Selected quad for the lemma: england_n
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A35052
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The way to happinesse on earth concerning riches, honour, conjugall love, eating, drinking / by R.C.
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Crofts, Robert.
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1641
(1641)
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Wing C7007; ESTC R27922
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132,405
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427
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vitious meanes as flattery bribery impudency and the like to gaine that outward honour which without the inward testimony of a good conscience is but as smoke a vapour aire breath opinion wherein he loseth his owne liberty to follow the passions and humours of other men Ambitious thoughts make a man cleane forget what he ought to be and abandon all actions of duty transports him beyond equity and reason and commonly brings him to a great and miserable downefall From this pernitious root of Ambition springeth abundance of evils to the soule of man for he that is wholly infected with this vice becommeth proud ungratefull insolent faithlesse dishonest envious mutinous an oppressour an Atheist a traitor a contentious and seditious person Ambition hath been the cause of divers murders warres and ruine of Empires Kingdomes Cities and a multitude of families and persons Alexanders ambition was the decay of the Easterne world and Iulius Caesars of the most flourishing common wealth then being Ambition often trampleth and contemneth even Religion it selfe It will make Ieroboam and Mahomet to tollerate any Religion so they may raigne Those Arch-heretickes and Schismatickes of the world what was it but Ambition that puffed them up to be chiefe leaders though in errours and lies What was it but ambition that stirred up and continued the controversie of supremacy betweene the Churches of Ierusalem Antioch Constantinople and Rome the space of almost 300. yeares untill at last Phocas adjudged the supremacy to the Bishop of Rome which brought forth horrible tumults deadly hatred and shamefull schismes among the Churches And since the ambition of divers Popes when sometimes two or three have raigned together hath caused the bloudshedding and ruine of many Christians Also how much bloud was shed by reason of those ambitious divisions of Caesar and Pompey of Scylla and Marius of Cneus Pompeius and Quintus Fabius in Rome Of the houses of Orleance and Burgundy in France Of Yorke and Lancaster in England How many ambitious spirits have done hatefull murders that they might rule and raigne alone as Abimilech Athalia Ioram Zimri Romulus Dionysius Busiris Periander Semiramis Queene of Naples Henry the fifth and Antonius Emperours Manfroy and Irene mother to the Emperor Constantine Richard the third of England and many others Bassianus the Turke also Selimus who killed Coruntus his younger brother and five of his Nephewes Solyman who murdered his owne sonne the valiant Mustapha Adrian the Emperour many of his Emulators Maximinus all his Senators Herod of Iury all the Synedrim and bloud-royall of the Iewes with many others whom I might recount Ambition was the ruine and perdition even of the Angels themselves From this ambitious and inordinate desire springeth a multitude of vaine purposes plots cares jealousies envies feares griefes and discontents Ambitious men thinke still their owne condition not good enough because others are better and pine with envy at the honour and prosperity of their neighbours It is a greater griefe to an ambitious man to suffer one to goe beyond him then it is pleasure to leave a thousand behind him Hee enjoyes not so much the honour he hath as pines with envy desire and acquisition of what he hath not and what others have Thus Themistocles is said to be more fretted at the glory of Miltiades then joyous of his owne and Aristides at his emulated corrivals then at all the honours hee receives from the Athenians An ambitious man grieves and is exceeding angry if others neglect him and thinke him not so good as he thinks himselfe If Haman be not bowed unto by Mordecai he is ful of indignation and griefe The remembrance of any disgrace or injury past doth often much grieve ambitious men and feares of that which may come perplexes them And if they be once crossed in their ambitious desires and in stead of rising fall they become exceeding sad melancholy insomuch as many ambitious men after such losse of their honour or crosse in their ambition have seemed even to scorne the world and mankinde been ready to turne heretikes traitors and desperately to spend their dayes and so end them These immoderate desires cares feares griefs do often cause the body to pine wither increase melancholy shorten life By this aspiring vice of ambition many millions of men have wrought their owne overthrow Baasha Zimri Shallum and Pekah kings of Israel Absolom proud Iezabel Haman Nebuchadnezzar and Herod are remarkable examples of the miserable downefall of pride and ambition Histories make mention of thirty seven Emperours of Rome within the space of 100 yeares onely three of them died of sicknesse in their beds The rest came to untimely ends The examples also of Pharaoh Adonizebeck Agag of Bajazet and the Kings of Asia who drew that once Scythians shepheards coach also Valerian Mauritius Richard the second of England Francis King of France imprisoned by Charles the fifth Robert Duke of Normandy and divers others in all ages yea the death and ruine of all the Emperours Kings Princes and famous men that ever were in the world who are now all buried in earth and rotten in corruption doe shew sufficiently the vanity uncertainty and frailty of that honour and greatnesse which ambitious men so unsatiably desire and seeke after Insomuch as the grave and wormes have conquered and devoured the greatest conquerors princes and renowned men And as if honour and ambition did but the sooner hasten men to this ruine and destruction with what violence doe many great men runne into this vice of ambition till they breake their owne neckes They rise but to fall as did Iulius Caesar Pompey Haniball Marcus Crassus Marius Spurius Melius Sejanus Byron Nicias Agesilaus Cumenes Xerxes Pyrrhus and a million of others both antient and moderne Though ambitious men should attain to some height of their ambitious desires yea commence even the highest degrees of vaine glory yet would they not be contented they would still be ambitious and wish like Alexander that there were more worlds for them to rule and domineere over Although ambition be commonly noted to be seated onely in generous noble and great spirits yet there are some meane men of low degree that are toucht with this vice of ambition there are some beggers that would very fain be men of office and authority though it were but to be revenged of the Constable and put him also in the stockes Some Mechanickes would faine grow to be Gentlemen and rise higher according to that old Epigram Geta from wooll and weaving first began Swelling and swelling to a Gentleman Fortune still smiling on this doughty wight He left not swelling till he was a Knight And so forgetting what he was at first He swel'd to be a Lord and then he burst So ambitious men are never satisfied with rising till they fall to the grave they will ever be swelling like the frog in the fable though it be till they burst An ambitious Gentleman would very faine