for three causeth first for that she was a Kings daughter secondly a Kinges vvife thirdly a Kings mother VVhen Fortune commeth suddainly with some present delight pleasure it is a token that by her â—â—attering vs she hath made ready her snares to catch vs. Aurel. As the fortune of this world shall make thee reioyce ouer thine enemies euen so it may make thine enemies reioyce ouer thee Through idlenes negligence and too much trust in fortune not onely men but Citties and kingdoms haue been vtterly lost and destroyed Fortune is exceeding slippery and cannot be held of any man against her owne will Fortune is neuer more deceitful then when shee seemeth most to fauour Plot. Fortuna multis dat nimis satis nulli Nulla tam bona est fortuna de qua non possis quaeri Of Riches Defi. Riches of the Phylosophers Poets are called the goods of Fortune vnder which are comprehended plate money iewels Lands possessions in aboundance they are according to theyr vse good or badde good if they be well vsed bad if they be abused RIches are good when the party that possesseth them can tell how to vse them Riches rightly vsed breed delight pleasure profit and praise but to him that abuseth them they procure enuie hatred dishonor and contempt Plautus As the greater wee see our shadow the neerer we draw towards night so must we feare least the more that wee our selues abound in wealth the further of truth and the light estrange themselues from vs. A wicked man is eyther wicked of himselfe or heyre to a wicked man Ierom. As pouertie is not meritorious if it bee not borne with patience no more are riches hurtfull vnlesse they be abused It commonly happeneth that those men which enioy most wealth are most vexed with the greedy desire of getting more and mightily molested with feare least they shold loose what they haue already gotten The greatest riches in the worlde to a good man is his soule and reason by which hee loueth righteousnes and hateth iniquity There is no man more willing to become suretie for another then hee that wanteth most wealth He hath riches sufficient that needeth neyther to flatter nor borrow Solon Rich men without wisedome and learning are called sheepe with golden fleeces The more that a miserable man increaseth in riches the more he diminisheth in friends and augmenteth the number of his enemies Anaxag The riches aboundance of wealth in thys world are priuie thieues that greatly hindereth many men from the study of vertue and all godly exercise Rich men haue need of many lessons to instruct them to doe well Philippus Rich men through excesse idlenesse and delicious pleasures are more grosse conceited then poorer persons Those riches are to bee despised which are lost with too much liberalitie and rust with â—iggardly sparing VVhere riches are honoured good men are little regarded It worketh great impatience in a rich man to be suddainly decayed and fallne into pouertie Hermes He hath most that coueteth least Great substance and possessions maketh vertue suspected because they be ministers of pleasant affections and nurses of vvanton appetites Great aboundance of riches cannot of any man be both gathered and kept without sin Erasmus There be three causes that chiefely mooue mens mindes to desire worldly wealth the one is the loue of riches â—ase mirth and pleasure Another the desire of worship honour and glory The thyrd is the doubtfulnes and mistrust of wicked and faithlesse men which are too much carefull for their owne lyuing heare in this world thinke all they can get too â—iâ—â—â— to sufâ—â—se them Solon Immortall honour exceedeth all transitory treasure Great businesse the hart of man hath to search for the goods of thys world and great paynes to come by them but without comparison the greatest dolour is at the houre of death when we must depart and leaue them Suffisance is the sure holde which keepeth wise men from euill works Polion Vpon a couetous minded man riches are ill bestowed for he is neyther the warmer clothed the better fedde nor any thing in shew the more wealthy for them Money neuer satisfieth the greedy minded man but maketh him more hungry after he hath gotten a little gaine If thou know how to vse money it will become thy hand-maide if not it will become thy maister Small expences often vsed consume great substance in short space No man is rich by his birth for all men are borne naked Money prooueth often the cause of strife sedition and euill will He that delights onely in his riches delights in a dangerous pleasure Men shoulde lyue exceeding quiet if these two words Mine and Thine were taken away Anaxag It is better to haue a man without money then money without a man Plato would haue both plenty and pouertie to be banished his common wealth the one because it caused pleasure idlenes ambition the other because it maketh abiects seditions and men giuen to all filthy luâ—re Siluer commaunds pesants and golde controules Princes Crates Money is the sinnewes of warre and keyes to vnlock hidden secrets VVhere greedy desire of money is there raigneth all manner of mischiefe Affaires are ill ordered where mony vndergoes vertue Plentie begetteth want for hee that hath much needes much Seruice is a recompence for mony and money a recompence for seruice O thou vnsaciable hunger of golde and siluer what is it not that thou dost compell the harts of men to buy and to sell. Tully It is against nature that we should increase our owne riches substance with the spoyle of other mens wealth Hee that hoordeth vp money taketh paines for other men It is a rare miracle for money to want a maister Pacunius As the touchstone tryeth gold so gold tryeth the mindes of men There is no vice more foule then the greedy desire after gaine especially in magistrats and other Rulers in authoritie He is rich that liues content with his estate To be maister of much wealth is to be coÌ„bred with many cares Multa loquor quid vis nummis presentibus opta Et veniet clausum possidet arca Iouem Difficile est virtutes eum reuereri qui semper secunda fortuna sit vsus Of Change Defi. Change is generally any alteration eyther of times states studies opinions or anie other facultie whatsoeuer THe whole world is nothing but a shoppe of change for riches wee exchange pouertie for health sicknesse for pleasure sorrow for honours contempt briefely it is nothing els but change whatsoeuer chaunceth vnto vs. There is no change more certaine then the change of lyfe to death There is no better change then for a man that hath beene lewde to become honest and for a woman that hath beene as lasciuious as Lais to waxe as repentant as Maâ—dlein The vnstayed and wandring minded man is neuer wise VVho changeth peace for war hath all miseries layde open to his eyes his goods spoyled his chyldren slaine
Saint Augustine reproueth Varro Pontifex Scaeuola vvho were of opinion that it vvas very expedient men shoulde bee deceiued in Religion because that there is no felicitie or certaine rest but in the ful assurance thereof and in an infallible truth without diuinitie and the doctrine of GOD none can take any principle at all in the discipline of manners Polybius vvriteth that nothing so much aduaunced the Romaines as theyr Religion albeit it were not pure The VVorde is a medicine to a troubled spirit but being falsely taught it prooueth a poyson Bern. Religion is like a square or ballance it is the canon and rule to liue well by and the very touch-stone vvhich discerneth truth from falshood The auncient Fathers haue gyuen three principall markes by which the true Religion is known first that it serueth the true God secondly that it serueth him according to his VVord thirdly that it reconcileth that man vnto him which followeth it The true worshyppe of God consisteth in spyrit and truth Chrisost. VVhere religion is Armes may easily bee brought but where Armes are without religion religion may hardly be brought in There can bee no surer signe of the ruine of a kingdome then contempt of religion There can bee no true Religion vvhere the word of God is wanting Those men are truly religious which refuse the vain transitory pleasures of the world and wholy sette theyr mindes on diuine meditations Hee which is negligent and ignorant in the seruice of his Creator can neuer be careful in any good cause Religion doth linke and vnite vs together to serue with willingnes one God almighty It is the guide of all other vertues and they who doe not exercise themselues therein to withstand all false opinions are like those souldiers which goe to warre vvithout weapons The Romaines allowed the seruice of all Gods and to that end builded a Temple to all Gods called Pantheon yet woulde they neuer receiue the true God to wit Iehouah the Lord God of the Hebrues The principall seruice of God consisteth in true obedience which the prophets call a spirituall chastitie not to swarue there-from nor to thinke that whatsoeuer wee find good in our owne eyes pleaseth him The knowledge of true religion humilitie and patience entertaineth concord August If men dyd knowe the truth and the happinesse which followeth true religion the voluptuous man woulde there seeke his pleasures the couetous man his wealth the ambitious man his glory sith it is the onely meane which can fill the hart and satisfie theyr desire it serueth vs also for a guide to leade vnto God whereas the contrary dooth cleane with-hold vs from him No creature is capable of religion but onelie man Basil. The first precept that Socrates gaue to the Prince Demonicus was Tima ton Theon feare God The first law that should bee giuen to men should be the increase of religion and pietie The chiefest oath that the Athenians tooke was this In defending religion both alone with others will I fight against my foes The auncient Romaines through the instinct of Nature dyd so reuerently thinke of Religion that the most noble men of Rome sent theyr sonnes into Hetrurio to learne the manner of seruing God It is a very hard matter to change religion VVhere no religion resteth there can be no vertue abiding August True Religion is to be learned by fayth not by reason Religion is in truth not in falshood Religion is the stay of the weake the Mayster of the ignorant the phylosophie of the simple the oratory of the deuout the remedie of sinne the counsaile of the iust and the comfort of the troubled Pure religion vndefiled before God the Father is thys to visite the fatherlesse and widdowes in theyr aduersity and for a man to keepe himselfe vnspotted of the world Philosophia pernosci non potest siue Christiana veraque religione quam prelucentem si tollis fateor ecce et clamo ludibrium illa vanitas delirium Oportet principem anté omnia esse deicolam Country or Commonweale Defi. Our Country is the region or clime vnder which we are borne the Common mother of vs all which wee ought to holde so deere that in the defence thereof wee should not feare to hazard our liues THere can bee no affinitie neerer then our Countrey Plate Men are not borne for themselues but for theyr Countrey parents kindred friends Cicero There is nothing more to be desired nor any thing ought to bee more deere to vs then the loue of our Country Children parents friendes are neere to vs but our Country challengeth a greater loue for whose preseruation wee ought to appose our liues to the greatest dangers It is not enough once to haue loued thy Country but to continue it to the end Plut. VVhere soeuer wee may liue well there is our Country The remembrance of our Country is most sweet Liuius To some men there country is their shame and some are the shame of theyr country Let no man boast that he is the Cittizen of a great Citty but that he is worthy of an honourable Country Arist. VVe ought so to behaue ourselues towards our Country vnthankful as to a mother The profit of the country extendeth it selfe to euery Citty of the same Stobaeus Our Country saith Cicero affoordeth large fields for euery one to runne to honor So deere was the loue of his Country to Vlisses the he preferred his natiue soyle Ithaca before immortality Our country first challengeth vs by nature The whole world is a wisemans country Necessity compelleth euery man to loue his country Eurip. The loue which we beare to our country is not pietie as some suppose but charity for there is no pietie but that which we beare to God and our Parents Many loue theyr Countrey not for it selfe but for that which they possesse in it Sweet is that death and honourable which we suffer for our Country Horace If it be asked to whom we are most engaged and owe most duty our Countrey and parents are they that may iustly challenge it The life which we owe to death is made euerlasting beeing lost in the defence of our Countrey Giue that to thy country which she asketh for nature will constraine thee to yeeld it Happy is that death which beeing due to nature is bestowed vpon our Country Happy is that common-wealth where the people doe feare the law as a tyrant Plato A cōmon-wealth consisteth of two things reward and punishment Solon As the body without members so is the common-wealth without lawes Cicero Peace in a common-wealth is like harmony in musick Aug. Men of desert are least esteemed of in their owne Country Erasmus Coriolanus beare vnkinde Armes against his Countrey Plut. Nascia was most woorthily renowned for the defence of his Country Appian Q. Mutius Scaeuola Curtius deserued euerlasting memory for louing their country Nescio qua natale solum dulcedine cunctos Allicit et memores non sinit
inter euersae vrbis manubias varia sub specie migrauit ad graecos Of Couetousnes Defi. Couetousnes is a vice of the soule wherby a man desireth to haue from all parts with out reason and vniustly with-holdeth that which rightly belongeth vnto another body it is also a sparing and niggardlinesse in giuing but open-handed to receaue whatsoeuer is brought without conscience or any regard whether it be well or ill attained THe property of a couetous man is to liue like a begger all dayes of his life and to be founde rich in money at the houre of his death Archimed Gaynes gotten vvith an ill name is great losse Couetous men little regard to shorten their lyues so they may augment their riches Treasures hoorded vp by the couetous are most commonly wasted by the prodigall person Gold is called the bait of sinne the snare of soules and the hooke of death which being aptly applyed may be compared to a fire whereof a little is good to warme one but too much will burne him altogether The chariot of Couetousnes is carried vppon foure vvheeles of vices Churlishnesse Faint-courage contempt of God forgetfulnes of death Drawn by two horses called Greedy to catch and Holdfast the Carter that dryueth it is Desire to haue hauing a whip called Loth to forgoe A couetous man is good to no man and worst friend to himselfe The couetous man vvanteth as vvell that which he hath as that which he hath not He that coueteth much wanteth much There is greater sorrowe in loosing riches then pleasure in getting them Publius Couetousnes is the roote of all euill from whence doe proceed as from a fountaine of mishap the ruine of Common-weales the subuersion of estates the wrack of societies the staine of conscience the breach of amity the confusion of the mind iniustice bribery slaughters treasons and a million of other mischeeuous enormities Aurel. All vices haue theyr taste saue onely couetousnes The gaine of golde maketh many a man to loose his soule A couetons man passeth great trauailes in gathering riches more danger in keeping them much law in defending them great torment in departing from them The excuse of the couetous man is that he gathereth for his children Apollonius The couetous minded man in seeking after riches purchaseth carefulnes for him-selfe enuy for his neighbours a pray for theeues perrill for his person damnation for his soule curses for his chyldren and lavve for his heyres A couetous rich man in making hys testament hath more trouble to please all then himselfe tooke pleasure to get and possesse all A couetous mans purse is called the deuils mouth Dionisius comming into a Temple vvhere Images were couered in costly coates of siluer and gold These garments quoth hee are too heauie for sommer and too colde for vvinter and so taking them away with him hee cloathed them in Linsey-wolsie saying these are more light for sommer and cooler for the winter VVee feare all things like mortall men but wee desire all thinges as if wee were immortall Seneca Couetousnes in olde men is most monstrous for what can be more foolish then to prouide more money and victuals vvhen he is at his iourneyes end Couetousnes is a disease vvhich spreadeth through all the vaines is rooted in the bowels and being inueterate can not be remooued Tully To fly from couetousnes is to gaine a kingdome Publius Gold guides the globe of the earth and couetousnes runnes round about the world Most couetous is hee vvhich is carefull to get desirous to keepe and vnwilling to forgoe By liberality mens vices are couered by couetousnes layd open to the world Aug. A couetous mans eye is neuer satisfied nor his desire of gaine at any time suffised The gluttons minde is of his belly the leacher of his lust and the couetous man of his gold Bernard The couetous man is alway poore August Ardua res haec est opibus non tradere mores Et cum tot Croesos viceris esse Numam Vsque adeo solus ferrum mortemque timere Aurinescit amor pereunt discrimine nullo Amissae leges sed pars vilissima rerum Certamen mouistis opes Of Vsurie Defi. Vsurie of the Hebrues is called byting it is an vnlawfull gaine gotte by an vnlawfull meane and that cruelty which doth not onelie gnaw the debter to the bones but also sucketh out all the blood and marrow from them ingendering mony of money contrary to nature and to the intent for which money was first made VSurie is compared to fire vvhich is an actiue and insatiable element for it burneth and consumeth all the wood that is laid vpon it so the Vsurer the more hee hath the more he desireth and lyke hell gates hee is neuer satisfied A vsurer is a filching and corrupt Cittizen that both stealeth from his neighbours and defraudeth himselfe The intent of vsury bewraies the crime Vsury is the nurse of idlenes idlenes the mother of euils Vsurie makes the noble man sell his land the lawyer his Iustinian the Phisition his Gallen the souldier his sword the Merchant his wares and the world his peace Vsury is an auntient mischiefe and cause of much ciuill discord A litle lewdly come by is the losse of a great deale well gotten Vsurie is like a vvhirle-poole that swalloweth what soeuer it catcheth Crateus He that with his gold be gets gold becomes a slaue to his gold Inordinate desire of vvealth is the spring of vsurie and vsurie subuerteth credite good name and all other vertues Couetousnes seeketh out vsurie and vsurie nourisheth couetousnes An vsurer can learne no truth because hee loatheth the truth Vsurie taketh away the tytle of gentry because it delighteth in ignobility Vsury oftentimes deceiues the belly altogether liues carelesse of the soules safety As the greedy Rauens seeke after carren for their food so doth the couetous vsurer hunt after coyne to fill his coffers Philo. Plutarch sayth that no kinde of people in the world are so notorious lyuers nor vse so much to falsifie theyr fayth in all practises as vsurers Appian in his first booke of ciuill wars writeth that by an auncient Law at Rome vsurie was forbidden vpon very great paine As he which is stung vvith an Aspe dyeth sleeping so sweetly doth hee consume himselfe which hath borrowed vpon vsury A vsurer is more dangerous then a theefe Cato Vsury is most hated of those whom she doth most pleasure Vsury maketh those that were free-borne bondslaues Publius Vsury is the manifest signe of extreame impudencie Chrysost. To be a vsurer is to be a manslayer Cato Vsurers were not suffered to enter the temple of sparing and well ordered expence Asellius was slayne for making a law against vsurers Appian By vsury money is brought forth before it be gotten Vsurie is the daughter of auarice and ambition turpia lucra faenoris et velox inopes vsura trucidat Nō sunt facienda mala vtinde eueniant bona Of Deceit Defi. Deceit or