being at a banquet he â—as so mightilie assailed by Rats that neither â—is guard fire or water coulde preserue him â—rom them Lying in doctrine is most pernitious Hee that dare make a lye to his Father or â—eeketh meanes to deceiue him such a one â—uch more dareth be bolde to doe the lyke â— another bodie A lye is the more hatefull because it hath a similitude of truth Quintil. A lyar ought to haue a good memory least he be quickly found false in his tale Plinie It is a double lye for a man to beleeue himselfe Stobaeus All Idolatry hypocrisie superstition false waights false measures and all cousonages are called lying to the end that by so deformed a name wee should the rather eschewâ— them Homer vvriteth of the great valiant Captaine Achilles that hee did more abhorre lying then death Si qui ob emolumentum suum cupidius aliquiâ— dicere videntur ijs credere non conuenit Falsum maledictum est maleuolum mendaciâ— Of Dronkennes Defi. Dronkennesse is that vice which stirreâ— vp lust greefe anger and extremitie of louâ— and extinguisheth the memory opinion aâ— vnderstanding making a man twise a chilâ— and all by excesse of drinke and dronkenneâ— THe auncient Romaines would not suffâ—â— theyr wiues to drinke any wine The crafty wrastler wine distempereth the vvit weakens the feete and ouercommeth the vitall spirits Arist. VVine burnes vp beautie hastens age Excesse is the worke of sinne and dronkennesse the effect of ryot Solon Alexander beeing dronke slew his friende which in his sobernes he mightily lamented Those things which are hid in a sober mans hart is oft-times reuealed by the tongue of a dronkard VVhere dronkennesse is Mistres there secrecie beareth no maisterie VVine and women cause men to dote and many times putteth men of vnderstanding to reproofe The Vine bringeth forth three grapes the first of pleasure the second of dronkennesse the thyrd of sorrow Anacreon Phillip King of Macedon making warre vppon the Persians vnderstood that they were a people vvhich abounded in all manner of delicate vvines and other wastfull expences whereupon he presently retired hys Armie saying It was needlesse to make vvar vppon them who would shortly ouerthrowe themselues Dyonisius the Tyrant by ouer-much drinking lost his eye-sight Nothing maketh dronkennesse to bee more abhorred then the filthy and beastlie behauiour of those men whose stomackes are ouer-charged with excesse Steele is the glasse of beauty wine the glasse of the minde Eurip. A dronken-man like vnto an olde man is twise a chyld Plato Dronkennesse is nothing else but a voluntarie madnesse The first euill of dronkennesse is danger of chastitie Ambrose The Lacedemonians woulde often shewe theyr chyldren such as were dronke to the end they should learne to loath that vice Romulus made a Law that if a vvoman were found ouer-come vvith drinke shee should die for her offence supposing that thys vice was the beginning of dishonestie vvhoredome Calisthenes beeing vrged by one to drinke as others dyd at Alexanders feast answered that hee would not for sayth hee vvho so drinketh to Alexander had neede of Esculapius Meaning a Physition The Leopard as many write cannot bee so soone taken by any thing as by wine for being dronke he falleth into the toyles VVine according to the saying of a late VVriter hath drowned more men then the sea hath deuoured Ptholomie who in mockery was called Phylopater because he put to death both his Father and his mother through wine and women dyed like a beast Dronkennes is a monster with many heads as filthy talke fornication wrath murther swearing cursing and such like There are two kindes of dronkennesse one kinde aboue the Moone or a celestiall dronkennes stirred vp by drinking of heauenlie drinke which maketh vs onely to consider things diuine the reward of vertue is perpetuall dronkennes Musaeus Annother kinde of dronkennes is vnder the Moone that is to bee dronke with excesse of drinking which vice ought of all men to be carefully auoyded VVine is the bloode of the earth and the shame of such as abuse it VVine inflameth the lyuer rotteth the lunges dulleth the memory and breedeth all sicknesses The Nazarites abstained from drinking of any wine or strong drinke Arnutius a Romaine beeing dronke committed incest with his daughter Medullina VVine and youth is a double fire in a man Alexander after hee had conquered almost all the world was ouer-come himselfe vvith dronkennesse Quid non ebrietas designat oporta recludit Spes iubet esse ratas inpraelia prudit inermâ—m Sollicitis animis onus eximit addocet artes Faecundi calices quem non fecere disertum Contracta quem non inpaupertate solutum Of Gluttony Defi. Gluttony or surfeiting is the sworne enemie to Temperance daughter to excesse and immoderate appetite shee is healths bane humanities blemish lifes Cockatrice and the soules hell except mercy wipe out the remembrance of so great a guilt SVffise nature but surfeite not supply the bodyes neede but offend it not Moderate dyet is the vvise mans cognizaunce but surfeiting epicurisme a fooles chiefest glory To lyue well and frugally is to liue temperatly and shunne surfeiting for there is great difference betweene liuing well and lyuing sumptuously because the one proceedes of temperance frugalitie discipline and moderation of the soule contented with her ovvn riches and the other of intemperance lust contempt of all order and mediocritie but in the end the one is followed with shame the other with eternall prayse and commendation Plato It is not the vse of meate but the inordinate desire thereof ought to be blamed Aug. Continencie in meate drinke is the beginning and foundation of skill Socrat. VVe cannot vse our spirit well when our stomacks are stuffed with meate neyther must we gratifie the belly and entrailes only but the honest ioy of the mind Cic. The Hebrues vsed to eate but once a day which was at dinner and the Grecians in lyke manner had but one meale and that was at supper Plato beeing demaunded vvhether hee had seene any new or strange thing in Sicilia answered hee had founde a monster in nature that dyd eate twise a day meaning Dyonisius who first brought vp that custome in his Country Sobrietie retayneth that in a vvise mans thought vvhich a foole vvithout discretion hath in his mouth The belly is an vnthankfull beast neuer requiting the pleasure done it but craueth continually more then it needeth Crates VVhen we eate vvee must remember wee haue two guests to entertaine the body and the soule whatsoeuer the body hath departs away quickly but what the soule receiueth abideth for euer The wicked man liueth to eate and drinke but the good man eateth drinketh to liue Plut. A rich man may dine when hee list but a poore man when he can get meate Diog. The belly is the commaunding part of the body Homer It is a great fault for a man to be ignorant of the measure of his owne stomack Seneca
Qui bene ducit effecit vt recte euin ij quos ducit sequantur Flectitur obsequio curuatus ab arbore ramus Eranges si vires experiere tuas Of Opinion Defi. Opinion is a rule of the minde contayning our woe or pleasures it is borne of wind nurst with vnrest and brought vp onely with imagination OPinion makes men arme themselues one against another Opinion is one of the greatest pillars which vpholds Common-wealths and the greatest mischiefe to ouertrow them Pontanus Opinion proceeding from a firme discourse of reason purged from vanity is perfit iudgment He that followes opinion flies from rest VVhatsoeuer opinion perswades vs to bee perfit beeing once approued becomes most deceitfull Opinion is borne of wind and fedde with imagination iudging euer best of that it least enioyeth Opinion neuer iudgeth rightly of any thing as it is indeede but onely as it seemeth to be Opinion lyuing in hope pines in present and lacketh what euer it hath Opinion is the torment of the minde and the destruction of the body vainely promising that rest which could neuer be enioyed Opinion drawes on the ambitious vvith a vaine conceit of immortality making possible impossibility It is a token of a corrupt estate where there are many opinions and many Phisitions for the first is maintained by vnfaithfulnesse the last by idlenes and gluttony The variety of opinions among the learned begets both doubtfulnesse and feare in the ignorant Theophrastus The opinion of Iudges haue heapt sutes one vpon another and made them immortall Opinions makes euerie certaintie incertaine the cleerest thing obscure and the surest contract the easiliest vntied Opinion leaues mens actions open to the slaunders craft malice and polling of wicked Lawyers By opinions chiefely is maiesty and integrity of auntient iustice lost All sedition springs from opinion and all sedition is euill how honest soeuer the ground be pretended Opinion is the originall of disobedience disobedience is the beginning of fury The vnion and concord of opinions is the agreement and harmony of kingdoms The ground of the Romaine ciuill vvarres vvas the diuersitie of opinions betwixt the Nobilite and the Senate The strength of false opinion is of such force that it ouerthroweth the loue betwixt man and wife betwixt father and childe betwixt friend and friend and betwixt maister and seruant Demost. To know the causes of false opinions is the onely meane to breake the strength and root out the force of false opinion Profit honor losse and dishonor are foure causes of disioyned opinions Shame breeds variation in opinions yet not tumultuously or without order Great opinions alter not at one instant but leaue their strength by degrees by little and little except they be violent Dissimilitude being a diuersity of opinions in religion is cause of ciuill warre The diuersitie of opinions in subiects is most dangerous to estates and soueraignes Phocion Diuers opinions labour for diuers occurrents and theyr diuersitie is sildome satisfied It is impossible for any head to maintaine an opinion contrary to the members Amongst men that are honest and vpright in lyfe and lyue contented vvith theyr calling there neuer happeneth diuersity of opinious nor ciuill warres of religion Grauior et validior est decem virorum sententia quam totius multitudinis imperitae Cic. Vereor de viris doctis iudicare né quorum opinionem improbo illos videor improbasse Of Credulity Defi. Credulitie is a certaine ground and vnfained trust which wee repose in the obiect propounded to our imagination it is also the destruction of doubt and an animater of vs to those actions which we credite to be honest SO many men so many minds and so many minds so many beliefes Credite is a constant trust in such things as are spoken or couenaunted Credite is a figure of fayth or that vvhich fayth it selfe is and is breathed by the Spirit of God into the godly Beza Credite or fayth consisteth aboue al things in prayer and meditation True beliefe breedeth constancie in prosperity and patience in time of affliction A good lyfe cannot be seperated frō a good beleefe As persit hope and trust quickneth men to call vpon GOD so incredulity makes men fearefull and puls them from his seruice Beleefe fayles vvhere Gods truth stands incertaine The way to increase credite is first to haue credite The fruit of beliefe is made manifest by the loue we beare to our neighbours and by our patience in time of tryall True beliefe iustifieth and that iustification is our redemption Bonauen Credulous beleefes knyts together the ioynts of a Common-wealth Kingdoms vvithout beleefe are like vnto a mans breath vvhich vanisheth as soone as it is seene That mean which constituts cōmon weales preserues them faith first constituted them therefore faith vpholds them Credite without gyfts appertaining to credite is no credite All things belonging to happinesse consists in faith and credulity No man beleeueth willingly more then hee himselfe liketh Chrisost. No gold is so precious as a faythfull friend whom a man may boldly credit Mens credites should be better then debts for fayth should exceede oathes Slow beleefe is the hand-mayde of vvisedome S. P. S. Vnexercised credite is sickly and vnknown things are vnadmired Fayth built vppon any thing but diuinitie is dead fayth and like a frame that hath no substance or continuation The nature of desire is no easier to receaue beleefe then hard to ground beleefe S. P. S. From fayth comes feare from feare hate of sinne and from hate of sinne euerlasting saluation Ambrose In the greatest danger the greatest credite is best deserued Truth is the daughter of Tyme and guide to all goodnes Hee that through custome makes little account of his promise may sweare often and sildome be belieued Custome without credite is no better to be accounted of then an old error He is much his owne enemie that carelesly looseth his owne credite Credulity is the onely aduantage of honest harts S. P. S. It is as great a fault to beleeue euery one as to trust none Seneca True faith in God maketh innumerable strong champions and inuincible stomacks not onely towards death but also against all the most cruell deuises that can bee found to make death if it were possible more painefull then death Boetius Credite is of greater worth then friendship and friendship as worthy as may be Non patitur ludum fama fides oculus Non holocausta Deus sed corda fidelia quaerit Haec qui dona gerit lege beatus erit Of Secrecie Defi. Secrecie is a faythfull humour which strengthened by vertue concealeth in despight of misfortune those things which one knoweth may eyther profit his enemie or preiudice his friend or country HEe that knowes not vvhen to holde his peace knowes not when to speake Gold boyleth best when it least bubleth a flame pressed downe enforceth the fire to smother Pacunius Loue that is kept in secrete consumes in sorowes and the flames of fancie raked
bowe that standeth bent dooth neuer cast straight and the minde that is delighted with earthly pleasures sildome thinketh on heauenly happines Plato A worde suffiseth for a vvise man and one thought is enough for one resolution VVhen death is at the doore remedie is too late when misfortune is hapned thought of preuention is bootlesse Cogitationes vagas et in vtiles et velut somnâ— similes né recipias quibus si animuÌ„ tuum oblectaueris quum omnia disposueris tristis remauâ—â—is Cic. Cogitationes sunt improuidi animi respectus et ad euagationem proui Of Wit Defi. VVit is the first and principall part of the soule wherein the minde the vnderstanding and the memory are contayned which are most necessary for the direction of all good vertuous actions SHarpnes of the wit is a sparke that soonest inflameth desire Chilo One mans will is another mans wit The ornaments of wit are much more faire then the badges of nobility A bond-man to ire hath no power to rule other men by hys owne wit A quicke wit cleere vnderstanding taketh good heede of things past prudently waying things present thinges to come Strength wanting wit and policie to rule ouerthrowes it selfe Horace That which mans strength cannot bring to passe wit and policy will soone dispatch VVine is such a whetstone for wit that if it be often set thereon it wyll quickly grind all the steele out and scarce leaue a backe where it found an edge There be three thinges which argue a good wit inuention conceauing and answering There is nothing more smooth then glasse yet nothing more brickle nothing more faire then snow yet nothing lesse firme neyther any thing more fine theÌ„ wit yet nothing more fickle VVit doth not commonly bend where will hath most force Plinie A good wit ill imployed is dangerous in a Common-wealth Demost. He that in these dayes seeketh to get wealth by wit without friends is lyke vnto him that thinketh to buy meate in the market without money As the Sea-crab swimmeth alwayes against the streame so doth wit alwayes against wisdome Pythag. As a Bee is oftentimes huâ—t with his ovvne hony so is wit not sildome plagued with his owne conceit If wit bee imployed to the honest study of learning what thing is more precious but if in the idle trade of loue what thing can bee more pestilent VVit without learning is like a tree without fruite Arist. VVit though it hath beene eaten with the canker of conceite and fettered with the rust of vaine loue yet beeing purified in the Still of wisedome and tryed in the fire of zeale wil shine bright and smell sweete in the nosthrils of all young Nouices VVisedom cannot be profitable to a foole nor wit to him that vseth it not Galen The wit of man is apt to all goodnes if it be applyed thereunto Diog. Commonly men of sharp wit iudgment be not alwayes of sound conditions and many tymes good inclinations are corrupted by vicious conuersation Mans wit is made dul through grosse immoderate feeding Many by wit get wealth but none by wealth purchase wit yet both wit and wealth agree in the best sympathie Hee seemeth to be most ignorant that trusteth most to his owne wit Plato By how much the more the interior sences are more precious and the gyfts of the mind more excellent then the exterior organs and instruments of the body by so much the more is wit to bee preferred before the outward proportion of lineaments He best perceiueth his owne wit that thogh his knowledge be great yet thinketh himselfe to vnderstand little Protog As empty vessels make the loudest sound so men of least wit are the greatest bablers As yron and brasse are the brighter for the wearing so the wit is most ready that is most occupied Recreation of wits ought to be alovved for vvhen they haue a while rested they often times proue more sharp and quick Seneca VVords vvittily spoken do awake reuiue the iudgement but great manifest examples perswade the hart VVit in women is lyke oyle in the flame which eyther kindeleth to great vertue or to extreame vanity Guenera VVit gotten by industry though it be hard in coÌ„ceiuing yet it is not hasty in forgetting Quid non ingenio voluit natura licere Nil non mortale tenemus Pectoris exceptis ingenisque bonis Ouid. Of Wisedom Defi. VVisedom is a generall vertue the princesse and guide of all other vertues and that wherein the knowledge of our soueraine good and the end of our life consisteth as also the choyce of those wayes by which wee may come vnto it WIsedom shyneth in the midst of anger It is wisedome to thinke vppon any thing before wee execute it Plotinus By others faults wise men correct their own offences He is wise that is wise to himselfe Eurip. As it is great wisedome for a man to bee secretary to himselfe so it is meere foolishnesse to reueale the inward thoughts of the hart to a stranger It is wisedom to looke ere we leap and folly to doubt where no cause is It is more wisedom to lament the lyfe of the wicked then the death of the iust To forget an iniury proceedeth of singuler wisedome In many iniuries there is more security and wisedome to dissemble a wrong then to reuenge it Alex. Seue There can be no greater tryumphs or tokens of wisedom then to conquer affections To the wise it is as great pleasure to heare counsayle mixed wyth mirth as to the foolish to haue sport mingled with rudenes VVisedome is great wealth sparing is good getting and thrift consisteth not in gold but in grace VVisedom prouideth things necessary not superfluous Solon He that enioyeth wealth without wisedom possesseth care for himselfe enuie for hys neighbors spurres for his enemies a pray for theeues trauaile for his person anguish for his spyrit a scruple for his conscience perrill for his loue woe for his chyldren and a curse for his heyres because although he knowes howe to gather yet hee wanteth skill to dyspose what he hath gotten VVisedom flourisheth when beauty fadeth and waxeth young when age approcheth VVisedom is the most precious iem wherwith the minde may be adorned and learning one of the most famous qualities for vvhich a man ought to be esteemed True wisedome teacheth vs as vvell to doe well as to speake well Sapience is the foundation and roote of all noble laudable things by her we may attaine a happy end and learne to keepe our selues from euerlasting payne Solon It is a poynt of great vvisedom to knovv to vvhat purpose the time best serueth Archi. As a plough rooteth out from the earth all brambles thistles so wisedom rooteth out all vice from the mind Pythag. VVisedom is a tree that springeth from the hart beareth fruite in the tongue A vvise man is neuer lesse alone then when he is alone Ambr. The first poynt of vvisedome is to discerne that which
property of a Seruant to feare his Maister with hatred but a Sonne feareth his Father for loue Ambrose Neyther strength nor bignesse are of anie value in a fearefull body They that desire to be feared needes must they dread them of whom they be feared VVhom many feare they doe hate and euery man whom he hateth he desireth to see him perrish Feare is the companion of a guiltie conscience A Maister that feareth his Seruant is more seruile then the Seruant himselfe It is a deadly feare to liue in continuall danger of death It is meere folly for a man to feare that which he cannot shunne It is a naturall thing in al men to leaue their liues vvith sorrow and to take theyr deaths with feare It is better to suffer that vvhich wee feare then by feare to liue in coÌ„tinuall martirdom To demaund how many and not where the enemies be is a signe of cowardly feare Feare followeth hope wherefore if thou wilt not feare hope not Aâ—sculapius It many times happens that the parties not willing to ioyne in loue doe consent agree together in feare It is farre better to feare thy choice then to rue thy chaunce He that feareth euery tempest is not fit to be a trauailer The sword dispatcheth quicklie but feare tormenteth continually Feare standeth at the gates of the eares and putteth back all perswasions Plato The more a man feares the sooner he shall be hurt Too much feare opens the doore to desperation He that through his cruelty is much feared of other men vvalketh in small assurance of his owne life The feare of death to a wicked person is of greater force to trouble him then the stroke it selfe Cic. A fearefull man neuer thinks so well of any mans opinion as hee dooth of his owne conceite and yet he will be ready to aske counsell vpon euery trifling cause It is a lamentable thing to be old with feare when a man is but young in yeares It becoÌ„meth nor a Commaunder in Armes to be a man of a fearefull disposition Hee is woorthy to be counted a valiant and couragious minded man in whom the feare of an honest death can strike no signe of terror It is the property of a wise man with a quiet minde patiently to beare all things neuer dreading more then he need in aduersity nor fearing thinges not to be feared in time of prosperity but those things which he hath he honestly inioyeth and those things which he possesseth not he doth not greatly couet It becommeth a wise-man to be heedefull but not to be feareful for base feare bringeth double danger It is requisite for all men to knowe God and to liue in his feare But such as worship God for feare least any harme should happen vnto them are like them that hate Tyrants in their harts and yet study to please them because they would in quiet keep that they possesse Multos in summa periculamisit Venturi timor ipse mali fortissimus ille est Qui proÌ„ptus metuenda pati sicoÌ„minus instent Et differre potest Nos an xius omnia cogit Quae possunt fieri facta putare timor Of Famine Defi. Famine is a vehement hungrie desire of eating as thirst is of drinking which as Galen saith in his third booke of naturall Faculties stifleth and châ—aketh the stomacke with euill and noy some humors and dissolueth destroyeth the strength thereof it begetteth lothsomnes filleth all the body full of outragious and filthy diseases BArraine Scithia is Famines Country and the place of her aboade the sterill fruitlesse top of mount Caucasus Famine and dearth doe thus differ dearth is that vvhen all those things that belong to the life of man for example meate drinke apparrell lodging other things are rated at a high price Famine is when all these necessaries before named are not to be got for money though there be store of money God is the efficient cause of famine and sinnes the impulsiue or forcing causes which the holy Scripture setteth downe to be these Atheisme Idolatry coÌ„tempt of Gods word priuate gaine periury and oppression couetousnes cruelty pride drunkennes and surfetting aud neglect of tyth-paying There was a generall dearth throughout all the world in the dayes of Claudius Caesar according to the prophecie of Agabus because the world was then like vnto the Emperour giuen ouer to all impiety drunkennes and ryot Famine and the pestilence are such fellow-like companions that the Grecians distinguish them but by one letter calling the pestilence Loimos and the famine Limos Famine is more intollerable then the pestilence or the sword therefore when God gaue Dauid his choice of these three euils he chose the pestilence as the easiest to bee endured After famine commeth the pestilence In the yeere 1438. Thuringia was oppressed with so great a famine that throughout al the Region the streetes in Citties and Villages lay full of deadbodies through putrefaction of which a plague followed whereby many thousands perished Eusebius in his ecclesiasticall history vvriteth that vvicked Herod King of the Iewes ended his wretched life as well by famine as the lousie euill Erisicthon for his impious sacriledge vvas plagued with such miserable extreame famine that hee vvas constrained to eate his owne flesh In the time of famine mice dogs horses asses chaâ—â—e pels hides sawdust haue beene vsed for good sustenance at the last mans flesh yea that which is not to bee spoken without trembling the mothers haue beene constrained through hunger to eate theyr owne children as in the siege of Samaria in the first siege of Ierusalem vnder Nabuchadnezzer and in the last vnder the Emperour Vespasian and his sonne Titus Famine caused Abraham to flie from Canaan into Egipt from Gerar to Abimeleck It caused Iacob in his old age to flye to his son Ioseph in Egypt It caused Elimelech with his wife and children to leaue Israell and to flie into Moab and the Sunanitesse vvoman to leaue her owne Country The people of Egipt in Pharaobs time wheÌ„ the great samine was were vrged to offer vp themselues in bondage and all that they had for Corne. Vrspergensis writeth that the great famine which befell in the yeere eyght hundred and ninety-eyght made men to eate and deuour one another Pliny sayth in his eight booke chapter 57. that when as Hanniball besieged Cassilinum a Citty in Italy in the Citty by reason of extreame scarsitie a mouse vvas solde for two hundred peeces of money and yet hee that sold it dyed for hunger and the buier liued Calagmiam a Citty in Spayne where Quintilian vvas borne beeing besieged of Cneus Pompeius endured such a samine that when there was no other liuing creature left in the Citty the inhabitants eate theyr owne wiues and children Fate for biddeth famine to abide wher plenty dwelleth Famine is like to the eating and deuouring Vlâ—er called Estiomenus called of Courtiers who commonly more then others are subiect thereunto the VVoolfe
for pouertie sith no man lyueth so basely as he was borne Salust It is giuen onely to a wise man to bee content in pouerty Suffer that with patience which thou canst not auoyde be not displeased at thy poore estate The beggars crutch serueth him both to leane vpon and to fight withall Patiently should that bee borne vvhich no strength can ouer-come nor counsell auoid whether it be pouerty to pinch the body or aduersity to crosse the minde It is better to suffer necessitie then to borrow of him whom a man may not trust Pouerty possessed in safetie is better then great riches enioyed with much feare VVhen a man is plagued with pouerty and sicknesse both ioyned together without any succour or easement then riseth in him an intollerable griefe a fire not able to be quenched a sorrow without remedy a tempest full of wracks Pouerty is a vertue of it selfe Diog. Hee liueth in most wretched estate of beggery that is not indued vvith any good qualitie Si ad naturam viuas nunquam eris paâ—per si ad opinionem nunquam eris diues exiguum natur a desiderat opinio immensum Seneca O vitae tâ—ta facultas Paâ—peris angustiquelares ô munera nondum Intellect a Deum Of Banishment Defi. Banishment is a putting away or driuing out of any man eyther from the place where he ought and should inhabite or from thence where he tooke delight desired to dwell FOr sinne was man thrust into the world therfore his life in it is banishment No banishment is sweete but the banishment of a righteous soule from the prison of a world wearied body Stebeus Banishment is there where is no place for vertue Cic. The banished man without a house to dwell in is like a dead body without a graue to rest in It is better for a man to bee banished his country with wise men then to liue there still amongst fooles He that denieth himselfe to his Country is in banishment already VVheresoeuer a man liues well there is his Country Cic. In exile calamity wee know friends from aduersaries A chast eye exileth licentious lookes To exile a true friend is to loose a persit soule To banish hope is to call home dispaire Good fortune attends not euerie great estate nor euill chance euery exild person To stuffe thy coffers with coyne is to commit thine honour to exile True happines is neuer had till after death nor exile welcome but in death There was neuer foule loue nor faire prison welcome death nor desired banishment It is a needlesse question to aske a sick man if he be willing to haue his health or an exile if he would be called from banishment There is nothing better then a contented minde nor any thing worse then the name of a fugitiue There is more sorrowe in loosing a mans owne Countrey then in conquering a world of other nations Death banishment come soone enough if slow enough In time custome becomes a second nature and long banishment breedes loath in delightfulnes The ayre is neuer vvithout some vvind or some clowde nor a banished man vvithout some crosse or trouble Sweet is rest after long pilgrimage great is the comfort a banished man takes at the tidings of his repealement It is the nature of man to loue those things deerest which are banisht farthest from him Hee that in the morning is proude of his possessions may happen ere night to be banished from his pleasures Seneca Beauty and youth once banished neuer repeale The comfort of fugitiues is that there bee many fugitiues Care followeth a fugitiue person euen as a shadow followes the body Exilium terribile est ijs quibus quasi conscriptus est habitandi locus non ijs qui omnem orbem terrarâ—â— vnam vrbem esse dicunt Cic. Priuari patria magnum malum est sed maius ve quam sermone Of absence and presence Defi. Absence is the departing or losse of a friend or anie other obiect wherein wee take delight and presence is the continuall companie of the partie with whom wee desire to be most conuersant THe presence of the minde is to be preferred before the presence of the body VVee neuer know how profitable the presence of a friend is vntill vvee haue felt the want of his absence for a time Absence in loue makes true loue more firme and constant The absence of friendes is the presence of griefes As contraries are knowne by contraries so the delight of presence is knowne by the hell of absence Man seperate from money is like a soule seperated from a body The griefe of vnwished absence is vvorse then the wound of a stubborne launce The diuorce of sorrow is slow-footed and lasie A teadious presence decayes loue a long absence forgets true familiarity The absence of couetousnes is the prosperitie of present estates Trauaile not to gaine absence for society is the strength to happines Absence puts off happines and time alters resolutions VVhen thought absents it selfe from truth the soule presents her selfe to sinne Demost. The euills got by absence wisedome recureth Take heede of speaking ill of the absent The solitary man is either a God or a beast Much absence is a signe of small loue Life and faith once absented neuer returne The fayrest presence is but a dunghill couered ouer with white and purple VVhilst the presence of power by pleasures gets acquaintance vertue is vnknowne and liues in absence Infamy is neuer absent from arrogancy Men gaine theyr desires by trauaile sustain them by thought and are absent from them by anoyance Aristip. The presence of one day blameth the absence of another but the last shall giue iudgement of all that is past Absence from euill cleeres vp of euill The absence of punishment is no pardon for transgressions Absence is death death is rest absent death is deaths rest Non vna eademque molestia est rerum praesentium et absentium Euripides Distantia locinon seperat amicitiam sed operationem Aristotle Of Acts. Defi. Acts are the monumentall deedes of our liues and our actions are the Ensignes by which are knowne the perfectnes of our good or euill lyuing ALl the praise of inward vertue consisteth in outward action An action without reason a reason without an action are both alike imperfit Action is the ready entrance into contemplation A silent deede is better then an vnperformed word Crates Neyther can good words colour a bad action nor badde vvordes depraue from a good action Shape beautifies an image good actions commends a man Actions are by so much more manifest then words by how much the eyes are surer witnesses then the eares It is an argument of too much weakenesse to remember what should haue been doone Action is the life of contemplation and the tongue of conceit In action a man doth not onely benefit him selfe but profit others S. P. S. God would neuer haue deliuered a soule into the body which hath
armes legs only instruments of action but only it was intended the mind should imploy them There must not only be in a man a mind of charity but also distributing hands Ambr. Action is the matter of vertue honour By the actions of a good man vve adiudge alwaies the excellencies of his life An imperfect man by one perfit good action gaines a liberall name of goodnes Speech is one of the greatest actions which makes manifest the prudent vertues of the soule All newe actions seeme sayre though they be like a painted woman To keepe a friend certaine is a harder action then to get a friend Doe what thou wouldest haue doone vnto thee for indifferencie is iniustice Chilo Presumtious boldnes is a base action in the eyes of thy betters So loue as thou mayst hate so hate as thou maist loue and both without challenge VVill ought alwaies to be accounted an action Fire vvhich is hid acts greater violence theÌ„ that which breakes forth in flames The ende of euery thing is the tryall of the action Conscientia bene actae vitae multorumque benefactorum recordatio iucundissima est Exercitationes virtutum in omni aetate mirificos asserunt fruclus Of Prayse Defi. Prayse is an exhalting or lyfting vp to honour eyther the good parts we behold in others or those excellencies with which our eyes tickled by delight are inamoured THere be many that in words are ready to prayse that which is good and few that in works are willing to follow the same Ploti It is better to be praysed for true speaking then to be honoured for flattering and lying For a man to praise too much his own writings is nothing els but to giue men occasion to speake euill both of him and his works As it is seemely for a Philosopher and a wealthy man to praise the profits of peace euen so in his mouth it is vncomly to prate of the perrils of warre It is no lesse praise-vvorthy to deserue honour then to hold it Persit praise felicity consisteth in a contented life and a quiet death Solon Praise bestowed on an vnworthy person is a manifest signe of flattery Praise is a poyson to the ambitious man for it leadeth him beyond the scope of honesty Nothing deserueth commendation vnlesse it be vertuous Praise encourageth the spyrit to great and mighty things and nourisheth true vertue where it is begun Commendations maketh the labour light the wit studious and the hope rich Three things are commendable in a Scholler silence in his tongue diligence in his reading ciuility in his behauiour Commend nothing for the fairenes for the Lilly is vvhite but in stinketh nor for the bignes for mighty things are combersome but for the goodnes which maketh thinges vnapt conuenient apt things gracious He which often prayseth one abuseth himselfe confirmeth an error and prooueth in the end a lyer and hee which is praised becommeth a great deale more vaine Aug. Praise is the hire of vertue Cic. Too much praise is a burthen Xenophon The praise that Silla gaue to Cynna made him to commit periury It was most notable and memorable in Lucullus that being very young and before he sought any dignity in Rome he accused Seruilius Augur before the Senate vvho had detracted from his Fathers praise and honor Amongst all the praises of Lucullus â—ee deserued most by this aunswere I had rather said he deliuer one Romaine froÌ„ the hands of an enemy then enioy all the riches of mine aduersaries Pompey beeing growne to the height of his fortune and exalted by many praises victories was thus prettily checkt at his departing out of Athens Quantum hominem te esse nosti eatenus es Deus He that praiseth a man openly wil not stick to flatter him secretly Diog. To do good to the poore is a double praise because a double sacrifice one to God another to man Most praise-vvoorthy is the good nurture that can amend a bad nature Vertue begets prayse and prayse begets honour and authority Nothing is more vncertaine then praise for what one day giues vs another day takes away from vs. Tis greater praise to help the helplesse then to maintaine the needlesse In doing that we ought deserues no praise because it is duty Aug. Hee that abaseth a worthy man seeketh to eleuate his owne commendation It is meere vvickednesse to seeke prayse by counterfeited vertue If another man prayse thee yet remember thou to be thine owne iudge All things that are good haue euer the preheminence in praise and comparison As the shadoâ— followeth the body so praise followeth vertue Seneca Neuer praise any thing that is not commendable neyther disprayse that vvhich is praise worthy To be praysed of euill men is as euill as to be praised for euill dooing Bion. If thou wilt prayse anie man praise him for those thinges vvhich may neyther bee giuen him nor taken from him that is not for his faire house his goodly garments or his great possessions but for his vertue wit and perfit reason The prayse of our auncestors is a light to their posterity Salust VVhen they offered to Titus a crowne of gold together with great praises for taking Ierusalem he said that hee himselfe was not the Author thereof but God Neuer challenge to thy selfe the praise of other mens inuentions Aur. Hee that prayseth anie man because hee is a gentleman praiseth his parents also As they vvhich giue vnvvillingly seeme to haue but little themselues so they vvhich praise other men slenderly seeme desirous to be praised themselues It is a poynt of flatterie to prayse a man to his face Be neyther too hastie to praise nor too forward to discommend any Anachar There is no day so cleere but it hath some clowde nor any prayse so complete but it is subiect to the scandall of the enuious Si laus allicere nos ad recté faciendum non potest nec metus quidem á faedissimis factis potest auocare Cic. Laus vbi noua oritur etiam vetus admittitur Of Ayde Defi. Ayde generally is any reliefe or succour chiefely in our extreamities and is the greatest vpholder of ability when it is most weake and desperate SOrrow is so hard of beliefe that it refuseth all ayde imagining truth to be dreames and dreames to be truth Fatall is the ayde that brings vs to the assent of a crowne from vvhence men come not downe but fall downe The ouer-spreading pompe of ayde or might dooth darken weakenes and debace his violence The excesse of ioy and sorrowe neuer affords ayde vnto affliction no not so much as in words Sorrow makes silence her best ayde her best Orator Reuerent order vvill not ayde iniquity or preuart right Offences vrged in publique are made worser and expell ayde The show of iniustice aydes and agrauates despight The multitude which looke not into causes rest satisfied with any thing which is ayded by the Lawes He findes more then enough which findes
his power ayde sufficiently to make what he will right Polion He whose owne ayde makes his own cause makes it too much to make it more thē sure Feare casteth too deepe and is euer too vvise if it be not ayded by some resolution One man is borne to helpe another as farre as his abilitie will serue To helpe the weake is charitie and to ayde the mightie presumption Greg. A doubtfull minded man can neuer endure to be ayded by any vsuall meanes The ayde of the Spirit is fayth by which a man is deliuered from a second death The grace and lawe of the Spirit furnished with the ayde of God iustifieth the wicked reconcileth the sinfull and giueth life to the dead VVisedome learning are the two chiefe aydes to vertue and good conditions Lawe is the Queene of immortalitie aide the Lord which restores the oppressed VVise men are not ayded by the Lawes of men but by the rules of vertue Euill ayde and inconstant loue is like the shadow of a cloude which vanisheth as soone as it is seene Honest assistance is without hurt vvithout hate and without penury The ayde of a friend in lawe is halfe an end to the law He is rash witted that presumeth too much vpon his owne power Anaxag God giueth his wrath by weight mercy without measure Erasmus To try the ayde of friends is to prooue the hope of fortunes Two crafty men can neuer agree vvell together for Fortune to the one is mother to the other a stepdame to neither of them a certaine ayde He is a monstrous foole that will presume to flye with the ayde of waxen wings Homo homini quicunque sit ob eam ipsam causam quod is homo sit consulere debet Nil habet alicuius fortuna melius quā vt possit nec natura quam vt velit seruare plurimum Cicero Of Meane Defi. Meane is the mediocritie and best part of any action and must be vsed in all things it containeth the full effect of prudence touching gouernment and tranquilitie concerning the soule THE dyfference of good or badde consisteth in mediocritie or a meane in all things Curiositie and extreamitie banished man from the first modestie of his nature Nothing too much nothing too little preserueth a meane in all things The meane estate is the best estate indifferent equality is safest superiority Hee that starueth for drinke by a fountaine side hath no meane in his misery The meane loue is the surest loue to loue extreamely procureth eyther death or danger Of two euills the least is to be chosen for that is the meane to well choosing Meane gyfts are most acceptable because they are not corrupted with prodigalitie The more men are threatned the greater meanes they seeke for theyr safetie First to become a seruant is the best meane to become a maister Hidden thoughts may be discouered and meane estates highly erected As stormes wither flowers so pride confounds meane callings All men must till sowe before they can reape and the meaner man the more painful in his labour The smallest hayre hath his shadow and the meanest estate his rising and down-falling Fire is neuer without smoake nor extreamitie without crosses Mountaines hauing too much heate of the Sunne are burnt Valleys hauing too lyttle heate thereof are barraine but such places as hold a meane are most fruitfull Meane thoughts without extreamities gather both beauties and vertues together Of all the parts in musicke the meane is the sweetest Hee which keepes a meane in his dyet shall neuer surfeit Rage is the mother of repentance but mild dealing sheweth loue The increasing of passion multiplieth complaints Extreamity harbours where meane is not kept Cruell men haue cruell deaths where temperate persons out-liue nature Meane thoughts excell ambitious deeds VVise men temper their actions to the time and hold a meane in all matters Bias. The fairest flower may wither the highest hopes decline by misfortune The meane cottage of a swaine standes in more safety then the pallace of a Prince Standing water is worse then the running riuer idle ambition more dangerous then meane industrie The Mouse which hath but one hole is easily taken and he that hath but one meane to resist harme is quickly ouerthrowne VVhere there is no meane there is no order and where proportion is not kept there is speedy confusion Ere mischiefe come the meanes to preuent it ought to be prouided Est modus in rebus sunt certi denique fines Quos vltra citraque nequit consistere rectum Suus cutque modus est tamen magis offendit nimium quam parum Of Labour Defi. Labour is or ought to be the honest recreation of the minde and that industrious worke-maister which buildeth our knowledges and makes them absolute hy exercise of good Letters and continuall trauaile in the Sciences IT is not freedome to liue licentiously neither is it liberty to lyue without labour Labour is a mortall enemy to loue deadly foe to fancie Great labours require sometimes to be eased with honest pastimes That which is doone slowly is neuer doone vvillingly Take good aduisement ere thou begin but the thing once determined dispatch vvith all diligence Labour is the father of a good name Labour is a burden that man vnder-goeth with pleasure Cic. A man that dooth all he can doe doth what he should doe Man is borne to labour though not created to labour By diligent and laborious examination of things past we may easily fore-see things to come Diligence is the searcher out of truth Labour armeth subiects to all vertuous enterprises He that endureth labour shall tast the fruit of his trauaile Aginip Publicola was blessed in his indeuours got fame by his industrie wonne battailes by hys forwardnesse and dyed fortunatly through lyuing laboriously As nothing mounteth swifter then fire so nothing atchiueth sooner then labour He that endeuoureth attaineth hee that neglecteth repenteth Philotis by labour ouer-came the Latines and by his study and policie got that victory which the Romaines detracted by their feare The stuttering in Alcibiades dyd not so much hurt him as his industrie in warres renowned him All errors by labour are cured huge mountaines leuelled and weake wits refined The hope of a good rewarde is a great incouragement to labour Immoderate labours doe weaken the body but a temperate kinde of exercise conserueth the same in health As the sweetest Rose groweth vppon the sharpest prickles so the hardest labours bring forth the sweetest profits As brightnes is to rustinesse so labour excelleth idlenesse Thales No worthy act can be accomplished vvithout payne and diligence No profit is denyed to the painfull person By vse and labour a man may bee brought to a newe nature Demost. The industrious man by his diligence oftentimes excelleth him to whom nature hath beene most beautifull If Demosthenes had seene any Cittizen vp before him and at worke it woulde greatly haue greeued him His continuall labour
increaseth and preserueth it selfe by a naturall facultie NAture in despight of Tyme will frowne at abuse Nature hath a certaine predominant power ouer the minde of man The man that lyueth obedient to nature can neuer hurt himselfe thereby Actions wrought against nature reape despight and thoughts aboue nature disdaine As Art is a helpe to nature so is experience the triall and perfection of Art As nature hath gâ—uen beautie and vertue giuen courage so nature yeeldeth death and vertue yeeldeth honour It is an old plague in mans nature that many men for the most part leaue the amendement of theyr liues farre behind them to sette theyr honors the more before them Nature is aboue Art in the ignorant and vertue aboue all thinges is esteemed of the vvise It is hard to straighten that by Art which is made crooked by nature Perian Nature is pleased in the eye reason in the minde but vertue in them both Consider what nature requires not howmuch affection desires That which is bredde in the bone vvill neuer out of the flesh and vvhat nature hath made Art cannot cure Nature guideth beastes but reason ruleth the harts of men VVhere in one man doe meete incertaintie of affection and malice of nature there is no other hope in him then distrust periurie words and reuenge Such as lyue according to nature are neuer poore and according to the opinion of men they are neuer rich because nature contenteth herselfe opinion doth infinitly couet Phillip King Alexanders Father falling vpon the sands and seeing there the marke print of his body sayd how little a plot of ground is nature content with and yet we couet the whole world The God vvhich is God of nature dooth neuer teach vnnaturalnesse S. P. S. Nature is higher prised then wealth and the loue of our Parents ought to be more precious then dignitie Fyre cannot be hid in the straw nor the nature of man so concealed but at the last it wil haue his course In nature nothing is superfluous Arist. Cineus the Phylosopher was of thys opinion that when the Gods framed Nature they went beyond theyr skill in that quoth hee the maker was subiect to the thing made VVhere nature is vicious by learning it is amended and where it is vertuous by skyll it is augmented There is no greater bonde then duty nor straighter Lawe then nature and where nature inforceth obedience there to resist is to striue against God Better is seueritie in nature then contempt in nature Liberall Sciences are most meet for liberall men and good Arts for good natures Nature without learning and good bringing vp is a blinde guide learning without nature wanteth much and vse vvithout the two former is vnperfit Nature beeing alwayes in a perpetuall motion desireth to be driuen to the better part or else shee suffereth herselfe to bee wayghed downe as a ballance to the worser Nature is our best guide whom if we folow we shall neuer goe astray Arist. Nature friendly sheweth vs by many signes what shee would what she seeketh and what she desireth but man by some strange mean waxeth deafe and will not heare what shee gently counsaileth Nature is a certaine strength and power put into things created by God who gyueth to each thing that which belongeth vnto it To striue against nature is lyke the monstrous broode of the earth to make warre against the Gods in heauen Quod satiare potest diues natura ministrat Quod docet infraenis gloria fine caret Hoc generi hominum natura datum vt qua infamilia laus aliqua forté floruerit hanc feré qui sunt eius stirpis quod sermo hominum ad memoriam patrum virtute celebretur cupidissimé persequantur Of Lyfe Defi. Life which we commonly call the breath of this worlde is a perpetuall battaile and a sharpe skirmish wherein wee are one while hurt with enuie another while with ambition and by and by with some other vice besides the suddaine onsets giuen vppon our bodies by a thousand sorts of diseases and floods of aduersities vpon our spirits LIfe is a pilgrimage a shadowe of ioy a glasse of infirmitie and the perfect path-way to death All mortall men suffer corruption in theyr soules through vice and in theyr bodyes through wormes Mans life is more brittle then glasse It is a miserable life where friendes are feared and enemies nothing mistrusted VVhose death men doe wish his lyfe they alwayes hate It is better not to lyue then not to knowe how to lyue Salust It is hard for a man to liue vvell but verie easie to die ill In lyfe there is time left to speake of the incombrances of fancie but after death no possible meanes to redresse endlesse calamitie If a good man desire to lyue it is for the great desire he hath to doe good but if the euill desire to lyue it is for that they woulde abuse the world longer The chyldren of vanitie call no time good but that wherein they liue according to their owne desire doe nothing but follow theyr owne filthie lusts Mans lyfe is like lyghtning which is but a flash and the longest date of yeeres is but a bauens blaze Men can neither inlarge their lyues as they desire nor shunne that death which they abhorre Menan A detestable life remoueth all merrit of honourable buriall It is better to lyue in meane degree then in high disdaine By lyfe grovveth continuance and by death all things take end Life and death are in the power of the tong The man that desireth life feareth death ought carefully to gouerne his tongue Life is short yet sweet Euripides Life to a wretched man is long but to him that is happy very short Menander Mans life is a warfare Seneca The mortall life which we inioy is the hope of life immortall Aug. An vndefiled life is the reward of age Aug. No man is so old but thinketh he may yet liue an other yeare Hierom. The breath that maintaineth life endeth it A good lyfe is the readiest vvay to a good name Aurel. Better it is to be carefull to liue vvell then desirous to liue long A long lyfe hath commonly long cares annexed with it Most men in these dayes wil haue precepts to be ruled by theyr lyfe and not theyr lyfe to be gouernd by precepts Mans life ought to be lyke vnto an image that hath euery part persit in it Our lyfe ought not to depend vppon one onely hope no more then a shyppe is to be stayed with one anker Fooles vvhen they hate theyr life will yet desire to liue for the feare vvhich they haue of death Crates Mans life is lent him for a time and he that gaue it may iustly demaund it when he will They liue very ill vvho alwayes thinke to liue To a man in misery lyfe seemeth too long but to a worldly minded man liuing at pleasure life seemeth too short Chilo VVhat a shame is it for men
Hee reputing dauncing to be a kinde of franticknes Sybilla the prophetesse neuer yeelding any Oracle except possessed first with a surie The same noble King hearing that Sciâ—io vvas vvont to recreate himselfe with dauncing sayd that a dauncer dyd differ nothing from a madde man but onely in the length of time the one being mad so long as he liueth the other whilst he daunceth Alphon. VVhen the same King was reprooued that albeit hee had so much abhorred dauncing yet was seene openly dauncing at the entertainement of Fredericke the third in the company of the Emperour and Leonorâ— Augusta he aunswered that hee that daunced beeing prouoked by lasciuiousnes and wantonnesse was worthily to be esteemed a foole frantick but if it was done for honours sake hee escaped some part of reprehension because some-times it seemeth a decorum to be franticke and doate with great estates The Romaâ—nes Lace dâ—monians and other well ordered Common-weales banished out of their Countries all vaine pleasures and aboue all dauncing as seruing to none other vse but to effeminate young men and to allure them to vice No man daunceth except he be drunke or mad Tully The vertuous Matrons by dauncing haue oftentimes lost theyr honours which before they had long nourished and virgins by it learne that which they had beene better neuer to haue knowne Petrarch Tully finding fault vvith an enemie of his called him in derision a braue dauncer They which loue dancing too much seeme to haue more braines in their wit then theyr head and thinke to play the fooles with reason Terence A lamentable tune is the sweetest musick to a wosull minde S. P. S. Musick is the sweet meat of sorrow S. P. S. Men of auntient time haue named daunces allurings poysonings and inticements of sathan who by these meanes corrupteth vs. In the Sea of histories mention is made of an Archbishop of Magdebourg vvho broke his neck dauncing with a damâ—ell Hee daunceth vvell to vvhom Fortune pypeth The Egiptians Thratians and Scythians accounted dauncing amongst theyr holy ceremonies first appoynted by Orpheus and Museus who excelled in that kind The Romaines had certaine priests called Salij vvhich daunced in the honor of Mars The Grecians learned to daunce of Castor and Pollux and vsed to dispatch theyr businesse dauncing Socrates which vvas pronounced by the Oracle of Apollo to bee the vvisest man in all Greece was not ashamed in his olde age to learne to daunce extolling dauncing vvith wonderfull prayses Dauncing by an old auncient custom may be vsed so as a man in the exercise therof behaue himselfe modestly and not like vnto a madde man The Sirians before they met their enemies woulde sing Ballades and solace themselues with dauncing It is necessary that our footesteps be aswell ruled as our words ought to be God threatned the daughters of Syon for that they went winding and prauncing making theyr steps to be heard againe Apud antiquos tanto in precio habita est saltatio vt populi presides et antesignani presaltatorum nomine honorarentur Saltatio non ad pudicas sed ad adulteras pertinet Of Man Defi. Man is a creature made of God after his owne image iust holy good and right by nature and compounded of soule and bodie of soule which was inspired of God with spirit and life and of a perfect naturall body framed by the same power of God MAn was created to set forth the glory of his Creator and to speake and doe those things which are agreeable vnto him throgh the knowledge of his benefits Man is nothing but calamity it selfe Hero Mans nature is desirous of change A man may be without fault but not without sinne Aug. Man was wonderfully created but more wonderfully redeemed Aug. Man is the example of imbecillity pray of time sport of fortune and enuy the image of vnconstancy and the very seate of fleame choller and rewmes Plut. Townes Boroughs and Villages are the retreats of mans miseries full of noysomnes trauaile and fortune Solon A good man alwayes draweth good things out of the treasure of his hart and a vvicked man that which is wicked Chris. Man is so excellent a creature that all other creatures were ordained for his vse The duty of man consisteth in knowing of his ovvne nature in contemplating the deuine nature and in labour to profit others Man is onely a breath and a shadow and all men are naturally more inclined to euil then goodnes and in their actions as fraile and vnconstant as the shadow of smoke The end of mans knowledge is humilation and glory Bonauen Man wilfully minded depriueth himselfe of all happines Miseries haue power ouer man not man ouer miseries To the greatest men the greatest mischiefes are incident VVhatsoeuer chaunceth to one man may happen likewise to all men Man by nature keepeth no measure in his actions but is carried away through violence of his sundry affections No creature but man hath any knowledge of God He ceaseth to be a man which ceaseth to be prouident and leaueth the rules of reason Men at the beginning builded Townes for society and for safety but novv are vvildernesses safer then popularity Man hath no power ouer his lyfe but liues ignorant of the certaine time of his death euen as a beast only comforting himselfe with confidence To euery man belongeth two powers a desire and an opinion the first body bred leading to pleasure the other soule bredde leading to good things Cicero Opinion and desire hold in man great controuersies for when opinion is victor then he is sober discreet and chast but vvhen desire ouercommeth he is riotous vvilde and vnsatiate All men naturallie haue some loue and lyking of the truth The perfection of a vvise-man is to ioyne the actiue life vvith the contemplatiue in a certaine expectation of an immortall most blessed life All thinges are resolued into those thinges whereof they are compounded the body of man being earth shall returne to earth and the soule beeing immortall shall enter into immortality All men are by nature equal made all of the earth by one workman and howsoeuer vvâ— deceaue our selues as deere vnto God is the poore peasant as the mighty Prince Plato Misery then seemeth to bee ripe for man when he hath age to know misery S. P. S. The Philosophers knevv mans imperfections but could neuer attaine to knowe the true cause of them Nonne vides hominuÌ„ vt celsos ad sider a vultus Sustulerit Deus ac sublimia finxerit ora Cum pecudes volucrumque genus form asque feraruÌ„ Segnem atque abscaenaÌ„ passuÌ„ strauisset in aluum Homo non vt á matre sed vt á nouerca editus est in vitam corpore nudo et fragili animo infirmo ad molestias anxio humili ad timores molli ad labores ad libidines prauo in quo tamen in est tanquam obrutus diuinus ignis ingenij et mentis August Of Choyce Defi. Choyce doth belong vnto the
esse sui Ouid. Omnibus qui patriaÌ„ conseruauerint adiuuerint auxerint certus est in caelo et definitus locus vbi beati aeuo sempiterno fruuntur Cicero Of Hope Defi. Hope is that vertue whereby the spirit of man putteth great trust in honest waightie matters hauing a certaine and sure confidence in himselfe this hope must be strong ly grounded vppon a sure expectation of the helpe and grace of God without which it is vaine and imperfect TO be cleane without hope is a hap incident to the vnhappy man He that will loose a fauour for a hope hath some wit but small store of wisedom Fortune may take away our goods but death cannot depriue vs of hope Hopes aboue fortune are the fore-poynters of deepe falls If thou chaunce to loue hope vvell vvhatsoeuer thy hap be That which is most common is hope Hope is a waking mans dreame Pyndarus To put our confidence in the creature is to dispaire of the creator Grego Vaine is hope that doth not feare God Gre. This mortall life is the hope of the life immortall Aug. They onely hope vvell who haue a good conscience Aug. Hope is the companion of loue Hope cannot be without fayth Aug. Hope is the God of the wretched Bernard Hope grounded on God neuer faileth but being built on the world it neuer thriueth Hope apprehendeth things vnseene and attaineth things by continuance Plato The euenings hope may comfort the mornings misery Hope is the fooles God the Merchant-mans comfort the souldiers companion and the ambitious mans poyson Hope of life is vanity hope in death is life and the life of hope is vertue Hope waiteth on great mens tongues and beguileth beleeuing followers Sweet words beget hope large protestations nourish it and contempt kils it He that supposeth to thriue by hope may happen to beg in misery Bion. The apprehention of hope derideth griefe and the fulnes of hope consumeth it As all mettalls are made of Sulphur so all pleasures proceede from hope As the one part laboureth for the conseruation of the whole body so hope for the accomplishment of all desires Sadnes is the punishment of the hart hope the medicine of distresse Crates Hope is a pleasant passion of the minde vvhich dooth not onely promise vs those things that we most desire but those thinges also which we vtterly dispaire of Our high hopes haue oftentimes hard fortunes and such as reach at the tree commonly stumble at the roote To hope for requitall of benefits bestowed may rather be counted vsury then vertue A cowardly louer without hope shall neuer gaine faire loue with good fortune To hope against all hope is the excellence of a mighty resolution In a little place is hid a great treasure and in a small hope a boundlesse expectation Confidence except it be guided by modesty and proceed from iudgment may rather be called arrogancy then hope Hope of all passions is the sweetest and most pleasant and heereof it is said that hope onely comforteth the miserable Hope is the Gouernour of men Symonides Perdicas seeing Alexander largelie bestovve many benefits vppon his friends asked him what hee would leaue for himself he aunswered hope A good and vertuous man ought alwaies to hope well and to feare nothing Hope is the beginning of victory to come and doth presage the same Pyndarus Sola spes hominem in miserijs consolari solet Miserum est timere cum sâ—eres nihil Of Charity Defi. Charitie is the indissoluble band of God with vs whereby wee are inflamed with the loue of him for that which we owe vnto him and therby also are induced to loue our neighbours for the loue of God CHaritie is the scope of all Gods commaundements Chris. Charity delayd is halfe lost Charitie raunsommeth vs from sinne and deliuereth vs from death Charitie increaseth fayth begetteth hope and maketh vs at one with God As the body without the soule enioyeth no life so all other vertues without charity are cold and fruitlesse Charity is a good and gracious affect of the soule whereby mans hart hath no fancy to esteeme any thing in this world before the study to know God Hermes The charitable man is the true louer of God Seuerus As the sunne is to the vvorld and life to the body so is charity to the hart Charity resembleth fire vvhich inflameth all things it toucheth Erasmus Charitie in aduersitie is patient in prosperitie temperate in passions strong in good works quicke in temptations secure in hospitalitie bountifull amongst her true chyldren ioyfull amongst her false friends patient Charitie in midst of iniuries is secure in hart bountifull in displeasures meeke in concealing euills innocent in truth quiet at others misfortune sad in vertues ioyfull Charitie in aduersity fainteth not because it is patient and reuengeth not iniuries because it is bountifull Hee that truely loueth beleeueth and hopeth Aug. By charitie one seeth the glorious light of God Aug. Hee alwayes hath to giue that is full of charitie Bernard To loue with all the soule is to loue wisely to loue with all the strength is manfully to suffer for truth to loue with all our hart is to prefer the loue of God before all things that flatter vs. Aug. The measure in louing of God is to loue him without measure Bernard Charity is the way of man to God and the way of God to man Aug. If any man waxe drunke vvith the loue of God he is straightwayes apt and ready to all good he laboureth and is not weary hee is weary and feeleth it not the malicious mock him and he perceiueth it not Bernard The loue of God hath power to transforme man into God Charity maketh a man absolute and perfect in all other vertues Neither the multitude of trauailes nor the antiquity of seruice but the greatnes of charity increaseth the reward God is charity vvhat thing is more precious he that dwelleth in charity dwelleth in God what thing is more secure God in him what thing is more delectable The nature of charity is to draw all things to it selfe and to make them participate of it selfe Lactan. There is no vertue persit without loue nor loue without charity Charity is neuer idle but worketh for him it loueth The greatest argument of godly loue is to loue what God loueth Charitable loue is vnder no rule but is Lord of all lawes and a boundlesse Emperor There is true charity where two seueral bodies haue one vnited hart Of charity mixed with mockery followeth the truth of infamy Pythag. Charity is the child of faith and the guide to euerlasting felicity All charity is loue but not all loue charity Augustine The filthy effects of bribery hinder exceedingly the works of charity Plato Charity causeth men to forsake sinne and embrace vertue Charitie is a word vsed of many and vnderstood but of a few Cicero By charity with God we learne what is our duty towards man By charity all men
by reason of their age and weaknesse of theyr strength are subiect to sundry imperfections and molested with many diseases Pacunius Gray hayres oft-times are intangled vvith loue but stailesse youth intrapped with lust Age is more to be honored for his wisdom then youth commended for his beauty The mind of an old man is not mutable his fancies are fixed his affections not fleeting he chooseth without intention to change neuer forsaketh his choyce till death make challenge of his life The olde Cedar tree is lesse shaken with the winde then the young bâ—amble and age farre more stayed in his affaires then youth Old men are more meet to giue counsaile then fit to follow warres Bias. Though young men excell in strength yet old men exceede in stedfastnes Though all men are subiect to the suddaine stroke of death yet old men in nature seeme neerest to their graue Age is a crowne of glory when it is adorned with righteousnes but the dregs of dishonor when it is mingled with mischiefe Honorable age consisteth not in the terme of yeeres neyther is it measured by the date of mans dayes but by godly wisedome and an vndefiled life Age is forgetfull and gray hayres are declining steps from strength Age is giuen to melanâ—hollie and manie yeeres acquainted with many dumps Age speaketh by experience and liketh by tryall but youth leaneth vnto vvit vvhich is voyde of wisedome He that will not be aduised by age shall be deceiued by youth Old age is the fore-runner of death Age and time are two thinges which men may fore-thinke of but neuer preuent Men of age â—eare and fore-see that vvhich youth neuer regardeth Olde folkes oft-times are more greedie of coyne then carefull to keepe a good conscience Bias. Age may bee allotted to gaze at beauties blossoms but youth must clime the tree and enioy the fruit Nature lendeth age authority 〈…〉 nes of hart is the glory of all yeeres VVhilst the haires be hidden craftily age bewrayes it selfe Children are compared to the spring-time striplings to sommer-season young-men to autumn and old men to winter An olde man ought to remember his age past and to bethinke himselfe hovv hee hath spent his time if he finde himselfe faulty in neglecting such good deedes as hee might haue done he ought forth-with to be carefull to spend the remainder of his life in liberality towards the poore Old men are commonly couetous because their getting dayes are past It is a great shame for an olde man to be ignorant in the principles of religion An old man ought to be reuerenced for his grauity sooner then for his gray haires If young men had knowledge and old men strength the vvorld vvould become a nevv paradice A man aged and wise is worthy double reuerence Infancie is but a foolish simplicity full of lamentations and harmes as it were laid open to a maine Sea without a sterne Youth is an indiscreete heate outragious blind heady violent and vaine Mans estate is trouble vexation of mind full of repentance and plunged in care Non est senectus vt tu opinaris pater Onus grauissimum sed impatientius Qui fert sibi ipse est author illius mali Patienter at qui sibi quietem comparat Dum dextere eius moribus se accomodat Nec ille solum detrahit molestiam Accersit aliquam sed voluptatem sibi Si nauig andum sit quatuor per dies De comeatu cura nobis maxima At se in senectam quid licet comparcere Non instruemus nos eo viatico Of Death Defi. Death is taken three maner of wayes the first is the seperation of the soule from the bodie with the dissolution of the body vntil the resurrection the second is the death of sinne sith he is sayd to be dead which lyeth sleeping in sin the third is eternall death vnto which the wicked shall bee condemned in the day of generall iudgement DEath is the law of nature the trybute of the flesh the remedy of euills and the path eyther to heauenly felicitie or eternall misery Heâ—â—clit Destenie may be deferred but can neuer be preuented An honourable death is to be preferred before an infamous life That man is very simple that dreadeth death because he feareth thereby to be cutte off from the pleasures of this life Death hath his roote from sinne August Death is the end of feare and beginning of felicitie There is nothing more certaine theÌ„ death nor any thing more vncertain then the houre of death No man dyeth more willingly then he that hath liued most honestly It is better to die well then to liue wantonlie Socrat. Death it selfe is not so painfull as the feare of death is vnpleasant Death is the end of all miseries but infamy is the beginning of all sorrowes Plut. VVhile men seeke to prolong theyr lyfe they are preuented by some suddaine death VVhile wee thinke to flie death wee most earnestly follow death VVhat is he that being lustie and young in the morning can promise himselfe life vntill the euening Many men desire death in their misery that cannot abide his presence in the time of their prosperitie An euill death putteth great doubt of a good life and a good death partly excuseth an euill life The death of euill men is the safety of good men liuing Cicero Hee that euery hower feareth death can neuer be possessed of a quiet conscience Nothing is more like to death then sleepe who is deaths elder brother Cicero There is nothing more common then suddaine death which beeing considered by the great Phylosopher Demonax hee therefore warned the Emperour Adrian and such other as lyued at theyr pleasure and ease in no wise to forget how in euery short moment they should be no more Nature hath giuen no better thing then death Plinie To men in misery death is most welcome Death deadly woundeth without eyther dread or daliance Sith death is a thing that cannot be auoided it ought of all men the lesse to be feared By the same vvay that life goeth death coÌ„meth Aurelius The most profitable thing for the worlde is the death of couetous and euill people Death is lyfe to the godly minded man whose meditation is on diuine matters and whose hope is heauen Death is common to all persons though to some one way and to some another If we liue to die then we die to liue All things haue an end by death saue onely death whose end is vnknowne Death is metaphorically called the end of all flesh Aristot. The last curer of diseases is death Death despiseth all riches and glory and ruleth ouer all estates alike Boetius None neede to feare death saue those that haue committed so much iniquitie as after death deserueth damnation Socrat. VVisedome maketh men to despise death it ought therefore of all men to be imbraced as the best remedy against the feare of death Hermes So liue and hope as if thou shouldest dye immediatly Plinie Non
moneth into dayes and called them Festos profestos and Intercisos the first dedicated to the gods the next to men for dispatching of theyr busines the last as common for theyr Gods as men A day natural hath twenty foure houres a day artificiall hath twelue houres The day beginneth vvith the Egyptians at sunne-setting and vvith the Persians at the sunne-rising The Athenians count all the time from the setting of the sunne till the setting of the sun againe but one day The Babylonians count their day from the sunne rising in the morning till the sun rising the next day The Vmbrians an auncient people in Italy count theyr day from noonetide till no one-tide next following The vvicked and euill-liuing man loueth darknes and hateth the light One day taketh from vs the credite that another hath giuen vs and the last must make reckoning of all the rest past By daily experience we wax wiser wiser Hee that refuseth to amend his life to day may happen to be dead ere to morrow Aure. Let no day be spent without some remembrance how thou hast bestowed thy time Vespasian thought that day lost vvherein he â—ad not gotten a friend One day the hardy broode Of Fabius sent to fight Thus sent one day Did see them nobly dead ere night The Romans called Iupiter Diespiter which signifieth the father of the day or light Light is some-times taken for day and darknes for night No day commeth to man wherein he hath not some cause of sorrow Quintil. The entrance of adolescencie is the end of infancie mans estate the death of youth and the morrow dayes birth the ouer-throw of this dayes pride Light is the Queene of the eyes Aug. GOD in the beginning made tvvo great lights one for the day another for the night Day is the image of life night of death Aug. The pleasure of the day is the sunne called of the Philosophers the golden eye and hart of heauen The light of learning is the day of the minde Aug. Euery day that passeth is not to be thought as the last but that it may be the last Seneca The sunne melteth wax and hardneth clay Abbreuiare dies poteris producere nunquam Abbreuiare tuum est sed prolong are tonantis Optima quaeque dies miseris mortalibus eui Prima fugit subeunt morbi tistisque senectus Et labor et durae rapit inclementia mortis Night or Darknes Defi. Night is the houres of rest and peace after labours beeing commonly that part of the day naturall in which the sunne is hidden from vs cheering the Antipodes THe longer the night is in comming the more it is desired of the oppressed yet no sooner seene then wisht to be departing Night is the benefit of nature and made for mans rest Liuius Suspition and feare are nights companions This our life is as it were night Aug. Darknes is not euill but in comparison of the light Aug. Euery light hath his shadow and euery shadow of night a succeeding morning The darknes of our vertues and not of our eyes is to be feared Aug. It is not darknes but absence of the light that maketh night Darknes cannot be seene Aug. The breath wee breathe in the morning is often stopt and vanished before night Night followeth day as a shadow followeth a body Arist. Night is more comfortable to the miserable then the day Night is the cloake to couer sinne and the armour of the vniust man Theophr Night which is the nurse of ease is the mother of vnquiet thoughts Night which is all silence heares all the coÌ„plaints of the afflicted The deeded of the night are lothsome to the day neyther hath light to doe with darknes Night is warres enemy yet is it the onely finder out of martiall stratagems A darke night and a deadly resolution begets cause of the dayes lamentation Night vvhich is most foule begets day vvhich is most faire a contrary of a contrarie Night begets rest and rest is the refreshing of tired spirits VVhat euer is ouer-wearied by the dayes exercise is as it vvere nevve borne by the nights rest and quiet Tully Night and sinne hold affinitie and ioyntly ayde each other It is impossible to weare out the day in trauaile if some part of the night be not spent in rest Vt ingulent homines surgunt de nocte latrones vt teipsum serues non expergisceris Horatius Interiores tenebrae caecitas mentis exteriores infernus Of Wickednes Defi. VVickednes is any sinne vice or euil committed or imagined in the whole course of our liues and the meane by which we loose Gods fauour and expose our selues to the danger of hell fire THe prosperity of euill men is the calamitie of the good VVhen wicked men reioyce it is a signe of some tempest approching It is the corruption of the good to keepe company with the euill Reioyce as often as thou art despised of euill men and perswade thy selfe that their euill opinion of thee is most perfit praise Ill men are more hasty then good men be forward in prosecuting their purpose Hee that worketh wickednes by another is guilty of the fact committed himselfe Bias. It is better to destroy the wickednes it selfe then the wicked man Vnexperienced euils doe hurt most The remembrance of euill thinges is to be obserued by the contemplation of good matters Phillip K. of Macedon assembled together the most wicked persons and furthest from correction of all his subiects and put them into a Towne which hee builded of purpose calling it Poneropolis the Citty of vvicked persons Continuance of euill doth in it selfe increase euill S. P S. A wicked life is the death of the soule Chris. VVho can be more vnfortunate then hee which of necessity will needs be euill VVho soeuer hee be that spareth to punish the wicked doth thereby much harme to the good Anachar It is a praise to the godly to be dispraised of the wicked and it is likewise a dispraise to be praised of them Sinne blindeth the eyes of the wicked but punishments open them Greg. The wicked man is daily drawne to punishment and is ignorant therof The minde of an ill disposed person is more vnstable then the superficies of the water VVhen wicked men be in the midst of all theyr iollitie then some misfortune comes knocking at the doore VVhen the euill man vvould seeme to be good then is he worst of all He is euill that doth willingly associate him selfe with wicked men VVicked men are the deuils shadowes Vertue is health but vice is sicknes Plato The wicked man attempteth thinges impossible Arist. The wicked man is euer in feare Plato Hee vvrongeth the good that spareth the wicked A good sentence proceeding from a wicked mans mouth looseth his grace The progeny of the wicked although it be not wholy infected yet it vvill sauour something of the fathers filthines As vertue is a garment of honour so vvickednes is a robe of shame Cursed is
that man that knoweth not to be a man but by his wickednes is far otherwise then he should be Hee that intendeth not to doe good should refraine from dooing euill but it is counted euill if we refraine to doe good Purifie thine owne vvickednes then prate of others sinnes All things are tollerable except extreame wickednes The wickednes that is done by the permission of a Prince shall be reckoned vnto the Prince for his sinne The wicked man in a monstrous kinde of pride neuer heard of before glorieth boasteth of his euill deeds Nothing maketh men more miserable then wickednes and impiety A man shall bee meruailouslie mooued to goodnes if hee doe but remember the pleasures comming from the same to be continuall not transieory and againe if he remember the pleasures springing from vvicked things he shall find them mingled with griefe and vexation the pleasure passeth but the paine endureth VVhen a man doth subiect himselfe to the wicked affections of his owne minde he doth weaken and cut in sunder the strings of vnderstanding Cicero VVicked counsaile is most hurtfull to the giuer In good things nothing is eyther vvanting or superfluous vvhich made the Pythagorians say that wickednes could not be comprehended but godlines might The wayes to wickednes are many plaine and common but to goodnes are not many but one and that same is hard to find because it is but little troden Non ob â—â— solum incommodo quae eueniunt improbis fugienda est improbitas sed multo etiam magis quod cuius in animo versatur nunquam sinit eum respirare nunquam acquiescere Si impietas improbé molita quippiaÌ„ est quamuis occulté fecerit nunquam tamen confidet id fore semper occultum plerumque enim improborum facta primo suspicio insequitur deinde sermo atque fama tum accusatoruÌ„ iudex multi etiam se iudicant Of Infamie Defi. Infamie is the liuory of badde desarts in this world and that which for our malignities and euill dooings staineth our names and our successions with a perpetuall disgrace through the report of our misdeedes and vniust attempts SHame and dishonour are the greatest preuentors of mishap Infamie galleth vnto death and liueth after death Infamie and shame are inseparable sequels of adultery That man is very vvicked and vnhappie vvhose life the people lament and at vvhose death they reioyce Solon There is no greater infamy then to be lauish in promise and slack in performance Begging is a shamefull course and to steale is a great blot of dishonor Hee that hath borne saile in the tempest of shame may euer after make a sport of the shipwrack of his good name Infamy is so deep a colour that it will hardly be washed off with obliuion Such as seeke to climbe by priuy sinne shal fall with open shame They that couet to swim in vice shall sink in vanity Crates Greater is the shame to bee accounted an harlot then the prayse to be esteemed amiable The infamy of man is immortall Plautus It were great infamy to the person and no small offence to the Common-weale to behold a man basely toyling that deserueth to gouerne and to see him gouerne that deserueth to goe to plow Shame is the end of trechery and dishonor euer fore-runnes repentance VVhat is once spotted vvith infamie can hardly be worne out with time Aurel. VVhen the string is broken it is hard to hit the white and when a mans credit is called in question persvvasions can little preuaile An honorable man should neuer die and an infamous man deserueth not to liue The infamous man is onely miserable for good men will not beleeue him bad will not obey him no man accompany him and few befriend him As beautie adorneth vvealth maintaineth honour and countenance so infamy woundeth all The occasions and greatnes of infamie are better vntried then knowne The tongue is the readiest instrument of detraction and slaunder Euery inferior doth account that thing infamous wherein hee seeth his superiour offend It is infamie to seeke prayse by counterfaite vertue It is infamie to disprayse him that deserueth well because he is poore to commend the vnworthy because he is rich He that by infamie slaundereth his friend is most monstrous To be praised of wicked men is as great infamy as to be praised for wicked doing Pride is the cause of hatred and sloth of infamie The life of a noted infamous man is death Cicero inueighing against Cateline saith thy naughty and infamous life hath so obscured the glory of thy predicessors that although they haue been famous yet by thee they will come to obliuion Dyonisius as long as hee perceiued himselfe to be wel reported of he was a good man but when the priuy talke to his defamation came to his eares he forsooke all goodnes and became a most cruell tyrant If a mans good name bee not polluted although hee haue nothing else yet it standes him in more sted then the possession of very great riches Emori praestat per virtutem quam per dedecus viuere Quis honorem quis gloriam quis laudem quis vllum decus tam vnquam expetit quam vt ignominiam infamiam contumeliam dedecus fugiat Of Dishonesty Defi. Dishonestie is an act which ingendereth it owne torment from the very instant wherein it is committed and with the continuall remembrance therof filleth the soule of the malefactor with shame and confusion HE that is disposed to mischiefes will neuer want occasions Dishonestie ruinates both fame and fortune Shame is the hand-mayde to dishonest attempts Crateus The insatiate appetite of gluttony doth obscure the interior vertues of the mind Hee that feares not the halter vvill hardly become true and they that care not for suspect are sildome honest It is a dishonest victory that is gotten by the spoyle of a mans owne country Cicero There neuer riseth contention in a Common-weale but by such men as vvould lyue without all honest order The euill inclination of men may for a time be dissembled but being once at liberty they cannot cloke it Many times the wicked beare enuy vnto the good not because the vertuous suffer them to doe well but for that they vvill not consent with them to doe euill Many bee so malicious and peruerse that they take more delight â—o doe euill vnto others then to receaue a benefit vnto themselues If hee be euill that gyueth euill counsaile more vild is he that executeth the same Nothing is profitable which is dishonest Tully Then is mischiefe at the ful ripenes when as dishonest thinges be not onely delightfull in hearing but also most plesant in practise and there is no remedy to be hoped for vvhere common vices are counted vertues A man giuen to dishonesty can neyther be friend to himselfe nor trusty to another The ouer-throvv of a Common-wealth is the dishonesty of the Rulers Dishonestie is the serpent of the soule which spoyleth men of theyr ornaments and
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
Empedocles because he could not learne the cause of the burning Aetna leapt into it Aristotle for that hee could not giue the reason for Euripus flowing drovvned himselfe As he which without licence breaketh a prison procureth his owne death so in the world to come shall hee be perpetually punished which contraâ—y to the will of God will set the soule at liberty Plato Vincitur haud gratis iugulo qui prouocat hostem Qui nil potest sperare desperet nihil Of Deuils Defi. Deuils are our temptours to sinne blasphemie and all other euills they that standing in feare of God take pleasure in that which displeaseth him THe deuill labours to deceaue men and greatly enuies that any should be saued The deuill was the first author of lying the first beginner of all subtile deceites and the cheefe delighter in all sinne and wickednes Philo. Diuers spirits were wont to deceaue people eyther by misleading them in theyr iourneyes or murdering them in theyr sleepes Psellus The more the deuills increase in theyr boldnes the more increaseth theyr punishment The deuils not able to oppresse GOD in himselfe assault him in his members Aug. The deuill intangleth youth with beautie the Vsurer with golde the ambitious vvith smooth lookes the learned by false doctrine The deuills oft-times spake truth in Oracles to the intent they might shadowe theyr falseshoods the more cunningly Lactan. The deuill vvith false miracles beguileth the world The deuills as being immortall spirits and exercised in much knowledge seeme to worke many thinges which in truth are no miracles but meere works of nature All the great power of deuills proceedeth from the iust indignation of God vvho by such whyps chastiseth the wicked and exerciseth the good The deuils haue diuers effects the one troubleth the spirit the other molesteth the body some insinuate steale into our harts where depraued desires are ingendered or els into our vnderstanding to hinder the vse and office of reason The power of God and not the deuill is to be feared Greg. The inuisible enemy is ouer-come by faith The deuils haue will to hurt but they want power Augustine The deuill is ouer-come by humilitie The deuill is strong against those that entertaine him but weake against those that resist him Aug. From euill spirits proceedeth Art-magick whereby the slauish practisers of that damnable Art by many false miracles deceiue the simple and confound themselues God many times suffereth the deuill to tempt the godly that by temptation theyr fayth might be tryed He that giueth his word to the deuill breaketh his bond with God Luther The deuill temptation and sinne vvere the occasions of mans fall He that makes a God of the world and vanitie is a deuill in the fight of heauen wisedome The harts of the rebrobate containe as many deuils as vnchast thoughts Greg. The deuill is to some a Lyon to some an Ant. Gregory The deuill ceaseth to tempt them whom he hath already wonne The worlde the flesh and the deuill are three powerfull enemies to prouoke men to wickednesse The deuill is the Father of lies the chiefe author of all deceit The deuil tempteth the righteous one way and the wicked another way Greg. The deuill presents before vs many vaine delights to the intent hee might the better keepe our minds from godly meditation VVhat sinne soeuer hath beene by man at any time committed was first by the deuill inuented The deuill first accuseth vs of our euill words next of our euill works lastly of our euill thoughts Greg. Vt cum princeps vult hospitari in aliquo domo praemittit nuncium et vbi ille recipitur ibi descendit Dominus sic diabolus praemittit malas cogitationes vt ei preparent hospitium vt vbi recipiuntur illuc declinat Christus Leo dicitur propter fortitudinem Agnus propter innocentiam Leo quod inuictus Agnus quia mansuâ—tus Ipse Agnus occisus vicit Leonem qui circuit quaerens quem deuoret diabolus leo dictus feritate non virtute Of Hell Defi. Hell is in all things contrary to heauen it is a place of torment misery and desolation where the wicked shall endure the endlesse iudgement of paine for their offences ZEno the stoick taught that the places of the reprobate were seperate from the righteous the one beeing pleasant delectable the other darksome and damnable Hell is the hold of horror distresse and misery the Cell of torment griefe and vexation The losse of heauen is to the damned more grieuous then the torments of hell Chriso Hell is the land of darknes Greg. In hell all torments are not alike Aug. VVoe be to him that by experience knoweth there is a hell Chrisost. Hell is in the center of the earth remote from all comforts replenished with endlesse horror where desolation raigneth no redemption may be expected Hel is the place of punishment which God hath reserued for the reprobates In hell is no order but a heape and Chaos of confusion The wretches in hell haue an end without end a death without death a defect without defect for theyr death liueth continuallie the end beginneth alwayes the defect can neuer faile Eternall death is the reward of sinne the plague of sinne hell and damnation Hell is euery where where heauen is not The torture of a bad conscience is the hell of a lyuing soule Caluine Good men haue theyr hell in thys worlde that they may knowe there is a heauen after death to reward the vertuous and vvicked men escape torments in this worlde because they shal finde there is a iudgement to come wherein the wicked shall haue punishment according to the number of theyr offences Lactan. They that beleeue in Christ haue alreadie ouer-come sinne and hell To them that are enamored of the worlde the remembrance of hell is bitter The image of our sinnes represent vnto vs the picture of hell Hell like death is most incertaine a place of punishment most assured Hell that is knowne no where is euerie where and though now neuer so priuate yet in the end it will be most publique Hell is compared to the Laborinth vvhich Dedalus made whose entrance is easie but beeing once in it is not possible to rerurne If thy minde bee not mooued with the fire of heauen take heede least thy soule feele the flames of hell Infernus lacâ—s est sine mensura profunditas sine fundo plenus ardoris incomparabilis plenus faetoris intolerabilis ibi miseriae ibi tenebrae ibi horror aeternus ibi nulla spes boni nulla desperatio mali Noctes atque dies patet atri ianua Ditis FINIS A Table of all the principall matters contayned in the former Treatise A. A Boundance 2. vide riches Absence 124 62 Abstinence vide Temperance Acts 125 94 Actions 4 6 42 91 103 113 182 228. Action 48 92. Accusation 153 Admonition 17 41. 64. Admiration 52 48 168 Aduise vide Counsell Aduersity 6 114 vide