being thereunto called and busying and bestirring themselves about that which no wise concerneth them These men when they goe out of doores if yee but aske them whither they goe they will answere you thus I know not I goe to doe as the rest doe They runne along the streets they haunt the publicke places and then they returne home full of vexation and wearinesse without any designe for there is nothing that doth so much irke and weary mens mindes as to labour in vaine They are like unto little Ants which doe climbe upwards upon trees and after they have mounted to the toppe are forced to creepe downe againe the same way they went up without bringing downe with them any good at all Many doe live in this manner whose life is nothing else but a busied leasure full of tumults and toyles yee shall see them posting on with such vehemency and speede as if they would carry away with them all that they finde before them in their way The Streets the Churches and Markets are ordinarily ful of them These bee they which forge and frame newes they will bee the weighers of mens worthes and the givers of garlands They will talke lavishly of other mens lives and discourse of other mens offices keeping a babling coyle It is a principall point of Wisedome truly to know how to esteem of life he that esteemeth and loveth his life for the love of it selfe hee lives not but to live But a wise man lives no longer then that his life may be worth more then his death a great part of life is lost to those that doe ill a greater to those that doe nothing and all to those that doe that they should not doe some beginne to live when they should dye some ended before they beginne and amongst other evills Folly hath this that it alwaies beginnes to live But the actions of a well aduised man tend alwaies to â—â—me certaine end neither doth â—e burthen himselfe with more â—usinesses then he can conveniâ—ntly the man that undertaketh â—â—uch must needs in my minde â—ive Fortune much power over â—im DISC. 6. Of the diversity of Actions EVery one in my Opinion ought to take paines in inaâ—ling himselfe to comport with the time and matters according as they accidentally happen and not to tye themselves so much to one manner of living but that in case of necessity they may forsake it For if we consider man according to the life wee shall finde him full of vanity weaknesse inconstancy misery and presumption a fruitefull argument to divert him from singularity For even aâ— a man that is whole and sound should not subject himselfe to the keeping oâ— one certaine rule in his dyet buâ— ought rather to accustome himselfe to eate sometimes more sometimes lesse at one time of one meat and at another time of another meate to drinke now of wine and then of water to abide sometimes in the sunne somtimes in the shade sometimes to labour and sometimes to restâ— so must hee frame and fashion himselfe to all manner of accidents for in so doing any new chance whatsoever that can befall for there are infinite in the course of our life shall neither trouble him nor disquiet him yee though hee be driven to betake himselfe to some other manner of living yet shall hee doe it without much trouble provide alwaies that temerity and rashnesse be away by reason that hee shall bee so well inured thereunto before hand that it will bee easie for him to give place unto the time that offereth it selfe And truely the impotency and weaknesse is all one not to be able to change in time of need and not to be able to continue constant in a good course for he that loveth riches shall not bee satisfied with it and hee that cannot comport with necessity has not the valour of a Christian Moreover wee must mingle and temper our matters in such sort that they may be fitted proportionably one to another As for example At one time to be solitary at another time to be in company the one for our friends sake the other for our selves for we must not alwaies remaine in our grave moode for that will make us abhorrecâ— neither must wee shew our selves continually jocund and glad for that will render us despised But wee must carry our selves discreetly observing comelinesse conveniercy of time and place as the life of man doth require For it is a needfull thing for a man at one time or other to recreate himselfe by giving intermission to his more serious affaires Labour in some is a weaknes of the Spirits in others a waste in some it makes the heade dizzy in others the backe and â—ll suffer though not a like Recreaâ—ion is the Physitian that â—ures all those and makes them â—gree in a sweet harmony and â—herefore he that will not mixe â—hese two together is guilty of his owne distemper and â—n enemy to the Law of reason We read of Socrates a most grave Phâ—osopher that hee made no scruple to play and refresh himselfe with litle boies of Cato a very austere man that sometimes hee did feast his friends thereby to refresh himselfe with the pleasure of their company and to recreate his minde wearied with the weighty affaires of the Common-wealth Also of Scipio Africanus that he would delight himselfe with dancing And this we have said to shew that the minde of man requireth some release Neither hath he his due liberty who hath not the meanes sometimes to beatleasure The fruitefullest grounds if they are not laid to waste become barren in a short time Continuall labour maketh the minde of man to become slacke and weake even as lasinesse and and luxury doth make it heavy feeble and faint Our recreation ought to be as our sleepe which restoreth our strength and giveth us breath to returne more gayly and joyfully to our worke For if we should sleepe continually it would bee a death and not a sleepe The law of reason establishes a conveniency in the ordering of all things and knits it selfe to Nature which ordaines foure seasons wherein trees apâ—eare Leaves budde beare fruite and ripen and after retire their â—ap into the body of the earth to teach even men that rest is altogether as necessary as Labour and those which of old did establish lawes have ordained there should bee also certaine feastival dayes in the yeare to the end men might in a manner bee constrained to surcease from the emploiments of their ordinary callings and take some pastime after their toyle and of old we finde that many excellent men were wont to allot some parcell of time to their recreation Asinius Pollio a great Orator was never so much busied in affaires but hee reserved for his pleasure and pastime the two last houres of the day during the which space hee would not so much as read the Letters which hee received from his friends fearing lest they should
our affections and dresse our selves in such sort that fortune may finde the lesse advantage to offend us for a smal body that can cover and gather it selfe together under a buckler marcheth on towards the enemy with more surely then a bigger body doth that lyeth at large open unto blowes If it were not mine intention to husband the time and to spare paper I could enlarge my discourse by reciting of almost â—nnumerable examples as well of Heathens as of Christians which have placed a great part of their perfection in poverty But ye ought to consider one thing for all that Iesus Christ was poore who was Lord of the whole world his Disciples were poore which did possesse all things and the Saints were poore which might have beene rich If yee should never dye I would advise you to set your affection upon riches but I see to that those to whom they most befall doe finde sooner the end of their living then of their longing Why then should a man torment himselfe for a thing that he must necessarily leave and why is he not rather content quietly with that which is needfull chiefly considering that the fairest kind of wealth is for a man to be neither too poore nor yet too far off from poverty DISC. 18. Of Death CAesar sayd well that the best death was that which was least premeditated and to say truth the preparatioÌ„ before death hath bin to many a greater torment then the execution it selfe The Mexicans salute their Infants comming forth of their Mothers wombe thus Infant thou art come into the world to suffer endure suffer and hold thy peace Why then should a man bee sorry to dye when nothing but life is miserable And it seemeth that all incommodities and misfortunes may bee borne with either by the meanes of a long custome or by the helpe of a strong discourse onely Death and the apprehension thereof is the thing that putteth us in greatest feare Now the onely remedy and true easing of this evill is that yee make this reckoning of the world and all that is therein that yee have nothing which is your owne neither life nor living no not so much as your owne selfe but that yee live alwayes borrowing and holding your very life not in property but on condition to restore it unto him againe who hath lent it you whensoever he shall require it at your hands yet for all this yee must not neglect it as a thing not yours but must keepe it faithfully and carefully in regard that God hath trusted you with the custody thereof and when it is time to render it to him that gave it not grudgingly but gladly and with a cheerefull countenance in the meane time thanking GOD the giver of all good things for the time yee have had the use and aide thereof and saying unto him in this or the like manner Lord I render unto thee againe this Soule and Life with as good an heart as it pleased thee to give mee the same yea even with a better and readier will then I did receive it for when thou gavest it me thou gavest it to a little weake Creature which knew not the good thou then didst bestow but now thou dost receive it againe at the hands of a Creature more accomplished who knoweth what it is he commendeth into thine hands and therfore rendereth it unto thee withall franknesse and readinesse of will and truely we may easily imagine that it is not a hard thing for a substance to returne to the place whence it first came the body returning to the earth and the soule if it goe the right way must goe to him that gave it To bee short that man doubtlesse never learned well to live who knoweth not how to die wee must therefore in this case bee so affected towards our selves as wee are wont to be in the behalfe of fencers which must fight in a barred field for wee commonly hate him that beareth himselfe faint-heartedly and favour the other who out of a brave courage had rather chose to dye then to bee overcome Besides the feare of death is sometimes the cause or occasion of it to him that flyeth fastest from it And seeing yee know well that life was given you upon condition to render it againe â—e ought not to be so unjust as â—o desire to enjoy that thing for ever which was given unto you for a day by making your selfe Lord and owner of the thing whereof yee are onely a depositary or keeper Moreover men wil say that it is a matter of great import to wit the feare and apprehension of death and that it is the extreame of all terrible things But ye ought to understand that Death is not to bee found fault with for this seeing that it proceedeth not from the nature of Death but from our owne imbecillity who are commonly overtaken and intangled with delights with a desire of this transitory life and with an immoderate love of this miserable flesh And if yee take good heed it is not so much Death iâ— selfe that is dreadfull as the opinion which wee hold concerning the same For every man feareth it according to his judgment apprehension and conscience And if it bee so that yee have no feare thereof but onely for this occasion then lay the blame upon your selfe and noâ— upon it For it fareth with men of an evill conscience when they must dye as it doth with riotous spend-thrifts when they must pay their debts They will not come to an account for the distrust which they have of their ability to satisfie for what they have done And to say that ye feare death â—y reason that it is the last point â—â—d period of man hath but litâ—â—e reason in it For the Soule 〈◊〉 alwaies it liveth ever and â—â—nnot dye The Greekes call mans decease â—â—e end giving us thereby to â—nderstand that it is the period â—nd end of wearisome life Oâ—â—ers a death of which there â—re foure kinds the first is the â—aturall death or separation beâ—weene the Body and the Soule â—he second is a spirituall death â—r a separation betweene the grace of God and us the third â—s a ghostly death or a separation betweene our sinnes and us and the fourth is an everlasting death or a separation betweene Heaven and us for ever But the Holy Scripture calleth death a sleepe to assure us of an assured Resurrection and to the end wee weepe not as Infidels doe which are withouâ— hope Let us consider with ouâ— selves how many holy men and women have prized it and desired it as the onely easemenâ— of all their anguish The writings of Solomon Iob and the histories of Gods Saints are full of the praises of this Christian desire of death What a vanity is it to love so much this miserable life this Jaile this prison this vale of â—eares seeing that the longer we live the longer we live in sinne the more daies wee spend
the more wee erre and so goe on each houre purchasing unto our selves a new paine and punishment The day of Death is the Master-day and Judge of all other dayes the tryall and Touchstone of all the actions of our â—â—fe Then do we make our greaâ—â—st assay and gather the whole â—â—uite of all our studies He that â—â—dgeth of the Life of a man â—ust looke how hee carrieth â—imselfe at his Death for the â—nd Crowneth the Workes â—nd a good Death honoureth a â—ans whole life as an evill deâ—â—meth it Therefore feare it â—ot On Christian for that day which thou fearest as thy last is â—â—e Birth-day of Eternity Divers dayes have beene â—appy and unlucky to divers â—en as Friday to that great Captaine Gonsalvo in the Wars of Naples the twenty fourth day of February to Charles the fifth Wednesday to Pope Sixâ—us the fifth Sunday to Henry the seventh of England And Saturday in the three times taking of Ierusalem by Pompey Herod and Titus But no day 〈◊〉 either happy or averse to a châ—â—stian but his day of death Hoâ—â— carefull ought ye then to bee 〈◊〉 prepare himselfe against thâ— day wherein he shall be rewaâ—ded according to his workeâ— which if good with a Crowâ— of blessednesse but if bad wiâ—â— unquenchable fire It was a custome among thâ— Indians when any of the mâ—dyed his wives with their moâ—â— glorious Habits and greateâ— pompe as if it were on theâ—â— nuptiall day threw themselvâ—â— into the fire she accounting hâ—â— selfe happiest that was the firsâ— and those that refused were foâ— ever after rejected and madâ— slaves Let not Heathens ouâ— strippe thee O Christian let thâ— death bee more honourable CHRIST is the Spouse of thâ— Church follow him therefore â—â—t not thy life onely but thy â—eath be godly otherwise thou â—â—t no better then a slave to sin â—nd Satan despised not of men â—nely but of the Divells themâ—elves This consideration of our death 〈◊〉 a great helpe not onely to â—rovoke us to live a good life â—ut besides that to dye well In â—hings that be hard and dificult foresight and preparation before â—and is a very great helpe to â—ring them well to passe Now so great a leape as is the leape of death which reacheth from this life to the everlasting life to come cannot well be leaped unlesse we make a great course and fetch a long race to runne the same No great thing can bee well and perfectly done at the first time seeing therefore it is so great a matter to dye and so necessary to dye well it shall be very expedient for us to dye oftentimes in our life that wee may dye well at the very time of our death Wee must not be unwilling to dye and to yeelâ— our bodies as a debt due to Nature no for the Body at the best is but the Coffin of the Soule as the Graue is the coffin of the Body The souliders that bee appointed to fight doe first practice themselves in such postures and exercises as whereby the may learne in time of peace what they must do in time of warre the Horse also that must runne at the Tilt traverseth all the ground before and tryeth all the steps thereof that at such times as hee commeth to make his course he bee not found new and strange in doing his feat Wherefore seeing wee all must runne this course insomuch as there is no man alive but must dye considering also that the way is so obscure stony as all men know and the danger so great that whosoever falleth shall be tumbled downe headlong into the bottomlesse pit of hell fire it is very requisite that we tread diligently before hand all this way and consider particularly all the steppes and places thereof one by one because that in every one of them there is much to bee considered and let us not thinke it enough to consider onely what passeth outwardly in our conversation but let us endeavour much more to understand what passeth inwardly within the heart so shall both our life and and death be acceptable And to shut the doore unto all fearefull apprehensions of death we must learne to do two things which the world can never teach us the one is to live well for a vertuous and Christian life maketh even agreeable the very memory of death the other is that wee beleeve that the thing which it hath pleased God to afford us for a remedy and easement of our manifold labours and toyles is not so harsh nor so horrible as we do imagine And for a finall conclusion let us remember how that the Saints have held life a paine and death an ease And that every part of Heaven shall together shine upon us who wholly shall behold all the glory therof in his due place which now through the streight and narrow passage of the sight wee doe but see and discerne a farre off And let us close all up with this that though our mortall bodies are dissolved heere on earth yet God will raise up both Soule and Body at the latter Day to Crowne them with Everlasting Happinesse The Authors Conclusion BEHOLD heere thâ— Flowers that I havâ— gathered heere anâ— there out of the gardeâ— of the flourishing Wits and Wriâ—tings of the Wise Them I lay open in common betweene you anâ— mee even as busie Bees doe their Honey which they have reaped iâ— faire and well furnished Gardens and flowery Fields to the end weâ— together may draw from thence the sugred sweetnesse of this pleasant Embleme or Happinesse of the Minde I am of opinion that of the ancient Poets had throughly knowne this they would not have composed any other Nectar or brewed any other Ambrosiacke for the dyeâ— of their Gods but should have thought them well feasted in serving them with â—his dish alone for all messes and â—neales Seeing therefore wee have the opportunity offered us â—f finding out and using so diâ—ine a thing let us make use of â—t in the most thrifty manner we â—ossible may Acknowledging in â—he meane time that this Happiâ—esse we talke of is a Gift from Heaven which the bountifull influence of the Worlds maker must distill into our Mindes Hee being the true and living Well-spring whence floweth all our Felicity and Blisse Whose Name therefore according as wee are bound we blesse and magnifie for ever Amen FINIS THE MINDES DELIGHT OR VARIETY OF MEMORABLE MATTERS WORTHY of Observation Lege Collige Collected by J. M. LONDON Printed by Ni. and Io. Okes. 1635. THE MINDES DELIGHT OR Variety of Memorable Matters worthy of observation The foure parts of the World EVROPA so called from Europa Daughter of Agenor King of Libya and of the Phoenicians brought hither as Poets feigne by Iupiter in the shape of a Bull but as Historians write by a Cretan Captaine named Taurus is separated from Asia as is hereafter showne and from Africke by the Mediterranean sea It is in length 2800. and in bredth 1200.
in our behalfe but are more easily and with much lesse labour appeased pacified They therin not a little resembling our little dogs which will barke uncessantly at such as they are wont to see and know but by and by are quieted as soone as they heare the voyces of them The Empiry or seate of the minde when it is fixed in its proper Spheare is Wisedome Science and Art being the two supporting pillars and these three are the mistresse parts of a reasonable soule whose governour and guide being the minde the Wise have compared the commandement of it above this sensuall and terrestriall part of the soule out of which our passions doe spring unto the office of a Rider who teaching and training his Horse and sitting within the sadle manageth and turneth him at his will But if he should bring a young Horse to the Turney or Tilt which had never before borne the Bit or galloped the round he must needes reape great discredit thereby as not having before broken him with convenient Discipline fit for a management of so great importance In like manner before we put our backs under the burthen of any businesse or expose our selves unto the publicke view of the world wee must endeavour to breake and bring under this wilde and unbacked part of the soule and make it as it were to bite upon the Bit by bringing it to learne the lawes and measures whereby it must be managed and mastered in all occasions and at all occurrences and in the meane time we must not forget to enhearten and encourage it by acquainting it with the pleasure and contentment wherewith is accompanied the issue and end of all worthy and vertuous actions Meditation is a secret lifting up of the soule from vanity and a fixation of the minde upon things really good and honest and it is much helpt by Eloquence which being a purity and elegancy of Speech stirres up discourse in the apprehensive parts of man and when it is connext with Meditation they both give an edge unto the soule and make it steele-hard unpierceable even unto the sharpest point of the strongest passions and usually wee prove admirable at every such exercise when wee have before hand accustomed our selves unto what difficulty soever they may seeme to carry with them On the other side there is nothing bee it never so easie which will not seeme hard and difficult and withall much trouble us if we are found but novices and new apprentices therein How often thinke yee must Canius have meditated upon death and revolved in his mind what thing it should be who being condemned by the Tyrant and sent to the place of execution was so farre from being any whit dismayed thereat in his minde that merrily and as it were jestingly he bid the Centurion who came for him remember that hee was stronger by the advantage of one Chesseman then he against whom he played at that houre And who taking his leave of his nearest and dearest Acquaintance for his last farewell uttered no other words but these Now my deare friends I shall presently finde that which I have so long longed after and so much desired to know if the soule bee immortall and whether men in dying doe feele the separation of the Soule Body which they endure We must needs thinke that this man though a Heathen had a long time exercised himselfe in commanding and over-ruling his passions and that hee had aforehand armed fenced himselfe with faire resolutions seeing that with such constancy and gravity he went to undergoe a death both cruell and unjust If the onely desire to understand what should become of the soule after death could make the torment and torture not onely tollerable but also acceptable unto him What resolution then ought the certaine and assured knowledge of the Soules immortality together with the hope of eternall felicity worke in such as doe seriously meditate upon the same in their mindes May not these goods thinke ye make unto such mindes not onely supportable but even comfortable and delectable both Death it selfe and all other disastrous afflictions which they endure seeing they are as waves which doe push us forward unto the sweet and sure port of everlasting rest and repose DIS 2. Of the choyce of Callings and Affaires EPAMINONDAS Prince of Thebes so hated idlenesse that finding one of his Captains asleepe in the day time he slew him for which act being reprooved by his Nobles he answered I left him as I found him comparing idle men to dead men And truely man is not borne to live idlely but rather as one of the fairest members of this faire frame hee must-conferre and contribute his whole travaile and paine to the conduction and conservation of that civill societie and condition wherein he is placed And because in the choyce which men make of a calling their rest and quietnesse doth principally depend and that nothing doth so much availe to the leading of a contented life as when they finde themselves fit for the same They ought before all other things to take a tryall and survey of their owne strength and seriously bethinke themselves of that charge which they are about to embrace seeing usually we presume too much upon our owne power and attempt more then our ability is fit to atchieve this errour is incident almost to all our actions And hence it is that some will dispend more then their meanes may well beare And others in labouring and toyling goe beyond their abilities some are not masters of their own anger others dallying disporting and playing the pleasant will not spare any person no not the Prince although thereby they should incurre the danger of hazarding their Heads Some are unapt to manage publicke affaires being either of a fullen and solitary humour or of a slacke and slow disposition Others it doth not beseeme to be at Court for that they be either obstinate in opinion or uncourteous in behaviour And that which maketh us to fall into these faults is that we doe not throughly see and looke into our selves Whence it commeth to passe that neglecting to take a true tryall of our owne ability wee often undertake imployments of such gravity and weight as that afterwards wee must either abandon them with ignorance and shame or else if we goe on with them we must needs suffer much trouble and anxiety of spirit Now that a man may the more warily weigh his occasions or affaires before he put under his backe let him remember that alwayes the bearer must have more pith then the burthen for if it be huge too heavy who seeth not that the undertaker must bee constrained either to leave or else to lye downe under it and consider that there are divers kinds of affaires some whereof are hard and uneasie not so much for that they bee weighty important of themselves as for that they be matched and mingled with a multitude of toylesome and
minister unto him some new care and cogitation Others were wont to labour untill noone and the remnant of the day they did spend about meaner matters And the Canon it selfe allowes civill Recreations and that on the Sabbath to those whose weekely labour hath afforded no releasement The lights which they distribute to servants at Court doe likewise limit and bound the times appointed both for labour and rest Conscience also which is placed in the minde of man to decide the difference betwixt the Body and the Soule even in holy exercises ordaines a repose following that first Institution of rendring God his glory and man his right And there was a Decree of the Senate of Rome which did beare a prohibition that no new thing should be propounded or mentioned in the last two houres of the day Furthermore when a man is weary of his worke he doth finde himselfe marvailously refreshed and restored when as hee goeth out into an open and spatious place and it seemeth that the free ayre doth repaire and renew the strength and vigour of his dispersed and spent spirits For conclusion yee ought to love diversity and change according to the time and take heed lest yee nourish and cherish your mindes too delicately and daintily For that having of its owne nature great strength provided that it bee wakened and rouzed up it were not reasonable yee should suffer it through voluptuous and delicious living to waxe feeble and faint And no sooner do ye come to that point to be impatient and delicate but assoone all things beginne to crosse your good liking Divers things are offensive to divers men which to others are not so and that is a Cure to this man which to another is hurtfull To eate it goeth against your stomacke to be hungry it hurteth you to sleepe it slayeth you to be awake it vexeth you and as a sicke or queazie person yee goe on in a restlesse maze alwaies searching and seeking after some new thing such delicacy and tendernes hath bin the cause that divers have had much adoe to comport with the very things which are necessary in this life as to lie to sleepe to wake to rise to dine to suppe to talke to walke to cloath and uncloath themselves so that some have thought it a death to be alwayes wearied in beginning anew againe and reiterating so often the same things Such people come to so great extremities that they can hardly manage or maintaine the manly courage of their minde neither can they frame themselves in al to know and tast of many things and alwaies in every of them to carry a good stomack For in this case there is the like reason condition of the body of the mind Hence it is that yee shall espie some men so tenderly disposed that a small noise of their neighbour will annoy them and the sound of a little Bell will trouble their braine For as unto a crazie and ill complexioned body so unto a drooping and languishing minde it doth semblably befall that what thing soever toucheth it doth prick it and sting it full sore DISC. 7. Of the choyce of Friends IT is not with Vertue as with worldly Princes her pride consists not in her plumes nor the glory of her state in the greatnesse of her Traine But shee is as well contented to lodge in a poore Cottage as in a Kingly Palace Her greatest Glory is in Friendship where two hearts are mutually connext and dare lay downe their lives one for another There she exults and esteemes nothing more heavenly to this purpose shee hath disperst her rayes that Amitie might be in common to all Therefore seeing that the life of man necessarily hath neede of Friendship and Fellowship for it is a matter both harsh and hard for a man to have alwayes his minde bended about businesse and would bee yet more wearisome if hee had not one with whom he might take some release and that wee prove commonly too negligent and carelesse in making our choice We ought in my judgement to chuse such people for our friends as be of a mild and meeke conversation and who because of their calme and quiet disposition deserve to be beloved for there is not any thing that so much doth content and deligh the minde of man as faithfull and trusty friendship It being a great contentment to find a person so disposed unto whom yee may safely impart your most secret affaires whose counsel may advise you whose cheerefulnes may qualifie all your cares and whose presence may appease all your paines and expell your pensivenesse of minde And therefore yee must endeavour to chuse such friends as are free from covetousnesse and all notorious vice For vice like the fire taketh hold of that which is neerest unto it So that wee must doe as men are wont in the time of plague and â—estilence which is to separate â—nd sever the sicke from the whole it being a contagion and â—n occasion of sicknesse to let â—hem live together Nevertheâ—esse I do not like that we should be in our choice too scrupulous but seeing we cannot finde folks together perfect wee must hold those for good which bee lesse evill Amity is a sacred flame kindled in our breasts by nature and hath expressed its first heate betweene husband and wife brother and sister friend and friend it is the soule and life of the world more necessary then Fire and Water Friendshippe is the companion of Justice the bond of Nature the Defence and Safe-â—â—ard of a Towne or City the comfort of old age and the quiet harbour of mans lifâ—â— By it all things consist discord decaies therefore in the election of friends ye ought chiefly to avoide such as be extremely sullen or sad who weepe and waile at all things and despaire of all things although otherwife they be such as dâ—e love you and would proove faithfull enough unto you For it is a thing that must needes trouble us much to have such a man for our friend as is alwaies sad sighing and sobbing at every occasion For seeing that friendship and fellowship is ordained to drive away discontent sorrow and griefe it were neither reasonable noâ— convenient to chuse such a one for your comforter and friend as in stead of delighting you and of lightning your griefe should by his fullennesse and sadnesse increase your sorrow and every day occasion unto you some new vaine apprehension and feare DISC. 8. Of dissembling or disguising of humors DIssimulation comes from Distrust which is the Sciene or seed plot thereof for if that were not and that there were trust and fidelity in all dissimulation which opneth the froÌ„t covereth the thought could have no place Now it is a great paine a testlesse molestatioÌ„ of mind for men to labour to appeare different in shew from that which they are in substance And a marvellous trouble and torment it is for them to take alwaies heed
brabbles and strife for this brawling and quarrelling humour altereth not a little the whole man and maketh him ill-conditioned Bee not lavish of your language but rather sparing of speech Let your words bee such as carry with them their due authority and weight And withall accustome your selfe to passe divers things under the great Seale of silence It being the part of a wise man to make a vertue of necessity and with a settled countenance to swallow downe upon an urgent extremity the bitter potion of indignity if when the winds doe storme he cannot harbour where hee would he will anchor where he may Suffer not your selfe to be beguiled by the unreasonable opinion of the miscrdred multitude which doe hold such folkes onely to bee free as may doe what they list be it never so evill and such onely to be couragious and generous spirits as can put up no wrong It is true liberty for a man to live not according as his lawlesse lust doth lead him but as reason doth rule him and to do not what ever sensually hee would but what reasonable hee should And it is true courage and magnanimity for a man to put up wrongs to dis-esteeme and not to be moved by them but to command his affections and to overcome his passions That which he shall never be able to doe who hath not his spirit composed and his minde ordered to despise these vanities and delicacies which doe shake the feebler sort finally endeauour to have the upper hand in fetting light by all humane crosses and popular conceits for it is no signe of good when a man is alwayes crying and complaining that they touch him and so it fareth with the mind Let that therefore bee mollified with comfortable and peaceable playsters such as are joy exultation and delight and these will bring unto you greater content then Humanity can imagine DISC. 17. Of Poverty THere is a twofold Poverty the one extreame which is the want of things necessary and requisite unto Nature The other is the want of things that are more then sufficient required for pleasure pompe and delicacy This is a kinde of Mediocrity and that which we feare to lose is our riches and moveables when such poverty is rather to be desired then feared And therfore the Wise man asked of God neither Poverty nor Riches but things necessary He that can make that reckoning of life and death that he ought poverty can never afflict or bereave him of his rest For it were a thing very unfitting that he who can despise death should suffer his courage to be cast downe or to be quite quelled by poverty and need which neverthelesse is that the common people doe most apprehend and most complaine on when as they cannot attaine unto a sufficiency of goods whereupon to maintaine themselves in a gay and gallant manner They not being able to content themselves with such things as may serve for their necessity but esteeming Wealth mans soveraigne good and Poverty and Want his chiefest evill And yet were it not better for a man not to have at all then to lose it when hee hath it And how is it possible in this life that some should not lose seeing that one cannot be rich except many other bee poore and many cannot inherit except others do die And yet there is in poverty this consolation that as it is not subject to the receiving and incurring of great damages so is it not accompanied with so many monstrous turmoiles as plenty and aboundance is Wisedome if shee be poore is never respected fooles haue the fortune and that not without good reason for they have the most neede of it Desert if she be meane may to the Cart there is no roome for her in Court where judgement lookes a squint and casts her eyes but upon outward adjuncts unlesse she be perfumed and ruffle in her silkes let her avoide the gates of greatnesse And to thinke that rich men have more courage to comport with losses then other men have is an errour For the paine of a soare is as sensible and dolorous in a bigge body as in a small yea wee see ordinarily that the greatest men are the most tender and delicate The Philosopher Bion was wont to say that the paine is alike which is felt by plucking or pulling the haires from an head that hath many and from that which hath few All the difference that can be is this that the balde head hath lesse haire to loose and consequently cannot feele so much smart as the other doth that is full of haires If thou wilt live according to nature thou shalt never bee poore if according to opinion never rich Nature desireth little opinion much and beyond measure Moderate and quiet poverty by the law of nature is great riches and godlinesse is great gain with sufficiency and hence it is that we see for the most part the poorer sort of people to bee more jocund and joyfull then commonly the richer sort are because they have not so great care as they have neither doe they feare so deeply the storme of adversity as they doe For they are eaten up with this double worm the care of conserving and increasing the goods they have got the feare of losing that which they enjoy But poverty is a castle and fort assured and fenced against fortune yea the whole world Shee feareth nothing and is able withall to defend her selfe against all her enemies Thouman who soever thou art that goest drooping and dying for riches for worldly pelfe and wealth tell me I pray thee if since thou hast got them they have brought unto thee any more knowledge unto thy minde or more Tranquillity and peace unto thy spirit or more rest and happinesse unto thine heart then thou hadst before thy came into thine hands The wise men among the heathen have taught us how much poverty is to be prised and praised when as they did portrait and paint their Gods naked attributing unto them all things according as they conceited to be most befitting their natures and as for my selfe I shall never repute that man poore who is placed without the reach and power of fortune There is one thing sufficient to expresse unto us the nature of poverty to wit that no vertuous man speaketh thereof but hee praiseth it and avoucheth that the wisest have bin those who have suffered the same with most contentment and truely it is a great weaknesse and tendernesse in us not to bee able to endure that which so many others have passed through and it can be no other thing but a vaine apprehension and frivolous feare to endure and suffer which maketh us so feeble hearted for if we were indeede of a generous and magnanimous disposition we would love and like that for our selves which we approve in others and therefore howsoever this peevishnesse and softnesse of ours is not altogether to be comported with we ought at least to limite