd to eighty he was wasted to skin and bones and could not any way cure himself But the most effectual Preservatives are 1. Piety and 2. Sobriety SECT IV. FIrst serious Piety By which I mean a Course of life in the Faith and Fear of God and in holy Obedience unto him This is that Godliness which hath the promises of the life that now is as well as of that which is to come 1 Tim. 4. 8. This is the best Antidote against that Poyson which hath originally infected our Nature and which makes it swarm with Distempers that hurry us to Old-age and Death at last This is certainly the best Means whereby to avoid that fatal Curse so early pronounc'd or else to turn it into a Blessing If thou wilt walk in my ways to keep my Satutes and Commandments then I will lengthen thy days 1 King. 3. 14. What man is he that desireth Life and loveth many days that he may see good Depart from evil and do good c. Psal. 34. 12 14. It is the observation of Hierom and of Origen before him that Abraham is the first person called Old in the Scripture tho Adam and Methuselah and many others were richer than he in years but not in Faith and Obedience I know that some of the worst of men have without this flourished long and some that have been most Religious have withered quickly and therefore do conclude that all such Outward blessings and afflictions are conditionally promis'd and threatned and yet it abides certain that the ordinary way to a vigorous Age and a long Life is the true fear of God and that which makes it short and miserable is Ungodliness And the Holy Scripture is express herein Prov. 10. 27. The fear of the Lord prolongeth days but the years of the wicked shall be shortned For doubtless our Lord God who is the giver of Life is also the Conserver of it and whose word we may rely upon as the best Prescription and Preservative in this case This
instruction of my Children but the prudent Parent will conclude tho some of the best Education do miscarry and some with the worst do flourish yet I ought and will take the likeliest course to bring up my Children in the fear of God Even so in this case the Old-age and Death do seize upon divers pious and circumspect persons as soon or before they come upon others yet is it the Interest and Duty of all such as regard God or wish well to themselves to use the fittest means to preserve their strength and vigour until their time and work be done For it is certain that when the success answers not the means and that Distempers notwithstanding our Piety and Sobriety do overtake us then it is permitted and ordained by the Wisdom of God for the setting forth some way of His Glory and for the real Good of the party affected For an Holy and Good God never makes Exceptions to his General Rules but in Cases reserved for his greater honour and his Servants greater good For all the paths of the Lord tho never so cross and crooked are Mercy I say Mercy and Truth to those that keep his Covenant and his Testimonies Psal. 25. 10. And thus you have had some Account of the true Causes and the best Antidotes against Old-age which is the second Point to be handled CHAP. III. The Sins of Old-age SECT I. I Come in the Third place to treat of the Vices and Sins which are most incident to Old-age for the best Wine that is hath some Dregs And tho there be none of Old-folks Sins but they are found in some Young-folks breasts yet there are some particular vices which are more proper because more common to Aged pesons than to others Nevertheless as the work of Sanctification hath been deeper and the care in Education greater so far the less lyable shall the Aged persons be unto these Corruptions He that bears the Yoke in his youth will be happily fortified against them in his age I do not therefore charge every Old man or woman with the following Faults for many have better learned Christ and are as free from them as any other but for the most part Old people are propense to these Vices First Frowardness or peevishness whereby they are prone to be morose wayward and hard to be pleased easily angry often angry and sometimes angry without a cause Seldom are they pleased with others scarce with themselves no not with God himself yea they think as poor Ionah did that they do well to be angry Too apt they are to aggravate every fault to its utmost dimensions and so never want matter for unquietness Now this is both a Sinful and Miserable distemper It is displeasing to God and it is very uncomfortable both to themselves and to others It s true that Anger in it self is not evil our Blessed Saviour was once angry but it was at Sin and it was accompanied with Grief for the hardness of their Hearts Mark 3. 5. When we are angry at Sin we are angry without Sin. And it is also true that Old people by reason of their knowledge in matters do see more things amiss and blame-worthy more Sin and more evil in Sin than others do and having liberty by reason of their Age and Authority to speak their minds they are too prone to express that which others must digest with silence and withall their bodily distempers dispose them to more testiness than others whose continual health and ease makes their Conversation more smooth and quiet and lastly they discern themselves in some danger of being despis'd and therefore are tempted to preserve their Authority by frequent and keen reproofs and reflexions and so iniquum petunt ut justum ferant they require too much lest they should receive too little But tho these things may abate the faultiness of this Sin yet they are far from being sufficient to justifie the same Say that this froppishness is their Disease rather than their Sin yet the Disease is the effect of Sin and the cause of Sin and Sin it self The mind is distemper'd by it both your own and others the Body is disordered unjustifiable words are spoken the Soul unfitted for any serious devotion and the proper ends of reproof seldom attained for as the wrath of man never works the righteousness of God so it rarely cures the iniquities of men The plaister being too hot burns more than it heals and the frequency of finding fault tempts the faulty to heed it the less yea they are prone to harden themselves in evil by retorting your unquietness upon you as a Sin you live in without reformation Strive therefore against this infirmity pray earnestly unto God for a meek and quiet Spirit connive at smaller slips be not severe against involuntary faults expect not the same Wisdom or Circumspection in young people as you have in so long time attained bridle the first emotions of anger and weigh the nature and quality of a miscarriage before you let fly at it and do not kill a Flea upon the Forehead of your Child or Servant with a Beetle Learn of Plato an Heathen who being incensed at his Servant desir'd his Friend Xenocrates who then came in that he would correct him for now saith he my anger surmounts my reason Or rather go to School to your heavenly Master Christ Iesus who was meek and lowly who being reviled reviled not again and when he suffer'd threatned not Give place to any one rather than to the Devil Resolve if others cross you that yet you will not punish your self for frowardness hurts no body so much as ones self And mortifie Pride from whence for the most part these passions spring for we are apt to assume so much and value our selves so highly that we think every one should humour us and they that expect much will meet with many disappointments Say not that the cure is impossible for in all ages there have been Instances of victories in this case There was Patricius the father of St. Augustine and there was Mr. Calvin both of them naturally of hot and hasty spirits yet did so moderate their temper that an unbeseeming word was scarce ever heard to come from them yea divers of the Heathen were eminent herein and doubtless the Grace of God will not be wanting to you if you sincerely seek it which will of lions make you lambs SECT II. A Second Folly incident to Old-age is Loquacity or Talkativeness that is an exceeding proneness to speak much so that it hath pass'd into a Proverb Senex psittacus an old person is a Parrot Herein they are twice children whose faculty you know lies this way Speech is a most wonderful and excellent Faculty conferr'd only on humane nature and for their common good and it is great pity that it should be abused As our Reason begins to work so our Speech comes in
Experience goes further in all these things than Learning For the Aged and Experienced person having seen such great mistakes in himself and others is cured of that vain Credulity which hath ruin'd young people and having met with so many disappointments in the World is well freed from that carnal Confidence which hath undone others And yet their great Experience of the power and faithfulness of God is a mighty Bulwark to their Faith. As they have heard so have they seen in the City of God what he hath done to vindicate his Attributes and to verify his Promises Hence holy David Psal. 37. 25. I have been young and now am old yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken nor his Seed begging Bread. This was the advantage he had by his Old-age to trace out the Providence of God towards the posterity of good men that walking in their Parents steps they were seldom or never reduced to want at least to common beggery or if so yet were never quite forsaken of God as himself found when though 1 Sam. 21. 3. and 25. 8. he was glad to ask supplies of men yet was he still supported and owned of God. The good Old man can say Thou art my King of old O God Psal. 74. 12. He can say I remembred thy judgments of old O Lord and have comforted my self Psal. 119. 52. And thus he may direct others I will guide thee with my Eye Psal. 32. 8. And thus a man may vindicate and honour God Concerning thy Testimonies I have known of old that thou hast founded them for ever Psal. 119. 152. The unexperienced Newness of any case or trouble is apt to stagger the strongest faith or courage Such things assault a man by way of Surprize but when we have had an experience of them we are corroborated to grapple with them No doubt the first Night was a strange thing to them that had seen nothing but Light before but when when they found by Experience the return of the Light again they could brook it well enough So the Burden that did at first affright us by often carrying it we easily bear it Psal. 63. 7. Because thou hast been my help therefore in the shadow of thy Wings will I rejoyce And it is conceived that this caused David to speak so of Goliahs Sword 1 Sam. 21. 9. There is none like that give it me He might have found another Sword of equal mettle but he had Experience of the goodness of that and so there was none like that From this long Experience the Aged person not only contemns many things which others admire but grows able to give a great guess concerning future events both in publick and particular Cases So that such persons may well be resorted unto as to common Oracles if they have treasured up wisdom according to their years To conclude this there lies a double Duty upon Aged persons in reference hereunto the One is to take due Notice of all such passages of the Providence of God or the Improvidence of men that come within the sphere of their Cognizance and not heedlesly to neglect them another is to store up in their memories such Observations For experience is made up of divers Memories of the same things Psal. 143. 5. I remember the days of old I meditate on all thy works I muse on the work of thy hands And then to produce these in time and place convenient either for their own or others direction caution or consolation SECT III. THirdly another Priviledge of Old-age is That it is freer from Sin. The Corruption of Nature and the Fruits thereof are the great blot and woful plague upon mankind and the first thing which every person arrived at the use of Reason should seriously set about should be to be healed of it But instead of that most people meeting with temptations without them and finding Strength and Youth within them forget the care of their Hereditary Disease and pursue their iniquities with greediness Some are tickled with applause and so they hunt after an airy renown and an ungrounded reputation others let the reins loose to sensual delights and wallow in the pleasures of Sin for a Season Others setting aside all fear of God and love to their Neighbour are set upon Revenge and will run down every one that stands in their way and others hoping for that fatisfaction in Riches which they will never find set their minds to grasp after a plentiful Estate by hook or crook Now tho some young people do happily escape these snares as was the case of Obadiah and some Old people are unhappily intrapt in them as was the case of Solomon yet most commonly Youth by reason of it's inexperience and unmortifiedness is full of Sin. Iob could reflect on the Sins of his Youth and David saw cause to cry for the pardon of those offences Hence Aristotle would scarce admit them capable of Moral Lectures And indeed that ardour and vehemence which is almost inseparable from that age makes them an easie prey to many Temptations Now when Old-age takes possession the proud the furious and the wanton spirits are spent As Wine at first is mixt with dregs till by time it settles and is refined so the Passions of youth if they be not mortified by the Grace of God yet they are weakned and deaded by the age of men As Tully hath it when Pleasures have almost depraved both body and mind then age comes and cures that which VVisdom could not and it is an happiness to be rid of such unruly Guests any way But you will say though one sort of sins are gone yet others succed in their room and it is too evident by what hath been said before that Old-age hath it's sins as well as Youth The Objection must be answer'd with Tears No age in this World without it's temptations this Leprosy will not be fully cleansed until the House be taken down but yet as we find Children and Youth more apt to breed vermine than aged persons so there are fewer Enormities in this age than in that For Transgressions do generally proceed either from Ignorance which Old-age doth usually inform and heal or from the strength of Passions which are much rebated and represt in Old-age or from Malice now the wiser a man is grown the less likely he is to chuse evil the more divine Strokes and Iudgments one hath seen upon evil doers the more he should be afraid of tampering with it the nearer a man is to his end the more in all reason he will beware of clogging his Conscience so that dying lusts are fittest for a dying Body and an holy Heart for an hoary Head. And this is a great Priviledge for as much as Sin is the Disease of the Soul and the greatest Evil in the World so that that State of life which is freest from it must needs be the happiest For it is this that helps to compleat our
new one what then are your Souls dreaming on which find the Garment of the Body quite worn out your earthly House ready to fall upon its Head and yet Sleep quiet only with some weak ungrounded hopes of endless happiness Have you left your outward Estates under no better Assurance your Conveyances your Fines and Recoveries will rise up in witness against you and you will be found at last to be wise in trifles and Fools in the things of moment Yea you will see when Friends and Relations will leave you your Estates and Pleasures leave you Life it self leave you that they who make not sure of Heaven are sure of Nothing Think not that your Outward Blessings are any certain Arguments of Gods love to you that because God hath done much for you in this World he will therefore Crown you in another or because ye have lived long here in the day of his Patience that you must live always with him in Heaven No no Iob 21. 7. 20. Even the wicked live become old yea and are mighty in power yet his Eyes shall see his Destruction and he shall drink of the wrath of the Almighty Many a man hath been strangely saved from Death that will not be saved at last from Hell and men do hold temporal mercies by one Tenure and Eternal by another Be advised therefore to set about this â—…eedful work with all possible speed â—…nd care And to that end chuse out â—…wo or three Scriptures which do most â—…vidently describe a Sanctified Heart â—…ch as Mat. 5. 2 3 4 5 6 7 8. Or â—…om 8. 1. 5. 9. and endeavour by the best hâ—…lps you have to know the true Genâ—…ine meaning thereof Then compare your own Hearts with them And whatsoever doubt you have of your Conformity thereunto examine it to the bottom and in case of any insuperable difficulty consult with some discreet Messenger of God. And when you have throughly sifted one Scripture go to another and another that in the Mouth of two or three witnesses your Assurance may be established And this done betake you to your Knees and spreading these tryed Evidences before God humbly beg the help of his Holy Spirit both to clear your understanding to guide your Conscience and to seal you up to the day of Redemption And then you must patiently wait in the use of all the means of Grace Sermons Prayers and Sacraments until His Spirit witness with your spirit that ye are the Children of God. SECT III. THE Third Work of Old-age is Prayers and Praises 1. For Prayers I do not here mean only the Ordinary Devotions which I presume every good Christian useth both Old and Young and whereby indeed the Soul Breaths for a true Believer lives by Faith and breaths by Prayer whereof that excellent Bishop Hall thus concludes I may truly say that man hath no Grace nor Goodness in him that Prays not by Himself and with his Family but also that they should be frequent in Prayer It is said of Luther that he spent daily at least Three hours in Prayer And holy David saith Psal. 55. 17. Evening and Morning and at Noon will I Pray and cry aloud yea in his Old-age we may conclude that he dyed with a Prayer in his Mouth from Psal. 72. last The Prayers and belike the life of David the Son of Iesse are ended together And therefore the Egyptian Hieroglyphick of an Aged person was a Swan whom they imagined to dye Singing for there is no Musick so sweet in the Ears of God as hearty Prayers and Praises And if you find your selves unable to hold out in the more stated and solemn Prayers you should be more frequent and fervent in shorter Addresses for it is not the length but the strength of a Prayer that carries it with God. And in case of the want of Ability or Opportunity for this frequency for every poor crazy Old Man or Woman hath them not you may and should abound in holy Ejaculations or short Elevations of the Soul to God sometimes by way of Confession sometimes by way of Admiration sometimes by way of Petition and sometimes by way of Thanksgiving of all which there are various Instances in Scripture And these you may dart upward as you sit by the fire as you lie in your beds as you put on and off your cloaths Thus ye may pray without ceasing as it is 1 Thes. 5. 17. And the Lord will accept of these coming from a sincere and holy heart and which in its present circumstances can do no better But still Prayer is the proper Province of the Aged person and both you and your Pictures will look best when they are as Paul the Hermites carkass was found in a praying posture For as was noted before your labouring and travelling dayes are done your Hands and Feet have done their work the best service you can now do is upon your knees There you may do much therein you may ingage Him who can do All nothing can stand before the prayer of Faith. And therefore when you reflect upon the slips and falls in the course of your Life so that your hearts begin to ake and faint for fear then enter into your Closet and pour out your hearts before God and that will revive you When that coward Satan sets upon an Aged man or woman with his Assault and Battery either to weaken their faith or to unravel their repentance or to cloud their comforts their only course is to run to God by Prayer God is a refuge for us When we feel the decayes of Nature and are almost overwhelmed with Distempers or Troubles then let us by Prayer cast our burden upon the Lord and he will sustain us Thus that learned and holy Rivet did every day in his Old-age repeat the seventeenth and eighteenth verses of the seventy first Psalm O God thou hast taught me from my youth and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works Now also when I am Old and gray-headed O God forsake me not untill I have shewed thy strength to this generation and thy power to every one that is to come And here the Aged shall do well not only to plead their own Cause with God but to lay up a stock for Posterity that the generations yet unborn may be the better for them Thus David in that Psal. 72. 1. Give thy Iudgments to the King O God and thy righteousness to the Kings Son c. What you are now sowing may be reaped by your Posterity hundreds of years afterwards And perhaps this will be the best Intail which you can make of your Estates for hitherto whatever Settlements the Will of men hath devised the Wit of men hath defeated but by faithfull Prayer God himself is made Trustee who only can establish your Purposes So also you should be instant with the Lord for his Church Truth and Gospel So was David Psal. 122. So was Paul alwayes in every Prayer of
have lived too long O that I were in my grave But this Distemper argues great weakness of Grace yea a great weakness of Spirit Hence that Philosopher that sometimes resolved that a wise and couragious man should not flee from life how discommodious soever but fairly depart from it yet at other times advised to let the wearied Soul out of the useless body before its time A crime of the deepest tincture to snatch the Prerogative of our Soveraign Creatour out of his hands whose rightful priviledge alone it is to give life to men and to take it away And why should you be so uneasie under these momentany tryals Is it not the Lot which your heavenly Father hath in great wisdom set out for you It is better to be Old and crazy on earth than to have been sent young to hell You have your ailments and if you were privy to others mens you would be reconciled to your own It was Socrates his Observation that if every mans burden were laid on a common heap each man would be glad to take up his own again You should rather be thankful to God for the blessings of the former part of your life than murmur at the troubles of the present You think it the only happiness to have all the Comforts of this World but Others have thought it a greater to have a Mind above them You have or else the fault is your own the Company of a gracious God and a good Conscience when you are uncapable of other company You should imitate the Grashopper to whom the Old man by some is likened who is made the Emblem of Contentation because she only sucks the dew and sings and is content with that hoping for better One Crown will swallow up all your Crosses whereas Discontent makes your Condition most uneasie here and most unfit for Heaven hereafter 2. Another Temptation which you that are Old are in danger of is Hardness of Heart and Security You haâ—… sinned often and perhaps repented buâ—… seldom you have heard and read many convincing Sermons and made but slender application of them you have seen many swept away by the hand of God and you have escaped yea some of you peradventure have lived long in some sinful course are grown Old in adulteries Ezek. 23. 43. or in oppression or in some other Sin. These things you have done and the Lord hath kept Silence and now you are ready to think that He is such a one as your selves and to bless your selves in your woful wayes till your iniquity be found to be hateful The Aged person surely must have either a very tender heart or a very hard one If Gods Ordinances and Providences that is Mercies and Afflictions have made a due impression upon you your hearts must be very soft but otherwise you are in the greatest danger of a hard heart and a spirit of slumber Watch and pray therefore in the fear of God against this dangerous Temptation They are most guilty of this distemper that were never afraid of it Preserve a due tenderness in your Consciences suffer not any sin to ly upon them unrepented Endeavour to have daily a clearer sight of sin and a deeper sense of the evil of it Let the exemplary Judgments upon others startle you Know that if you sleep in sin your Preservation will be but a Reservation to some fearful issue Remember that though a Sinner do evil an hundred times and his dayes be prolonged yet it shall not be well with the wicked Eccl. 8. 12 13. The greatest Iudgment that can befall a man upon earth is to prosper in any sinful way There is a Natural hardness in All men there is an Habitual hardness in some men but there is a Iudicial hardness only in such as are ripe for hell And the First if it be not cured by Gods grace leads to the second and the second prepares for the third Of all sorts of men ye that are Old have least cause to be secure that have one foot already in the grave The green apple may be pluckt off but the ripe one is falling off already But it is not the approach of Death without the effectual influence of Gods Spirit that will soften an hardned sinner as is too evident in the Malefactors in Newgate that will be drunk and swear at a dreadful rate when they know that the Execution-day is certainly at hand Be instant therefore with the Lord to deliver you from hardness of heart from a spirit of slumber and from a reprobate sense 3. A Third Temptation which Old-age must watch against is Slothfulness of Spirit The decay of natural Spirits disposeth them hereunto and corrupt Nature joyns with the temptation It is an easie thing to be idle and flesh and blood is glad enough of excuses from pains and trouble Indeed where natural Parts or natural Strength are wasted much cannot be expected Iob 30. 2. Yea whereto might the strength of their hands profit me in whom old age was perished yet that which will release them in part will not do it altogether Time is so short so precious so irrevocable that it should not be slept or trifâ—…ed away if we can do any thing for the ends of life The Aged person must consider how much wast ground there hath been in the field of his life how many years are lost in Infancy and Childhood how much time at riper years in unnecessary sleep and recreations how much hath been consumed in doing nothing and how much in doing worse than nothing and that it is an easie thing to lose time that it is an hard thing to redeem time and that it is an impossible thing to recall time and therefore they who have lost so much time and can recall none of it had need to redeem and make the best of that which is left Few men will throw away their money but most men squander away their lives being most prodigal of that wherein we may most justly be covetous as the same Philosopher discourseth Let no Aged person imagine that they are to live to no purpose The Levites though at Fifty years of age they were discharged from the most laborious service of the Temple yet they were not left to be Idle but to do the work of the Lord in some more easie imployments Tully brings in Cato telling how he learned Greek in his Old-age and that even at those years no body came to see him but they found him imployed and he reports of Leontius Gorgias who was an hundred and seven years old and yet never was weary of his studies and labours The truth is sloth is a vice that accelerates Old-age as you heard before and abetts that languishment of the Spirits which furthers it We shall not feel it so sensibly while we are continually imployed How much knowledge and wisdom have we neglected which we might have obtained if our sloth
had not beguiled us Hence comes Neglect of the means of Grace to which we may adde Drowsiness in the use of them Aged people are apt to satisfie themselves in the Omission of Reading Hearing Praying by their craziness and infirmities Indeed when we are inevitably hindred in these Means and are grieved for that hindrance God will supply those wants but if we be glad that we have an occasion comen in the way whereby we may without sin omit our duty it savours strongly of hypocrisie And Old people are more concern'd than others to be diligent herein for many of them have put off much of their greatest business to their Old-age and therefore their plea of Impotence will be overruled I have lost a World of time said the learned Salmasius on his death-bed If I had one year longer I would spend it in reading David's Psalms and in Paul's Epistles Neither imagine that you are too old to learn for the Fundamentals of Doctrine and Practice may easily and must necessarily be learned else he that made you will not save you and he that formed you will shew you no favour Isa. 27. 11. As weak as you are you could creep to the Assembly to be laden back again with Gold and a grain of grace is worth a world of riches When some outward sickness afflicts you find a man carried in a bed to Christ and the house untiled to let him down through the roof rather than continue under it Luk. 5. 18. and will you languish in your spiritual distempers and use no means for healing Be not deceived God is not mocked he never accepts the will for the deed if the deed can well be done nor chuses Mercy before sacrifice where both may be offered And though your Years may dispose you to Drowsiness in the service of God yet they will not wholly excuse you We read but of one person in the Bible that slept at Sermon and he was taken up dead thereby Act. 20. 9. It is a sin charged on them of old Isa. 64. 7. There is none that calleth on thy name that stirreth up himself to take hold on thee You should use all possible means to shake off that drowsie distemper and set the holy God before you and remember that your own cause is still pleading or trying that the diligent hand makes rich in this world and the diligent heart rich for ever and that Grace and Comfort are like the Manna which was to be gather'd early or else it vanished they that loved their beds starved their bellies How much good might you do and get notwithstanding your years if you would shake off that slothful distemper that haunts you how many have lamented at their end their loss of time Nothing so much troubled that Excellent Preacher Dr. Robert Harris when he was on his death-bed as Loss of time Rouse up then your benumbed spirits your time of Action will last but a while Consider wherein you are capable to serve your generation by the will of God and up and be doing The Grave will be most irksome to the loyterer but most welcome to the labourer for there the weary and only they will be at rest 4. The Fourth Temptation which Aged persons are liable unto is Expectation still of longer life No man is so Old saith the Orator but thinks it very possible to weather it out a year longer and such men do upon the matter think they may live alwayes It hath been an old complaint that men eat and drink as though they must dye to morrow and yet buy and build as though they must live alwayes How usual is it with very Aged men and women to contrive and appoint affairs for a month or a year beforehand It is not only young persons that say To day or to morrow we will go into such a City and continue there a year and buy and sell and get gain Whereas you know not what shall be on the morrow For what is your life it is even a vapour that appeareth for a little time and then vanisheth away Jam. 5. 13 14. But even Old persons are apt to think the same thing The most decrepit person fancies he shall abide here a little longer and when that time is expir'd still reckons to continue a little longer The folly and ungroundedness of this Imagination is obvious For what should induce one that is already dying to think that he shall not very quickly dy out and out Alas Death hath laid its cold hand already upon us Our Eyes our Ears our Hands our Legs our Lungs our very Vitals are death-struck already Death puts in for a share in every day we spend Have we taken any Lease of our lives for a determinate time Can we produce any Reason any one Reason to prove that we should live a year or a week longer I am sure the provoking Sins which are in our Souls and the unruly Humours which are in our Bodies render our speedy death more likely than a longer life besides the rage of Satan against us and the many Casualties incident to us Now when a man expects any thing and hath no reason for such his expectation it is lamentably ridiculous But what little Reason soever there is for such an Imagination there is some Cause of it And the cause seems to be a Lothness to dy Too few there are that are willing to part with things seen for things unseen They are loth to go out of this world of men and women into a world of Souls Death is like a cup that will either mend or end and such a dose is taken with a trembling hand And therefore the heart cryes out Let me alone this year also Thus men would put far from them the evil day and it will prove an evil day when it is thus deferr'd Alas it is not the duration of ones life but the goodness and comfort of it that is considerable This the dim eye of Nature saw and concluded that a wise man chuses to live as long as he ought not as long as he could I know it is a hard pluck to have a Soul and a body that have lived long together to part a-sunder but it is irrevocably appointed unto men to dye and when a thing is indispensably necessary it is the best course to consider what will best mitigate and render it either desirable or tolerable Wherein as right Reason may contribute much so Christian Religion much more whereby the holy Soul is assured of a far better house than the body and the body of a far better estate after it hath slept a while in the grave To Remedy therefore this Temptation Consider the Folly and ill Effects thereof That is a foolish Traveller who being quite spent with the fatigue of his journey would turn again and traveâ—… it over again when as nothing is more welcome to the weary than a quiet lodging Upon
Serious Exhortation to Self-Examination delivered in five Sermons on the 2 Cor. 13. 5. By Thomas Wadsworth M. A. Minister of the Gospel sometime at Newington Butts Southwark In Octavo The difference between the Spots of the Godly and the Wicked By Mr. Ieremiah Burroughs of Cripplegate Scripture Warrant sufficient proof for Infant Baptism being a Reply to Mr. Granthams Presumption no proof by Giles Firmin In Octavo Mr. Wadsworth's Remains being Meditations with Respect to the Lords Supper c. Thoughtfulness for the Morrow The Redeemers Tears Charity in Reference to other Mens Sins All Three by Iohn How Minister of the Gospel Plutarch Cicero Seneca Palaeotus Tossanus Rivet c. § 1. The Names for Old-age a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 b Senectus non est aetas ultima Hier. in Jer. 6. c 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vel quasi 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 terrâ—…stris Aristot Vetus à 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vel quasivietus i. e. sine vi d Antiquus qui ante nos fuit Senex quasi seminex semimortuus e Alt. quasi aetate altus f Vel à 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 alah asâ—…ndere in altum Minshew g If Youth knew what Age would crave It would be sure to get and save § II. The Nature thereof h Vel corporis temperamentum frigidum siccum quod sequitur quantitatem certorum annorum vitae praeteritae Rivet i Senecta lassâ—… non fractae aetatis nomen est Sen. Ep. 26. k Aristot. Hist anim l. 3. c. 11. And Cassiodorus faith that Seneca was so call'd because he was born Gray Hâ—…ff Lâ—…x l Senium est naturalis caloris tabes mors extinctio Galen §. 3. The Beginning of Old-age m Seniores ab ano. 46 dicebantur Gell. ab ano. 50 ad finem vitae Keck Phys. n The Rabbins indeed begin the first at 60. the second at 70 and the third at 80. Galen de Sanit tuend c. 12. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 § 4. The long lives of divers o Omnium aetatum certus est terminus senectutis autem nullus certus est Cicer. de sen. p Euseb. Hist. Eccl. lib. 6. c. 10 q Sanson p. 485. r See Tho. of Ravenna who Ao. 1553. wrote a book wherein he relates in one Chapter of such as had lived in that age above 120 years s Dr. Hakewells Apal l. 3. c. 5. t Plin. hist. lib. 7. c. 48. u Dr. Plot. Nat. hist. of Staffordsh c. 8. Cap. 2. The Causes of Old age §. 1. The Original cause of Old-age * Vivâ—…bat homo in Paradiso sicut volebat quam diu volebat quod Deus jusserat cibus aderat ne esuriret potus ne sitiret lignum vitae ne illum senectus dissolveret August de Civ Dei. c 26. § 2. The Natural cause of Old-age §. 3. The Preternatural Causes of Old-age x 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hesiod Op. Di. l. x. y De Brevit vit cap. 1. z Pont gulae metas ut sit tibi longior aetas Esse cupis sanus sit tibi parcâ—… manus a Nihil est quod senectuti magis noceat ac dies hominis abbreviet quam tristitia languor animi ira Nihil enim bilari senectute jucundius Cass. b T is mirth that nursethlise and blood Far more than wine or rest or food c See Ro. Bacons cure of old age with Dr. Browns Notes d Lib. de marcore c. 2 § 4. The Preservatives of Old-age e Hier. Psal. 91. in unde vide tur nomen hoc sanctis non longae aetatis ratione sed authoritatis ascribi f Orig. in Gen. 18. g Pugnandum tanquam contra morbum est sic contra senectutem Habenda ratio valetudinis utendum exercitationibus modicis Tantum cibi potionis adhibendum ut reficiantur vires non opprimantur Cic. de seâ—…ct h Sen. Ep. 58 Cap. 3. The Sins of Old-age i Haec morum vitra sunt non senectutis Cicer. de Senect § 1. Peevishness k In fragili corpore odiâ—…sa omnis offensio est Cic. de senect l Contemni se putant despici illudi id ibid. m Severitatem in senectute probo sed eum modicam acerbitatem nullo modo Cic. de senect n Si is qui corrigere nititur irâ superatur opprimit antequam corrigat Greg. Mor. o In moribus est culpa non in aetate moderati enim nec difficiles senes nec inhumani tolerabilem agunt senectutem Importunitas autem inhumanitas omni aetati molesta est Cic. de senect §. 2. Talkativeness p Dissiâ—…ibus ac morosis senibus aâ—…res libenter prebeto qui proverhiorum sententiis adolescentes ad recta studia 〈◊〉 Hieron Ep. ad Aug. Lib. de garrâ—…l Siâ—…onides q Oportet ut senilis sermo non solum sit gravis sâ—…d etiam brevis Aug. § 3. Envy r Tâ—…lle inâ—… habâ—…s quod mâ—…um est Aug. §. 4. Arrogance §. 5. Covetousness s Simonides ob avaritiam culpatus respondit se per senectutem reliquis spoliatum voluptatibus unicâ lucrandi voluptate gravem recreare aetatem Plutarch t Omnia in homine senescunt vitia sola avaritia juvenescit Aug. Serm. 48. ad fratres in eremo u Gratiùs aurum intuetur quam solem Ambros w Avaritia verò senilis quid sibi velit non intelligo potest enim quicquam esse absurdius quam quo minus viae restat eo plus viatici quaerere Cicer. de sen. x Gravioribus sumptibus se onerare fâ—…stinat cùm jam pervenerit quo tendebat Aug. ser. de temp 247. Fugientem sequimur mundum § 6. Other Vices of Old-age y 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 z 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Quid miserius misero non miserantem seipsum a Optima poenitentia nova vita Luther b Projice quaecunque cor tuum lamiant quae si aliter extrahi nequirent cor ipsum cum illis revellendum erat Sen. Ep. 51. Cap. 4. The Graces of Old-age c Sunt quidem in juventute senes alii juvenes in senectute Ambros. §. 1. Knowledge d A Temple was once dedicated in Spain to Old-age as to the mistress of Knowledge Dr. Sheafe of Old age e As Lumen is the Vehicle of influence so the foundation of Regeneration is Illumination f Tum maximè mentis oculus acutè cernere incipit cum primum diflorescit corporis oculus Plato in conviv g Discamus in terrâ ea quarum scientia nobis perseveret in coelo Paraei scitum Script in Auditorio suo Theologico § 2. Faith. h Fides est amplexus Christi Dr Redman i Circumferentia fidei est Verbum Dei centrum fidei est Verbum Deus Dr. Arrowsmith 〈◊〉 St. 〈◊〉 the Bp. of Winchester could say Though Iustification by Faith were not a good breakfast for men in the heaâ—… of youth yet it was a good Supper for Old-age §. 3. Wisdom l In senibus gravitas in juvenibus alacritas in