Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n
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A55473
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A sovereign balson to cure the languishing diseases of this corrupt age By C. Pora a well-wisher to all persons.
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Pora, Charles.
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1678
(1678)
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Wing P2966A; ESTC R233075
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195,614
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671
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brittle this frail this painted thing Beauty how does thou bewitch the Eyes and pervert the Minds of those that regard thee how many and great are the mischiefs that proceed from thee so great and many that the consideration hereof moved Sir Thomas Moore a grave Person and most worthy Lord Chancellour of England in his time observing the Ladies to spend so much time in dressing themselves that they might appear Fine and Beautiful in the Eyes of Men to tell them in plain English That God should do them wrong if he did not give them Hell for their reward seeing they took a great deal more pains to serve the Devil the World and their vain Minds than they did to please God or to preserve the Beauty of their Souls pure from the spots and uncleanness of Sin O what folly is this Oh what frensie thus to implore our time which is so precious in trimming dressing and adorning this Body of ours which is no better than a mass of Corruption which must ere long be meat for Worms and turn'd again to dust But O much more the deplorable unhappiness of these times wherein such exhortations as these are vain and to no purpose unable to stop the carrier of Pride which the Reverend F. Causin not unfitly describes thus When saith he the Patching Painting Plating Curling of the Hair is over or finished then follows the feat of Ribbon which must be put in order then the taking of their Bracelets their Rings Jewels Rubies Chains of Gold with variety of Persnmes If duty oblige them to go to Church they go indeed but whether with greater devotion to serve God or to shew themselves I leave to their Conscience and the Judgment of the great day Thiâ— is manifest that if they observe the one part of the Apostles Counsels 1 Tim. 2. v. 9. Let the Women pray in a comely Attire with demureness and sobriety they oversee the other to wit not adorning themselves with plaited Hair or Gold or precious Stones or gorgeous Apparel but as it becometh Women professing Piety with good Works These words of the Apostle signifie little with them they can easily dispence with such Divine Counsels and Prohibitions whether contain'd in Sacred Scripture or in the Canons of the Church pretending to have lawful cause or excuse for what they do because they are of the rank of the Nobility and Gentry And upon that account they fear not to exceed in all sorts of Pride and Vanity spending both days and nights in Visiting or being Visited in Coaching Gadding Sporting Playing or Play-house-Haunting Masquing Dancing c. in fine they are prompt and ready to obey all the suggestions of Pride and Pleasure and as cold to Devotion Sect. 4. Of the Self-pride of other Women It might be thought Pride were a Disease proper or incident only to Great Persons Men and Women and that for those of inferiour and mean condition as their fortune is low so their minds should not be high But experience tells us 't is otherwise and therefore having hitherto represented in part the Vanity Pride and Ambition that is in Women of high Quality and plentiful Fortune I shall conclude with a word of Admonition to those of meaner Rank only to shew them that if Pride be an odious Vice and unseemly even in the greatest Persons for Honour Wealth and Dignity that live upon the Earth it must be much more detestable and intollerable in them To be Rich and Proud to be in High Place and Proud to be in Great Office in Great Power Dignity and Honour and Proud is a Humane infirmity more to be pittied than blamed by Wise Men but to be poor and Proud is monstrous a discongruity purely and manifestly satanical What shall we say of such People whom Fortune hath not favoured in any degree or measure with the purveyances and endowments that Pride and Ambition usually stands upon and yet they are proud Truly we may say they are the worst sort of Proud People their Pride is more criminous and less excusable than that of others and if we say this with truth we need not we can say no more to their condemnation And yet how common a thing is it to see this Hellish Prodigy in the World how easie and frequent to observe the effects of highest Pride in the lowest Condition what contemning of others what scornings and disdainings what vilifyings and revilings do we not hear daily from some What emulations and envyings do we not see in others even of low and mean rank towards those of the highest Ah I speak now of a Disease which our France our Paris our little Theatre of this great World labours under How common a thing is it here to see People of but ordinary Condition and disabled by Fortune from being themselves accounted Courtiers Gallants or Great Men finding a hundred devices ye and pretending a hundred little occasions to be in their company and to be seen though but for some short space of time among them Yea such is their Pride and Ambition that for a time they can be content to be made almost Slaves and be used as Captives to the intent that afterwards they may appear with some little favour and countenance amongst the great ones a thing which experience teaches them daily who are acquainted with the Private Conversation of this sort of People Pride makes these People industrious Pride makes them vigilant Pride makes them nimble active painful and laborious it makes them work day and night without intermission and that in so strict manner with such penury and sparing that they will scarce allow themselves necessaries for their subsistence till they have gotten Money enough for the purchasing of a New Gown or some other new-fashion'd Cloath or New Petticoate some new Handkerchief Lace or other like superfluous Vanity that may give them countenance amongst great ones and confidence enough to appear and be seen in Company above their proper Rank of all which to my great grief my own Eyes have been often witnesses when it haâ— pittied me to observe what voluntary hardships and even misery pooâ— People put themselves unto for â—â— other reason but only to be Fine anâ— Brave beyond their Condition oâ— Sundays and great Holy-days and all other times of publique and more free Converse among Neighbours when you will be sure to find them abroad perfuming the Air with their Scents or Coaching it or Dancing or perhaps Playing and Adventuring what Money they have to the fortune of Cards and Dice till they have spent all and are forc'd by necessity to return again to their industry and labour to recuit their ambitious minds if as sometime it happens they yield not to do worse to satisfie their minds inflamed with Ambition and Pride Little do these People consider what the Holy Prophet Isaias in Gods Name foretels and threatens to all such proud Females Chap. 3. v. 17 c. saying Decalvabit Dominus verticem