danger and temptation during this night past and thy giving of healthful and pleasing rest unto us therein whereby we are enabled to perform the duties of this day and chiefly that of prayer unto thee For we justly confesse that the glorifying of thee is the principal end of our life which glorifying is most advanced according to our weak power by invocation of thy Name and by professing a full dependance upon thee in all our actions We confess that of our selves without thy especial grace we cannot step one step towards thee by our actings in any Religious duty yet by means of that grace we are enabled so far to act as to obtain acceptance at thy hands in Iesus Christ which is sufficient for us We above all expresse our thankfulnesse to thee for thy mercies in thy beloved Son and more particularly for his undergoing the shameful death of the Crosse for us Grant O Lord that by his Blood and Sufferings we may be purged from the old leaven of unrighteousnesse and that by Faith in him our hearts may be purified and disposed to the performance of whatsoever duties are required by thee towards the attainment of everlasting Life Grant that we may do all things with a holy mind and sincere intention in obedience unto thy holy will and not with any self-love which may be offensive unto thee a God of pure eyes who canst not behold the least iniquity with approbation Grant O Lord that we may this day apply our selves to the doing of our duty according to our several relations and subordinations within this Family looking still up unto thee as the foundation of all power and under whose protection we can onely be happy We know O Lord that dutys perfunctorily done satisfie the world but not thee who art a God having an All-seeing Eye from which nothing can be hid and who hatest eye-service being only well pleased in a pure heart free from all hypocrisie We beseech thee therefore so to guid all our actions as we may do nothing but what is acceptable in thy sight and that our demeanour this day and all the other dayes of our life may be such as not to fill up our measure of iniquity and sinfulnesse against the Day of Iudgement but that we may then be accepted of as pure and holy by and through the Merits of the same Iesus Christ by whom we expect our eternal happinesse Evening Prayer for a Family O Lord God Creator of Heaven and Earth the preserver and Governour of all things that have a being We thy poor Servants of this family laden with iniquity implore thy mercy unto us in the forgivenesse of our sins We confesse that there is nothing in us but the Seeds of impiety which daily spring up and generate actual sins to the great provocation of thee our most gracious God We confesse O Lord that by the sin and disobedience of the day past we have added very much to the masse of our transgressions in so much as the very weight of them may presse us down even to the pit of Hell to our everlasting ruin unlesse it shall please thee to shew mercy unto us O Lord thy mercies in Iesus Christ are abundant and sufficient to blot out not onely ours but all the sin in the whole World Yet thou wilt not do it to those that are impenitent We therefore in his Name beseech thee to give us humble and penitent hearts together with a resolution to forbear all manner of sin hereafter as a thing that is totally opposite to thy nature and therefore must become the destruction of all such persons as wallow in it without reluctation We are fully bent O Lord to delight in our own wayes and to be linked in Affection with the things of this World which is enmity against thee Cure us we beseech thee of this destructive malady and enflame our hearts with the love of thee which is so precious as it cannot be enjoyed without a renunciation of our wicked selves and all our impious wayes Create in us O Lord a lively Faith whereby we may lay fast hold on the Merits of our Blessed Saviour and so become fully justified in thy sight O Lord kindle in us by thy Holy Spirit a brotherly affection one unto another so as we may be wholly disposed to do good and not to delight in mischief through evil will and envy Lastly we beseech thee more especially to remit our sins of the day past and so to blesse us this Night as we may not therein fall into any temptation by evil thoughts and immaginations or otherwise but enjoy quiet and seasonable rest to the refreshment of our Bodies and Spirits whereby we may be fitted for such Services as the day following shall require and alwayes retain in our mind the fear of thee restraining us from all manner of wickednesse These mercies and whatsoever else thou knowest to be necessary for us we beg of thee for thy own Mercies sake in Iesus Christ thy dearly beloved Son in whose most absolute form and words least our prayers should be otherwise defective we conclude them saying Our Father which art in Heaven c. FINIS Ecclâ—s 7. 25. Vxor Ebr. lib. 1. cap. 9. Mat. 19. 12. 1 Cor. 7. 34. Ecclus. 16. 1. 1 Kings 1. 6. Prov. 13. 24. 1 Sam. â— 13. Mat. 11. 8. 1 Cor. 12. 23.
Senators in their beginning and the Noble Venetians now subsist in their greatness by it True it is that States having obtained much riches become subject to extravagant Expense and Luxury but these excesses grow not to their height till the State come to its declination as it was with the Romans and Persians And now having made our approaches let us give a Definition of Oeconomy II. Oeconomy is the Art of well governing a mans private house and fortunes by which appears that there is no necessary Object of Oeconomy save an Owner with his house and possessions but it is seldom exercised without Wife and Servants And Children will be desired for Succession sake and as the bond or tye of affection between man and wife wherefore we shall treat of all these and in the first place of a Wife whose care within dores is of greatest importance III. It is an antient English Proverb That if a man will thrive he must ask leave of his Wife and thrift is a matter of no small consideration in Oeconomy If therefore choyce be made of a Wife let him use as well his Ear as his Eye that is let him rather trust to his discretion according to what he hears than to his affection kindled by sight that she may be no lesse useful in the day than agreeable at night IV. A Jove principium Let her be of the same profession in Religion with her Husband for between them that agree not to go to Church together there can hardly be consent in other things Neither should she otherwise be of too different inclination and affections from her Husband for if one delight in Company and the other in Privacy they must live together with as little convenience as in the Fable the Swallow and the Lark would have done whereof one loved Summer and the other Winter Let her not be too Young for unripe fruit yields no increase Not too Old for fruit past its maturity tendeth to putrefaction and is noysom Not too rich in Revenue especially by a reserve of a great part in her power lest she become too imperious and upbraiding as giving subsistence to her Husband Not too Fair least like hony she draw Wasps to his House And not too Foul for that is not onely unpleasing but brings shame with it To conclude he cannot use too much circumspection being to give her an irrevocable Estate for life in his Person And for advancement by Marriage let him consult Martials Epigram Vxorem quare locupletem ducere nolim Quaeritis Vxori nubere nolo meae Inferior matrona suo sit quaeque marito Non fuerint aliter foemina virque pares Or thus Ask you why Wealth in Marriage I not crave 'T is that my Wife the Breeches should not have The Wife brings less in Birth and Wealth then he Or else the Man shall not her equal be V. A Master of a Family being already Married must maturely consider the disposition of his Wife If she be defective in brain or naturally given to Idlenesse unfit she is to be much used in governing the Family The like may be said of one Laciviously dispos'd for how improper to be trusted in businesse is one who deserveth not to be trusted with her self And yet these will hardly suffer themselves to be excluded for what is more usual than a desire of power in those who are uncapable of managing it But if the Wife be industrious prudent and affectionate to her Husband as some such there are no confidence can be too much for her for she is such a blessing as may sway the balance against very many not onely good Servants but Children VI. Our first Mother Eve was inflamed with a desire of Knowledge which caused her fall and begot our mischief but her Daughters in these dayes affect nothing so much as the enjoying of their Will For the attaining of this they apply themselves to several wayes according to their different constitutions and dispositions The best of them are so happy in temper and abilities as they are able in a modest way to propose to their Husbands strength of Reason for their chief desires and these ought to receive full satisfaction unlesse the Husband can convince them with stronger reason VII Some others of milder temper seek to have their Will by discontent upon refusal expressing it by Tears and pretended indisposition of Body and these find many times an indulgence perhaps too often Some are of so fiery constitution as upon denyal they are ready to fly in their Husbands face and these deserve little encouragement In this case the Husbands Patience must be a Narcotick to keep him from being too quick of sense and so the fit may passe over without Battail and good use may be made of her passion which being troublesom but in few cases may be generally usefull in obliging Servants strongly to their duty To prevent Contests between Man and Wife a great Lord of the late times had a pretty way He would often professe that he never in his whole life denyed any thing to his Lady and his meaning was this that when the matter proposed by her could not be conveniently yielded to she could not by any importunity wrest any answer from him VIII But those are of the worst Condition who free enough from the passion of Anger are fully bent to have their Will in all things And as Tiberius the Emperour said to Agrippina Widdow to Germanicus Si non imperes filiola credis tibi injuriam fieri They think themselves wronged if they be not permitted to have a complete Empire These are harsh and perverse enough by nature but they strein theirs to the height to become not onely crosse but insupportably so till they obtain their end They do not apply themselves to storm the fort but by siege to make the holding of it incommodious and so to cause a rendry to them for want of conveniency as the French say our Englishmen surrendred Calais for lack of Mustard The Husband who yields all upon these terms deserves to wear the Petticoat having renounced the prerogative of his Sex and therfore deserves not the least pitty Some Husband would use the Poet 's harsh Complement and say Vade uxor foras aut moribus utere nostris Or thus Abroad good Wife and there new dwelling find Or act at home as I declare my mind IX Progeny gives a futurity of being and the word Posterity may be fitly understood in that sense for the Body if not the Soul extraduce of Parents hath a partial continuance by the Seed though not perpetuity Affection therefore to Children is most natural and the care of them is most strictly required of Parents even in Religion it self according to the uniform consent of all Divines In their Infancy the government of them doth belong to the Mother and so properly as the Father is as then uncapable of it The Mothers care of them is as duly theirs as
within his own Family and shall do well to take order for the external and publick Service of God there twice a day and in case any of the Servants especially those whose businesse lyeth within doors be negligent to give attendance at the Chappel or other place assigned for that duty he must either by himself or his Chaplain who is his substitute in spiritualibus if he have one reprove them for it and so for scandalous courses that any of his Family shall give themselves over unto XXXIX There was a piece of managery heretofore which is now wholly out of use and yet might be beneficial It is the having of a Wardrobe in considerable Families wherein was kept such Houshold-stuff as seldom came into use and there was also preserved all the old Vestments of the Master and Mistris which had been any thing costly This was a Store-house out of which might be taken at any time materials towards the making of new house Furniture and Saddles or such like things but now it is grown a shame with us to preserve any such frippery as they call it XL. Having in the last Observation mentioned Vestments or Apparrel I cannot think it improper in this place to take that matter further into consideration The most natural uses of Apparrel are these to defend against the injuries of Weather and to be a Covering for the obscene parts of the Body which last was the occasion of our Father Adams first piece of Clothing by Fig-leaves But certainly it may also be used for ornament or else our Saviour would not have said that such as wear soft Cloathing are in Kings Houses nor S. Paul have spoken of bestowing more abundant honour on those members of the Body which we esteem least honourable Excesse in bravery of Apparrel causeth much waste and therefore some Rules should be given to prevent it There can be little said in general the condition of persons being so different in respect of Age Quality c. As for those who are aged especially in a retired way they cannot be too moderate for much vanity and great age should be incompatible Most indulgence is to be afforded to people in the flower of their age who may find advantage many wayes by adorning their persons I knew a Noble-man whose course was this to apparrel his Daughters in very plain Habit till they became Marriagable and then he trimed them one by one in Garments of more cost which succeeded very well all of them being seasonably and fitly disposed of The same course may be proper for Male Children and the way is not irrational for persons so trained up will return with lesse reluctation to plain attire if need be In the general it is a good Rule to defer the making of new Apparrel as much as may be which at the long run becomes a great saving of charge And on the contrary those who must have many Suits of Clothes at the same time find themselves at great losse since the Fashion cannot but alter before some of them have had their full wearing That wise and frugal People the Venetians have a way to distinguish the quality and degree of persons by the form and not the bravery of their Habit which of necessity must become a great advantage to their State in general But the wiser part of every Nation must submit it self to the common usages of the whole yet prudence ought to be shewed in affecting rather moderation then affectation for men are not sooner concluded to be defective in judgement by any thing then by their Apparrel and moderation is incomparably the best governour of expence and no lesse so in this then in other particulars XLI The Master and not onely he but his steward ought to govern as much by Example as by Command for how indecent must it be for a man to reprove another for excesse of Drinking or any other habit of Vice whereunto he himself is given over Longum iter per precepta breve per exempla the way by Precept is long and that by Example short And if the Example of Superiours be attractive up the cragged rock of Vertue it cannot be imagined but our course after them will be speedy and somewhat tending to precipitation on the smooth down-hill of Vice when we are spurred forwards by our own depraved inclinations Such persons as are Leaders had need be very cautious in the choyce of their way since they have no small share in others faults XLII It is a common precept that the Master of a Family must be last in Bed at night and soonest out of it in the morning for so he may see good order kept and that the Servants not onely attend their businesse but observe fit times for it Yet in great Families the Masters dignity is such for the most part as that and other personal activities are fitly transferred to the Stewâ—rd XLIII The Master shall do well to take his Stewards Accompt once in a Year at the least and to be very punctual and curious in it or seem to be so This is good also for the Steward for by that means he may the more easily satisfie his Master as to particular disbursements and the Masters seeming care will make the Steward fear to be discovered if he use any underboard play XLIV Masters of Families are much favoured in our Law for their houses are termed their Castles and have the priviledge not to be forced by publike Officers but in prosecution of high treason felony present breach of the peace within dores and some other extraordinary cases XLV The good government of Families is very profitable to the Prince or State for Servants well trained up in obedience and free from Idlenesse become good members of the Common-wealth and none more fit for Soldiers then they but especially those of the better sort who by their breeding attain to a kind of generosâ—ty of spirit which renders them most fit for the Martial profession and I am fully perswaded that the great actions performed by our Kings in forrain Countreys heretofore were chiefly acted by the Nobility and Gentry who being obliged by tenure of their Lands to attend their Prince in person carryed with them their Servants and these had not their heart so much at a home of their own as members of the Traind-Bands in our dayes XLVI It is necessary for Fortresses and Families to have a years provision before hand the first to be in readinesse for Siege and the latter to prevent losse by a year of Dearâ—h but as well in Corne as in most other provisions of store within dores the damage will be very great if sufficient care be not taken in custody of them XLVII Money is said to be the Sinew of War and it is little less in the way of Oeconomy for if the Housholder have not money in hand he must bear much losse Provisions will almost double their price if they be not bought in