like and every Christian should love another we see it verified in Wolves Lions Tigers c. and shall they agree and men disagree we may observe it that the very dogs that live together in an house will not ordinarily fight one with another but one for another and shall men agree worse then dogs in a family its nothing but pride that makes men swell thus one against another and we have not only the bond of nature but of grace to bind us to this duty This is the command of the Lord Jesus and the badge and livery whereby we may be known to the world to be the Disciples of him who is the most admirable pattern of humility and lowliness Divers reasons why we should love one another as our selves may be taken from the similitude of the members of the natural body where the Apostle tells us that as the body being but one 1 Cor. 12.12 hath many members so we being many are all members of the same mystical body of Christ 1. The more noble and honourable members despise not the less honourable and those that are appointed to more base offices as for instance the head though it self be covered and carried aloft doth not contemn the feet though they travel and trudge to carry the whole body about no more ought the rich in gifts parts or estate despise the poor Mal. 2.10 for they be their fellow members made of the same matter by the same Maker The rich Angels in heaven despise not the poor Saints on earth but are ready to perform the duties of love unto them as appeareth by their carrying the soul of the poor beggar into Abrahams bosom Luk. 16.22 and so ought it to be on earth as James speaketh Jac. 2.1 2. not having the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ with respect of persons 2. As the more noble contemn not the less noble no more do the less noble envy the more noble and so it should be among us for as the hands and the feet grudge not that themselves are used and employed as instruments to feed and defend the head and heart no more must subjects and servants and men of meaner condition envy their superiors and Masters the places that God hath allotted them but content themselves with their own and be faithful and painful in them as King David willed Ziba and his sons and servants to do for his Masters son Mephibosheth 2 Sam. 9.10 3. If one member fail in performance of some duty whereby another catcheth hurt the other doth not in a rage run upon it and hurt it again as for example if the foot chance to slip and so the head catch a knock it doth not presently perswade the hand to heat the foot or if the teeth bite the tongue this were to seek the ruine and destruction of the whole body no more ought we in our mad mood furiously to rush one upon another when we have been unawares hurt one by another 4. When one member is hurt the whole body feels it and fares the worse for it as for example a thorn in the foot grieveth the head yea the very heart so ought we to have a sympathy and fellow-feeling of the hurt of one another as Christ our head hath of us all as is evident by that speech he useth to Paul before his conversion saying Saul Saul why persecutest thou me Act. 9.4 signifying to us that the hurt that was done to his members on earth even reached him their head in heaven 5. What good parts soever any of the members be endued with they hoard not up nor reserve to themselves as Monopolies but impart and employ them for the good and benefit of the whole body and the meanest member thereof if a toe or a finger be but fore the eye looketh the head deviseth how to help it and if they be not able to do it themselves by their own skill then they seek out to others and the tongue will play the Orator and entreat yea rather then fail and not have it the hand will play the Almoner and reward thus should we be willing to afford our mutual help one to another and so we would if we were once perswaded of the necessity of this duty that we ought to love our neighbour as our self but pride and self-love do so blind the eyes of men that they will not learn this lesson 1 Gor. 13.4 Charity suffereth long and is kind charity envieth not charity vaunteth not it self is not puffed up saith the Apostle CHAP. 30. The fourth fifth and sixth Directions Direct 4. SUbmit thy self to the Word let it have its efficacy and operation upon thy soul pride cannot stand before the Word when it cometh in power upon the heart the Word is a hammer that breaks a heart of rock in pieces Christ compareth the Gospel or Kingdom of God to leaven Luk. 13.21 which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till the whole was leavened The Word like leaven altereth the persons upon whom it worketh and makes them become like unto it this woman here may fignifie the wisdom of Gods Spirit working in and with faithful and painful dispensers of the mysteries of the Kingdom or their care and conscience pains and diligence the three measures or pecks of meal it seems was an ordinary leavening in an ordinary family Gen. 18. â— Sarah leavened so much to entertain the Angels some think by the three measures of meal are meant the three powers and faculties of mans soul all which the Word of God moderateth and tempereth Pliny saith that for five hundred eighty years together the custom at Rome was for women altogether to be employed about this business and that they had no men bakers viz. concupiscibilem irascibilem rationalem the concupiscible the irascible and the rational the concupiscible that it may not lust after things unlawful and vain as David praies Lord encline my heart to thy testimonies not to covetousness the irascible that it may not boil above measure and violently break forth beyond its bounds Tu domine argum atare ego mirabor tu disputa ego credam Aug. and also the rational casting down imaginations or proud reasonings and every high thing that exalts it self against the knowledge of God subduing the pride of reason to the obedience of faith 2 Cor. 10.5 Thus Austin Lord do thou dispute I will wonder do thou debate the matter I will believe and if thou wilt not willingly yeild to the Word it will overcome thee whether thou wilt or no we read of the Synagogue of the proud Libertines and others that disputed with Stephen Act. 6.9 10 that they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake So the Apostle Paul though he had many enemies as the Priests of the Jews and the Philosophers of the Gentiles yet he made invia pervia where he could
as proud Nebuchadnezzar doth Is not this great Babel that I have built c. Dan. 4.30 Be not these the things that I have attained to by my wit parts industry c. We may not say of the gifts of God in us as the Atheists of their tongues Psal 12. that they are our own and we may do with them what we list for if they are ours let us shew our evidence when we purchased them and what we paid for them before whom the instruments were drawn sealed and delivered Besides we must know that as our gifts be not our own absolute fee-simple and free-hold but we only copy-holders and tenants at will nor have we any such custome but may be broken at the pleasure of our Land-lord so we be not so much as quarter owners of them but only stewards over them and must be accomptable for them Luk. 16.2 Therefore we must not be proud of any gift but acknowledge Gods goodness and say with the Kingly Prophet what shall we render to the Lord for all his benefits towards us 2. Because Pride of gifts hinders a man from doing much good with them the end why God giveth diversities of gifts to men is that they may impart them to the benefit of one another Posuit Deus in Ecclesia quosdam ut oculos quosdam ut linguas nonnullos ut aures alios item manuum alios pedum qui rationem obtinerant Basil you know that in the body of the world there are diversities of commodities for this end and purpose that one Nation may have commerce with another Hirams country yeelds good timber and stone Solomons country good wheat and oyl Moah was a sheep-country and Ophir was famous for gold Chittim for ivory Basan for oaks Lebanon for cedars this is the ground of all commerce and traffick so God hath enriched one with this gift another with that not to grow proud of it or to monopolize it to themselves but mutually to impart their gifts to the good of one another 1 Cor. 12.21 22 25. As in the body natural there are many members yet but one body and the eye cannot say to the hand nor the head to the foot I have no need of thee but all must be helpful to and not disdain each other that there may be no schisme in the body the members must have the same care of one another so men of the greatest gifts and parts must not disdain to be helpful to the meanest Christian There was found in the house of Luther these words Res verba Philippus Res sine verbis Lutherus verba sine re Erasmus Melancton was words and matter Luther was matter without words Erasmus words without matter therefore as Dr. Hall observeth hath the blind man legs and the lame man eyes that there may be an exchange between them for the benefit of mankind 3. The more and greater our gifts are the more we are indebted to God when God cometh to call us to give up our accompts he will look into our receipts he that hath had five talents must account for five for to whom much is given of him much shall be required Now to be proud of thy great gifts Luk 12.48 is to be proud how much thou standest indebted to God CHAP. 18. Of Pride of Wit PRide of wit is when a man is pufft up with his knowledge quickness of apprehension depth of judgement As the finest cloth is soonest stained so the rarest wits are most subject to Pride as moths do sooner breed in fine cloth then in course so Pride and vain-glory do soon surprize a man of the quickest wits a good and modest wit is better then a great wit Errores magni siac magnis ingeni is non nascuntur August That men should not be proud of wit or natural parts Chemnitius proveth from the example of Tacianus who by the testimonies of Clemens Alexandrinus and Eusebius was a man of great parts yet fell into great heresies and gross absurdities Vid. Chemnit Harm 1. part 〈◊〉 2. p. 7 8. for often-time a great wit is the spring of great evils and the greatest errours usually arise out of the greatest wits thence Tertullian called the Philosophers the great wits of the world Haereticorum Patriarchas the chief Fathers of Hereticks When men of great wit and parts appear for an errour the repute of their ingenuity and parts draws many after them and doth much mischief and such men do most misuse their wit and abuse it to licentionsness The Grammarian busieth his brains about the Concordances and regiments of Nouns Verbs and quantities of Syllables and will not for any thing make a Soloecisme in speech but will not stick to make a thousand in his actions the Rhetoritian discourseth copiously the Logitian disputeth subtilly the Arithmetitian is cunning in numbers and divisions but he will scarce impart a penny to the poor for then if it come to matters of practice in life he is better skilled in addition and multiplication then in substraction and division he will use Zeno his Rhetorick and open his hand wide to get riches and then his Logick shut it again to keep them when he hath them About these things many men beat their wits But its better to have a true knowledge of a mans self then the course scituation and operations of the stars and planets then the vertues of herbs and plants then the diversities of humours and complexions and constitutions then the natures of beasts or whatever Philosophy rational moral or natural can afford to man for what booteth it the Geometritian or Cosmographer to be able to measure the compass of the earth or take the height of the moon when with all his art he cannot meet out the length of his own life though but a span long nor take the measure of himself and his own deceitful heart if we look not into our selves we cannot know our selves and if we take a strict view of our selves we cannot be proud That witty men are apt to abuse their wits Austin shews in an Epistle of his to Licentius a young Noble man that was very witty one that had been sometime his scholar a witty Poem of his coming to the hands of Austin who perceived he had wickedly abused his wit therein he writes to him in this manner I have read this Poem of thine and I know not with what verses to lament and mourn over it because I see a pregnant wit in every line August 39. Epist ad Licent but such a one as I cannot dedicate to God then he exhorts him Da te Domino meo c. Give thy self to my Lord who hath given thee this excellent wit if thou hadst found a golden cup wouldst thou not have given it to some publick use God hath given thee a golden wit Pliny saith of C. Caesar Dictatour that he was a man of a prompt and ready wit as nimble and active
men to a painted Snake that is fair without and full of poyson within Deles picturam Dei mulier si vultum tuum materiali candore oblinias si exquisito rubore perfundas S. Ambros Little reason hath any one to be proud of it or trust in it as the Poet long ago Virg. Oformose puer nimium ne crede colori Alba ligustra cadunt vaccinia nigra leguntur What then can be said of Jezebels art if natural beauty so soon vanisheth 2 King 9.30 Haec non sunt membra quae Deus fecit sed quae Diabolus infecit Cypr. de Veland Virginib then surely artificial beauty sooner decayeth 'T is a great vanity to be proud of beauty which is but as a Tulip or flower in May that sheweth it self to day and to morrow withereth away and returneth to the earth from whence it came The body it self passeth away like a shadow who then can undertake that beauty which is but momentaneum corpor is accidens a momentary accident of the body shall abide with him If the body fall to ruine the accident cannot stand Among all the qualities that flee away with the body of man there is none more swift then beauty which on a sudden sheweth it self as a pleasant flower to the eyes of the beholders causing many to praise it but by and by it vanisheth When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity thou makest his beauy to consume away like a Moth. Saith David Surely every man is vanity Psalm 39.11 Beauty is but a slender vail and but skin deep an hot burning coal will scorch it the nail of an enemy will lacerate and pluck it off Florem decoris singuli carpunt dies Seneca in Octavia and a few fits of a quartan-ague will change it into swarthy deformity old age and the space of a few years will shew the slightness and vanity of it and death will utterly consume it The apprehension of this I suppose made that beautiful Roman Prince Domitian write thus to his friend Socrates vocabat formam modici temporis tyrannidem Bruson lib. 2. cap. 44. Beauty is the finest flower that will soonest fade and wither Petrarc de remed utriusque fortunae Know thou saith he that there is nothing more set by then beauty and comeliness of body and nothing less durable One in Germany was so fair that some were very earnest with him to have taken his picture He answered them no. But said he a few days after I am dead take me up and picture me as you finde me then and let me be a Monument to posterity and they took him up two or three days after he was dead and buried and they found him half eaten up with Toads and Serpents and venemous Creatures and so he was pictured accordingly Thou that now pridest thy self that the form of thy face and body is without comparison Know thou that it is not long ere the habit of thy mouth and the colour of thy face shall be changed thy goldy locks and shining hair shall wax gray and become white or fall off from thy head that deep wrinckles shall plough up thy tender cheeks and bright forehead that some sad cloud shall cover those pleasant torches of the eyes Repentè dum nescit incanescit caput rugatur facies c. Hieron Epist ad Cyprian and darken those shining stars that the scurvy or some other standing filthiness shall cover over that white and slender Ivory of the teeth and break them in pieces that they shall not only be of another colour but of another form and fashion thy strait neck and shoulders shall grow crooked together with thy feet thy hands wither and thy whole body be decrepit Anceps sorma bonum mortalibus exiguum donum brevi temporis momento capitur c. Seneca in Hippol. 1.760 and the day will come that thou mayest not know thy self in a glass and all these things which thou thinkest to be far from thee if thou livest I tell thee will soon befal thee And though thou wilt not believe me nor any man that now shall tell thee of it yet then thou wilt exceedingly wonder to see thy self so much transformed What will it avail thee to be proud of that which is not thine which in colour is inferiour to many Roses and Lilies of the field and which thou canst not keep long with thee besides bodily beauty hath been a snare to many a soul Beauty hath kept back many from making any progress in the way of holiness and hath turned them the contrary way How many precious hours do many persons spend at the Glass and in trimming this outward sheath which might have been much better bestowed in adorning the soul Suetonius writeth that Augustus Caesar was never wont to spend any time in trimming and beautifying himself Aristippus being perswaded to go to Corinth to see the beautiful Lais gave this answer Non emam tanti poenitere whereby many profitable things are neglected He that is in love with his face or comely form hath an enemy at home and which is worse a delightful one such a one as robs him of his time taketh away his rest steals away his heart such a one as is the foment of lust and frequently as great a passage to hatred as love that which bringeth the chastity of many in suspicion and is the occasion of reproach and often draws a man or woman into danger and yet this is a thing that the world doth much dote upon Nothing doth so soon kindle a fire in the affections of men as the beauty of women Oh! boast not then of bodily beauty but rather labour after spiritual and heavenly beauty that with the Kings Daughter Psal Gratior est pulchro veniens in corpore virtus 45.13 thou mayest be all glorious within This is more pleasant and more lasting then corporal beauty which the longest day cannot wear out nor any disease extinquish nor death it self If beauty and grace be joyned together as in Abigail they are much to be desired Eliab was of fair countenance yet saith God to Samuel look not on his countenance 1 Sam. 16.7 for I have refused him It is said of Aspasia the wife of Cyrus that she was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 wise and beautiful but beauty little benefited Bathsheba nor Absalom who had a beautiful face and a deformed soul As a jewel of gold in a Swines snout so is a fair woman without discretion saith Solomon Prov. 11.22 But we read of the Laver of brass that it was made of the looking-glasses of the women which assembled at the door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation whence some of the Rabbins Exod. 38.8 Ainsworth ad loc the Chaldee Paraphrast and Junius and Ainsworth do collect that these were Religious women such as had renounced the vanities of the world and given themselves to the service of God
by the Romans as Tertullian tells us 2. It is Gods prerogative royal to act all for himself he hath no higher end than his own honour and glory The Lord made all things for himself for his own glory Dionysius junior alebat Sophistas non quod magni faceret sed ut propter eosin admirationem esset Plut. mor. 11 p. 400. Prov. 16.4 Now a proud man doth not mind the glory of God in his own thoughts but his own glory his own praise credit and esteem The Pharisees when they gave alms blew a trumper that people might take notice what merciful men they were that they might have the glory of men and when they prayed they often did it in the corners of the streets that they might be seen of men Humane applause was all they sought for approbation from God and acceptance with him they look not after and this they have as their reward Therefore saith Christ to his hearers Mat. 6.1 2 4 5 6. Take heed that you do not your alms before men to be seen of them c. Mat. 6.1 Object But it may be said that our Saviour Mat. 5.16 commends and commands what he forbids and condemneth here for there he saith Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and here See that you do them not before men to be seen of them Answ If we compare the places we shall see it s no such matter for in the former place we are bidden to do good works before men that they may see them and glorifie God for them and be occasioned to imitate and follow them as 1 Pet. 2.12 And here we are forbidden to do them before men About one hundred and odd years agone some of the Princes Noble-men and Gentlemen of Germvny in a vain glorious way caused these five letters V. D.M.I.Ae the first letters of verbum dei manet in aeternum to be wrought or embroydered or set in plate upon their cloaks or sleeves of their garments to declare to the world that forsaking Popish traditions they were professors of the pure Word of God but many of these men had not the Word written upon their hearts Joh. Wolf lect membr Tom. 2. ad ann 1549. not simply but eo animo to be extolled praised and magnified for doing of them we may bona opera ostendere shew our good works but not ostentare not make an ostentation of them we must aym at Gods glory not our own if it follow it must be upon the by and more then we expect or respect in doing our duties It must as one saith be but a consequent no cause moving us But praise will follow vertuous and pious actions as the shadow the body The Romans made the image of vain glory in the form of a vagrant woman writing over her head This is the Image of vain-glory This Image had a Crown on her head a Scepter in her left hand a Peacock in the other her eyes vailed and blinded sitting on a Chariot drawn by four Lions the reason of all this was because the lovers of vain honour and glory are as inconstant as a vagrant woman the Crown on her head shewing that they ever desire to be honoured and admired in this world like Kings the Scepter betokening thier desire to rule the Peacock shewing that as the Peacock decks his former part with his tail and so leaves his hinder parts naked so vain-glorious men deck themselves in the eye of this world and deprive themselves of eternal glory the vail that is before her denoteth how blind the vain-glorious man is that he cannot see his own folly and arrogancy the four Lions intimate that the vain honour of this world is ever drawn with four cruel sins as fierce as Lions Pride Avarice Luxury and Envy A proud man can bear reproach of none and seeks to be adored and praised by all Calvisius Sabinus got servants skilled in all arts and speaking all languages arrogating all that they knew to himself Seneca ad Lucil. Epist 27. CHAP. 17. Of Pride of gifts in general GIfts are those endowments with which God fills the minds of men for the edifying of the Church of Christ and of these the Apostle tells us there is a diversity 1 Cor. 12.4 Si sono benle differenti de doni maegli e vn medesimo Spirito c. Questo fanno il genere sotto il quale si contengonole specie che sono soggiunte delle amministrationi operationi Ital. Annota in 1 Cor. 12.4 5 6. and these all proceed from the Spirit of God Gifts are as it were the life of a Christian and the Spirit of God is the life of them all There is not greater variety of Herbs Trees Plants Knots Flowers in a curious garden enclosed to which the Church is compared then there is of gifts in the minds of men some indeed have a double portion of gifts as Elisha had of the spirit of Elijah and every one hath his proper gift suitable to that place whereunto God hath called him his dimensum as the Scripture termeth it Now the design of the Devil is to make a man proud of his gifts and to look more upon his gifts then look to the giver of them when a man feeds this humour in himself and is so far from checking it in his heart that he rather seeks to foment it and add matter to it and sheweth it by the contempt of others of inferiour gifts this is a note that gifts do puffe him up with Pride Now this is a great vanity for a man to be proud of gifts 1. Because these gifts are not our own but Gods Who made thee to differ from another or what hast thou saith Paul which thou hast not received and if thou hast received it 1 Cor. 4.7 why then dost thou boast c. every good and perfect gift cometh from above from the Father of lights who giveth freely c. Jam. 1. We have nothing that is good Omnia mea mala purè mala sunt mea omnia mea bona purè bona suit et non mea Hugo Card. Austin observeth against the Heathen that Christian vertues far surpass the vertues of the Heathen by the name they are called saith he you call yours habits because you have them we call ours gifts because we receive them from God but is the gift of God and cometh from the grace of God Thus one saith All my evils are purely evil and mine All my good things are purely good and not mine And Austin upon the fifth Petition of the Lords prayer saith What can be less then bread yet lest we might think to have that of our selves our Master hath taught us to beg it of our heavenly Father saying and praying daily Give us this day our daily bread therefore seeing all that we have whither for the body or mind are Gods gifts we must not say of them
grieveth if any one be equal with him or compared unto him and from hence ariseth envy Because the women in their dances said Saul had slain his thousands 1 Sam. 18.7 8 9. and David his ten thousands Saul was very wroth and the saying displeased him and he said They have ascribed unto David ten thousands Fools and beggers are never envied and to me but thousands and what can he have more but the Kingdom And Saul eyed David from that day forward that is he cast an envious eye upon him This temper seemed to be in Christs own Disciples Luk. 9 49. Invidus non est idoneus auditor Aristot His ears are not fit to his head Adams for John cometh to Christ and saith Master we saw one casting out devils in thy name and we forbad him because he followed not thee with us now this was but an unreasonable reason of their prohibition and it is a fault as well as a fashion of all Professions to advance themselves and to keep others under Austin saith that Pride envies all superiours because it cannot be equal to them envies his inferiours because it fears it should be equal to it and equals because they are equal to it There cannot be a greater vexation to an envious man than to see another do well by him therefore Seneca wisheth that such persons had eyes and ears in all places that they might even pine themselves away by repining at other mens well-fare and Diogenes advised one to become good to be revenged of a proud man that was his enemy Envious persons would have all men cut to their scantling and every bodies foot of the just length of their last these are not unlike Procrustes or Gobryas Invidia hominum vanorum asseclaest Plut. Mor. 1. Luk. 7.38 39. Quicquid laudabile est invidiae materiam praebet that cut every body to the just length of his bed When Mary Magdalen as it is conceived had washt the feet of Christ with her tears and wiped them with the hairs of her head and kissed his feet and anointed his feet with pretious ointment Simon the Pharisee in whose house he then was envied at it saying This man if he were a Prophet would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him for she is a sinner hereby he sheweth his pride and hypocrisie in thinking better of himself and worser of others then there was just cause thinking and speaking ill of her that was better then himself If he had looked well upon himself he needed not have sought out in this woman what he might have envied he might have seen enough at home quod lugeret what he might have lamented as Bernard speaks T is the humour of all envious proud persons to deal with sins as it befel Moses's rod Ex. 4.3 4. being hurled from him it was a Serpent but taken to him a rod again so these men make their own sins small and others great therefore Christ reproveth him for it Simon saith he I entred into thine house thou gavest me no water for my feet which was but an ordinary custome in entertainment and of good use in those hot countries to refrigerate and cool them after their travel That it was usual Gen. 1â— 4 appeareth by Abrahams entertaining the three Angels whom he thought to be men Let a little water I pray you be brought and wash your feet Gen. 19.2 and rest your selves under this tree the same Lot affordeth to the two Angels that come to his City Gen. 24.32 the same Laban doth to Abrahams servant and those that were with him thus an old man of Gibeah doth also to the Levite and his Concubine travelling from Bethlehem Judah to mount Ephraim Jud. 19.21 This ordinary favour thou hast not afforded me even to wash my feet with ordinary water but she hath washed them with most sweet water drawn from the fountain of her heart and through the passages of her eyes sorrow for her sins Suetonius saith that Tiberius caused his son Germanicus to be slain lest he should succeed and prove better then himself and the two eldest sons of Germanicus to be famished because he thought they were by the people too much honoured being as it were the bucket to fetch out the same and wiped them with the hairs of her head a towel not artificially made by her but naturally growing from her Thou gavest me no kiss at all but she since my coming in hath given me many for she hath kissed my very feet mine head and best part thou anointedst not with oyl but she hath anointed my feet with ointment therefore seeing thou hast neither shewed piety nor pity in washing and refreshing me nor love and charity in kissing and embracing me nor mirth and joy in annointing me I may well conclude that however thou speakest fair to me yet I am never a whit wellcome to thee and that this woman whom thou enviest whatsoever thou thinkest of her is much better then thy self When Eldad and Medad prophecyed in the camp of Israel Num. 11.28 29. Joshua envied at it and said My Lord Moses forbid them but Moses was of another spirit Enviest thou for my sake saith he would God that all the Lords people were Prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit upon every one of them So Paul so Christ be preached quomodocunque Phil. 1.10 he rejoyced though some preacht him out of envy and said he would joy Obj. Doth not Christ envy salvation and the means thereof to the Scribes and Pharisees when he thanks his Father for hiding the mysteries thereof from them Matth 11.25 Ans No but because they refused and so for their contempt are thus deservedly punisht he thanks his Father for mingling mercy and justice together viz. justice upon the proud and shewing mercy to the humble and John Baptist saith of Christ He must encrease but I must decrease which some conceitedly say was signified by Johns being born on Midsummerday when the year was at highest and the day longest and now shortning and Christ born when the sun was at the lowest and the daies at the shortest and lengthning John Baptist labours to credit Christ among his Disciples though with the loss of his own reputation saying that Christ must encrease and he must decrease and while he laboureth to credit Christ before a few Christ credits him before a great multitude therefore he said to the multitude concerning John What went you out to see A Prophet yea I say unto you and more then a Prophet for if it were a credit for Achilles as Alexander the great sometime said of him to have Homer the trumpeter of his praises then what an honour was it for John Baptist to be commended by Christ himself Now as for envious persons one wittily saith Lest God might seem to wrong them in sending them to heaven where there are degrees of glory as