account of your Eye-Glorious Actions according to the Righteous rules of Sacred Justice How Warrantable it is to read Imperial Crowns from off the Sovereign Heads of their too weak Possessors or to snatch Scepters from out the hand of Heaven Anointed Majesty and by your vast ambitions still to enlarge Dominions with Kingdoms ravish'd from their Natural Princes Judge you O let your brave designs and well weighed actions be as Just as they are Glorious and consider that all your Wars whose ends are not to defend your own Possessions or to recover your dispossessions are but Princely Injuries which none but Heaven can right But where necessity strikes up her hard alarms or wrong'd Religion beats her Zealous marches go on and prosper and let both Swords and Stratagems proclaim a Victory whose Nois'd Renown may fill the World with your Eternal Glory MAX. 100. Piety and Policy are like Martha and Mary Sisters Martha fails if Mary helps not and Mary suffers if Martha be Idle Happy is that Kingdom where Martha complains of Mary but most happy where Mary complys with Martha where Piety and Policy go hand in hand there War shall be Just and Peace honourable The End of the First Century INSTITUTIONS AND MAXIMS Moral and Divine c. CENT II. MAXIM 1. A Promise is a Child of the Understanding and the Will the Understanding begets it the Will brings it forth He that performs it delivers the Mother He that breaks it Murthers the Child If he be begotten in the absence of the Understanding it is a Bastard but the Child must be kept If thou mistrust thy Understanding Promise not If thou hast Promis'd break it not It is better to maintain a Bastard than to murther a Child MAX. 2. Charity is a Naked Child giving Honey to a Bee without Wings Naked because Excuseless and Simple a Child because tender and growing giving Honey because Honey is pleasant and comfortable To a Bee because a Bee is laborious and deserving without Wings because helpless and wanting If thou deniest to such thou killest a Bee if thou givest to other than such thou preservest a Drone MAX. 3. Before thy Undertaking of any design weigh the Glory of thy Action with the Danger of the Attempt If the Glory outweigh the Danger it is Cowardise to neglect it If the Danger exceed the Glory it is rashness to attempt it If the Ballances stand pois'd let thy own Genius cast them MAX. 4. Wouldst thou know the Lawfulness of the action which thou desirest to undertake Let thy Devotion recommend it to Divine Blessing If it be Lawful thou shalt perceive thy Heart Encouraged by Prayer If Unlawful thou shalt find thy Prayer discouraged by thy Heart That action is not Warrantable which either blushes to beg a Blessing or having succeeded dares not present Thanksgiving MAX. 5. If Evil men speak good or good men Evil of thy Conversation Examine all thy actions and suspect thy self But if Evil men speak Evil of thee hold it as thy honour and by way of thankfulness Love them but upon condition that they continue to hate thee MAX. 6. If thou hope to please all thy hopes are vain If thou fear to displease some thy fears are Idle The way to please thy self is not to displease the best and the way to displease the best is to please the most If thou canst fashion thy self to please all thou shalt displease him that is all in all MAX. 7. If thou Neglectest thy Love to thy Neighbour in vain thou professest thy Love to God for by thy Love to God the Love to thy Neighbour is begotten and by the Love to thy Neighbour thy Love to God is nourish'd MAX. 8. Thy Ignorance in unreveal'd Mysteries is the Mother of a Saving Faith and thy Understanding in reveal'd Truths is the Mother of a Sacred Knowledge Understand not therefore that thou mayst Believe but believe that thou mayst Understand Understanding is the wages of a Lively Faith and Faith is the reward of an humbler Ignorance MAX. 9. Pride is the Ape of Charity in shew not much unlike but somewhat fuller of action In seeking the one take heed thou light not on the other they are two Parallels never but asunder Charity feeds the Poor so does Pride Charity builds an Hospital so does Pride In this they differ Charity gives her Glory to God Pride takes her Glory from Man MAX. 10. Hast thou lost thy Money and dost thou Mourn another lost it before thou hadst it Be not troubled perchance if thou hadst not lost it now it had lost thee for ever Think therefore What thou hast rather escaped than lost Perhaps thou hadst not been so much thine own had not thy Money been so little thine MAX. 11. Flatter not thy self in thy Faith to God if thou wantst Charity for thy Neighbour and think not that thou hast Charity for thy Neighbour if thou wantst Faith to God where they are not both together they are both wanting they are both dead if once divided MAX. 12. Be not too slow in breaking of a sinful Custom a quick Couragious Resolution is better than a Gradual Deliberation In such a Combate he is the bravest Soldier that lays about him without fear or wit Wit Pleads Fear disheartens He that would kill Hydra had better strike off one Neck than Five Heads Fell the Tree and the Branches are soon cut off MAX. 13. Be careful rather of what thou dost than of what thou hast for what thou hast is none of thine and will leave thee at thy death or thou the pleasure of it in thy sickness But what thou dost is thine and will follow thee to thy Grave and plead for thee or against thee at thy Resurrection MAX. 14. If thou enjoyest not the God of Love thou canst not obtain the Love of God neither until then canst thou Enjoy a desire to Love God nor relish the Love of God thy Love to God is nothing but a faint reflection of God's love to thee till he please to Love thee thy Love can never please him MAX. 15. Let not thy Fancy be guided by thine Eye nor let thy Will be govern'd by thy Fancy Thine Eye may be deceived in her Object and thy Fancy may be deluded in her Subject Let thine Understanding moderate between thine Eye and thy Fancy and let thy Judgment Arbitrate between thy Fancy and thy Will so shall Fancy apprehend what is true so shall thy Will elect what is good MAX. 16. Endeavour to subdue as well thy irascible as thy concupiscible Affections To endure Injuries with a brave Mind is one half of the Conquest and to abstain from pleasing Evils with a couragious Spirit is the other The Sum of all Humanity and height of Moral Perfection is Bear and Forbear MAX. 17. If thou desire not to be too poor desire not to be too rich He is rich not that possesseth much but he that covets no more and he is poor not
In this Journey it 's safe neither to loyter nor to rest till thou hast attained thy Journey's-End He that sits down a Philosopher rises up an Atheist MAX. 47. Fear not to Sin for God's sake but thy own thy Sin o'erthrows not his Glory but Good He gains his glory not only from the Salvation of the Repentant but also from the confusion of the Rebellious There be Vessels for honour and Vessels for dishonour but both for his honour God is not griev'd for the glory he shall lose for thy Improvidence but for the horror thou shalt find for thy Impenitence MAX. 48. Insult not over Misery nor deride Infirmity nor despise Deformity The first shews thy Inhumanity the second thy Folly the third thy Pride He that made him miserable made thee happy to lament him He that made him weak made thee strong to support him He that made him deformed gave thee favour to be humbled He that is not sensible of another's Unhappiness is a Living Stone but he that makes Misery the object of his triumph is an Incarnate Devil MAX. 49. Make thy Recreations servants to thy business lest thou become slave to thy Recreations when thou go'st up into the Mountain leave this Servant in the Valley when thou goest to the City leave him in the Suburbs and remember the Servant is not greater than his Master MAX. 50. Praise no man too liberally before his face nor censure him too lavishly behind his back The one savours of Flattery the other of Malice and both are Reprehensible The true way to advance another's Virtue is to follow it and the best means to cry down another's Vice is to decline it MAX. 51. If thy Prince command a lawful act give him all active Obedience If he command an Unlawful act give Passive Obedience What thy well-grounded Conscience will suffer do cheerfully without repining where thou may'st not do Lawfully suffer couragiously without Rebellion Thy Life and Livelihood is thy Prince's thy Conscience is thy own MAX. 52. If thou givest to receive the like it is Exchange If to receive more 't is covetousness If to receive thanks it is Vanity If to be seen 't is Vain-Glory If to corrupt 't is Bribery If for Example 't is Formality If for Compassion 't is Charity If because thou art Commanded 't is Obedience The affection in doing the work gives a name to the work done MAX. 53. Fear Death but be not afraid of Death To fear it whets thy Expectation to be afraid of it dulls thy Preparation If thou canst endure it it is but a slight pain if not 't is but a short pain To fear Death is the way to Live long To be afraid of Death is to be long a Dying MAX. 54. If thou desire the love of God and Man be humble for the proud heart as it loves none but it self so it is beloved of none but by it self The Voice of humility is God's Rhetorick Humility enforces where neither Virtue nor Strength nor Reason can prevail MAX. 55. Look upon thy burning Taper and there see the Emblem of thy Life The flame is thy Soul the Wax thy Body and is commonly a span long the Wax if never so well temper'd can but last his length and who can lengthen it If ill temper'd it shall waste the the faster yet last his length an open Window shall hasten either an Extinguisher shall put out both Husband them the best thou canst thou canst not lengthen them beyond their date Leave them to the injury of the Wind or to the mercy of a wastful hand thou hastnest them but still they burn their length But puff them out and thou hast shortned them and stop'd their passage which else had brought them to their appointed End Bodies according to their Constitutions stronger or weaker according to the equality or inequality of their Elements have their dates and may be preserved from shortning but not lengthned Neglect may waste them ill Diet may hasten them to their Journey 's End yet they have lived their length a violent hand may interrupt them a sudden death may stop them and they are shortned It lies in the power of Man either permissively to hasten or actively to shorten but not to lengthen or extend the Limits of his Natural Life He only if any hath the art to lengthen out his Taper that puts it â—o the best advantage MAX. 56. Demean thy self in the presence of thy Prince with reverence and chearfulness That without this is too much sadness this without that is too much boldness Let thy Wisdom endeavour to gain his opinion and labour to make thy Loyalty his Confidence Let him not find thee false in Words unjust in thy Actions unseasonable in thy Suits nor careless in his Service Cross not his passion Question not his pleasures Press not into his secrets Pry not in his prerogative Displease him not lest he be angry appear not displeased lest he be jealous The anger of a King is implacable The Jealousie of a Prince is Incurable MAX. 57. Give thy heart to thy Creator and reverence thy Superiors Give diligence to thy Calling and ear to good Counsel Give alms to the Poor and the Glory to God Forgive him that ignorantly offends thee and him that wittingly offended thee seeks thee Forgive him that hath forcibly abused thee and him that hath fraudulently betray'd thee Forgive all thine Enemies but least of all thy self Give and it shall be given to thee Forgive and it shall be Forgiven thee the sum of all Christianity is Give and Forgive MAX. 58. Be not too great a Niggard in the Commendations of him that professes thy own Quality If he deserves thy praise thou hast discovered thy Judgment If not thy Modesty Honour either returns or reflects to the Giver MAX. 59. If thou desire to raise thy Fortunes Encourage thy delights to the casts of Fortune be wise be times lest thou repent too late what thou gettest thou gainest by abused Providence what thou losest thou losest by abused Patience what thou winnest is prodigally spent what thou losest is prodigally lost It is an Evil trade that prodigally drives and a bad Voyage where the Pilot is blind MAX. 60. Be very wary for whom thou becomest Security and for no more than thou art able to discharge if thou lovest thy Liberty The Borrower is a Slave to the Lender the Security is a Slave to both whilst the Borrower and Lender are both eased the Security bears both their burthens He is a Wise Security that recovers himself MAX. 61. Look upon thy Affliction as thou dost upon thy Physick both imply a Disease and both are applied for a Cure that of the Body this of the Soul If they work they promise health if not the threaten death He is not happy that is not Afflicted but he that finds happiness by his Affliction MAX. 62. If the knowledge of good whet thy desire to good it is a happy knowledge
Enemy MAX. 80. Expect the Arms of thy Enemy on plain and easie ground and still avoid mountainous rocky places and strait Passages to the utmost of thy Power It is not safe to pitch any where where the Forces cannot be brought together He never deserved the Name of a good Gamester that hazards his whole Rest upon less than the strength of his whole Game MAX. 81. It matters not much whether in Government thou tread the Steps of severe Hanibal or gentle Scipio so thy Actions are Honourable and thy Life Virtuous Both in the one and the other there is both Defect and Danger if not corrected and supported by the fair Repute of some extraordinary Endowments No matter whether black or white so the Steed be good MAX. 82. It is the safest Way in martial Expedition to commit the main Charge to one Companions in Command beget Confusion in the Camp When two able Commanders are joyned in equal Commission each is apt to think his own way best and by mutual thwarting each other both give opportunity to the Enemy MAX. 83. It is a high Point of Providence in a Prince to observe Popular Sects in their first rise and to nip them in the bud But being once full aged it is Wisdom not to oppose them with too strong a hand lest in suppressing one there arise two A soft Current is soon stopt but a strong Stream resisted breaks into many or overwhelms all MAX. 84. It makes very much to thy advantage to observe strictly the National Virtues and Vices and humours of Foreign Kingdoms whereby the times past shall read useful Lectures to the time present He that would see what shall be let him consider what hath been MAX. 85. If like Manlius thou command Stout and great things be like Manlius stout to Execute great commands It is a great blemish in Sovereignty when the Will roars and the Power whispers If thou canst not Execute as freely as thou Commandst Command no more than what thou mayst as freely Execute MAX. 86. If one Prince desire to obtain any thing of another let him if occasion will bear it give him no time to advise let him endeavour to make him see a necessity of sudden resolution and the danger either of denial or delay He that gives times to resolve gives leisure to deny and warning to prepare MAX. 87. Let not thine Army at the first Encounter be too prodigal in her assaults but husband her strength at a dead lift When the Enemy hath abated the fury of his first heat let him then feel thou hast reserved thy Forces for the last blow So shall the honour he hath gained by his Valour encrease the Glory of thy Victory Fore-Games when they prove are speediest but After-games if wisely plaid are surest MAX. 88. It is very requisite for a Prince to keep the Church always in proportion to the State If the Government of the one be Monarchical and the other Democratical they will agree like Metal joyned with Clay But for a while durable is that State where Aaron commands the People and where Moses commands Aaron but most happy in the continuance where God commands both MAX. 89. Let not the Covetousness of a Captain purloyn to his own own use or any way bereave his Soldiers of any profit due unto their service either in their means or spoils Such injuries being quickned by their daily Necessities are never forgot What Soldiers earn with the hazard of their Lives if not enjoyed prophesies an Overthrow in the next battle MAX. 90. If a Prince expect Virtuous Subjects let his Subjects have a Virtuous Prince and so shall he the better punish the Vices of his degenerate Subjects so shall they trulier prize Virtue and follow it being exemplified in their Prince MAX. 91. It is the property of a Wise Commander to cast an Eye rather upon Actions than upon Persons and rather to reward the Merits of Men than to read the Letters of Ladies He that for favour or reward prefers a worthless Soldier Betrays a Kingdom to advance a Traytor MAX. 92. Where order and fury are well acquainted the War prospers and Soldiers end no less Men than they begun Order is quickned by Fury and Fury is regulated by Order but where Order is wanting Fury runs her own way and being unthrift of its own strength failing in the first assault cravens and such beginning more than Men end less than Women MAX. 93. It is the quality of a wise Commander to make his Soldiers confident of his Wisdom and their own Strength If any danger be to conceal it if manifest to lessen it Let him possess his Army with the Justness of the War and a certainty of Victory A good Cause makes a stout Heart and a strong Arm. They that fear an Overthrow are half Conquered MAX. 94. It is requisite in a General to mingle Love with the severity of his Discipline They that cannot be induced to Fear for Love will never be inforced to Love for Fear Love opens the heart Fear shuts it that Encourages this Compels and Victory meets Encouragement but flees Compulsion MAX. 95. It is the part of a well-advised State never to entrust a weighty service unto whom a noted Injury or dishonour hath been done he can never be Zealous in performance of service the height of whose Expectation can rather recover a lost Name than gain a fresh Honour MAX. 96. Three ways there be to begin a repute and gain Dignities in a Common-wealth The first by the Virtue of glorious Parents which till thou degenerate too much may raise thee upon the wings of Opinion The second is by associating with those whose actions are known Eminent The third by acting some Exploit either Publick or Private which in thy hand hath proved Honourable The two first may miss being founded upon Opinion The last seldom fails being grounded upon Evidence MAX. 97. If thou art called to the Dignity of a Commander dignify thy place by thy Commands and that thou mayst be the more perfect in Commanding others practise upon thy self Remember that thou art a Servant to the Publick-weal and therefore forget all private respects either of Kâ—n or Friends Remember thou art a Champion for a Kingdom Forget therefore all private affections either of Love or Hate He that would do his Country right must not be too sensible of a Personal wrong MAX. 98. It is the part of a wise Commander to read Books not so much as Men nor Men so much as Nations He that can discern the Inclinations Conditions and Passions of a Kingdom gains his Prince a great advantage both in Peace and War MAX. 99. And you most high and mighty Princes of this Lower World who at this Intricate and various Game of War vye Kingdoms and win Crowns and by the death of your reverend Subjects gain the Lives of your bold hearted Enemies Know there is a Quo Quarranto whereto you are to give