of honest life 7 The Monks Looking Glasse 8 Divers sermons 9 A description of his Monastery 10 The lamentation of the blessed Virgin 11 The doctrine of St. Bernard 12 Homilies on them that went to Emaus 13 Of Gods love 14 Of the nature and dignitie of divine love 15 On the Lords Passion 16 A Tract of the Passion 17 St. Bernards Rhetorick 18 Of the manner of living well to his sister 19 Of Conscience 20 Sermons on divers Arguments 15. 21 Vpon that Salve Regina 22 An Epistle to one to shew what God doth require of us 23 Of Burtheâ—s Cardinall Bellarmines judgement of these is this some of these are known manifestly not to be Saint Bernards yet are full of weight and profit Some of them have their Authours names noted some are so slight and not any wayes relishing Saint Bernards stile nor spirit and some are so like his Works that it is hard to make distinction of them those that either for curiosity or satisfaction desire to know may see the Cardinals observation upon each Tract in his booke of Ecclesiasticall Writers pag. 142. 143. An. Christi 1145. Peter Lombard PETER LOMBARD HEaven hath been pleased to send many famous Divines into the world who like Embassadours comming from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ have expounded the Gospell of Salvation and defended it from the schismaticall interpretation of Hereticks As therefore Solomon saith memoria justi cum laudibus the memory of the just is pretious and praise-worthy it must needs follow that the praises of these deceased holy Fathers will encourage others to give God thanks for raising up such worthy instruments in his Church and also in their lives and conversations to follow their example Amongst the other renouned Fathers famous for Learning soundnesse of Doctrine Piety and integrity of life Peter Lombard deserves a prime place For as it is a Divine gift above the nature of man to instruct men concerning God and Religion and to move and incline their minde to piety and sanctimony of manners so it is necessary that Divines should bee furnished with Ecclesiasticke Eloquence and sentences to bring about this great work which famous men even from the first infancy of the Church have endeavoured and laboured to effect And from hence proceeded so many Greek and Latin Commentaries Meditations Homilies Precepts and Ecclesiasticall instructions written by the holy Fathers who that they might by their laborious writings illuminate the Church in mysteries of salvation were all brought up to scholasticke learning that some by Commentaries some by Sermons and some by Sentences might all helpe to edifie and build up the Church of God And this Father the most renowned Peter Lombard of Novaria Bishop of Paris was as Sixtus Senensis and others have written by all Schoole Divines for a certaine singular excellence of Veneration called the Master of the Sentences upon whose compendium of Divinity and Volumes of innumerable disputations the most learned Divines of the most famous Universities in the whole Christian World have elaborately written He was contemporary with Gratian and as hee gathered Canons and was the Master of the Canons so he collected out of the sentences of Ambrose Hillary Augustine Cassiodorus and Remigius suppressing their names most learned sententious Commentaries on all Davids Psalmes and on all Saint Pauls Epistles inserting some things of accompt of his owne The Commentaries on the Psalmes begin Cum omnes Prophetas Sancti spiritus revelatione constat esse locutos The Commentaries on Saint Paul begin Principia rerum sunt inquirenda So that this Peter Lombard being endowed with all naturall qualities improved by education and learning in the schools and being also painfull and industrious to advance Religion to increase spirituall knowledge and to furnish Students in Divinity with most exquisite and mellifluous sentences so sweet so admirable and patheticall hee I say to this end collected the Sayings and Sentences of the Fathers which may be thence gathered and cited to various and divers purposes either to confirme any Doctrine to amplifie matters or to delight the audience Sentences being the Creame of wit the abstract and epitome of words for instruction necessary easie to be retained in memory as briefe rules of Life and Religion How ought then posterity to be thankful to this famous Father Peter Lombard who out of so many learned Divines painfully collected so many Sentences out of their Gardens gathering Divine flowers which are all bound together in his Workes And therefore although Laus est or atio bona alicujus enumerans praise is but the repetition of particular vertues and goodnesse Yet the life of this worthy Father would deserve a whole volume of praises fild with Encomiums and sententious Eulogyes but because they cannot reach his desert both for Piety Religion and Sanctity it will bee his best commendation to read some of his sweet Sayings collected out of his owne Workes Peter Lombard his Sayings Of Sinne. Every sinne that is not speedily by Repentance discovered becomes a new Sinne and the punishment of former sinne Of the Will There can no good dwell in us that cannot will good nor can we perfect good that cannot desire good Of the Law Death is not by the Law but by the fault of man but sinne is the procurer and efficient cause of Death because it turneth that which is good into evill For so Physicke is not the cause of Death though it discovers deadly poysons nor the Law discovering the poyson of sinne in reprobate men There are in us evill concupiscences and desires which are the Devills weapons whereby when God for sakes us he overthrowes us and gives our soules a deadly wound Of Predestination God condemneth none before he sinneth he crowneth none before hee over-commeth but he hath a definitive prescience of every ones will whereby hee shall bee condemned or crowned If God be for us by predestinating us before our being by our vocation when we were enemies by justifying us when we were sinners by glorifying us when we were mortall nothing can hurt us but all things worke for our good Of Gods Love If nothing can separate us from Gods love what more certaine and greater good can there be For he that loveth God cannot dye but it is death not to love God or to preferre any thing before the love of God therfore the love of God is a right affection of the minde which joyneth us to God and God sheweth his love to us in Christ whom for us hee delivered to death Of gifts Let none glory in the gifts of Preachers or men in that they edifie more by them for they are not authors of grace but ministers Of Love The reall vertue of Piety is the love of a pure heart a good conscience and faith unfeigned This is vertue which nothing overcommeth no fire or windes of persecution no flames of temptations can extinguish of this vertue it is said Love is as strong as
Iezabel but now the Empresse being angry studied revenge and so Theophilus comming to Constantinople with some other Bishops of whom as Palladius affirmes Acacius of Beraea was of greatest note and indeed Chrysostomes greatest adversarie for they sent to Antioâ—h to enquire of his life when he was young but finding nothing worth objecting they then sent to Theophilus to Alexandria and set his malice on working who was glad at such an occasion but they found accusation against him for that Sermon which he preached out of 3 Kings 18 for they alleaged that what he said against Baals priests was meant of them and what he spoke of Iezabel he meant of Eudoxia Thus Chrysostome was beset with the malice of the Empresse and of three other women whose names were Martia the wife of Promotus Castritia the wife of Saturninus and Eugraphia as also by those some Bishops whom before he had deposed and loose priests of Constantinople and the East and West Bishops for receiving the Origenists But Theophilus workt upon two priests which Chrysostome had deposed the one for murther the other for adultery so Theophilus calls a Synod against Chrysostome and brings these and others to accuse him Saint Chrysostome thought them not competent Judges nor the other sufficient accusers So amongst all these troubles he preaches to the people wondrous godlily but they desist not but produce 29 Articles to accuse him of which Baronius sets downe compleatly so they never left until they procured his banishment so they gain'd upon the Emperour to banish him and so not having heard his accusation hee is forced to Heiron but upon an Earthquake that fell hee was recall'd but staid not long for a few moneths after Hee was by their malice banished to a little Towne of Armenia call'd Câ—cusus from thence to a place that lay upon the utmost confines of the Roman Empire exposed to the cruelty of the Barbarians but God prevented for at Comana He did quietly and peaceably commend his soule to God and his body was inâ—erred hard by Basiliscus the famous Martyr many Bishops suffered for his sake and few of his adversaries escaped unpunished The Bishops of Europe hated the proceedings The Bishops of the West would not communicate with those of the East untill they had set and enrold his name in the Table of the most famous constant Bishops and after this his later Writings were brought to Constantinople and there by a company of pious and devout Christians were reserved and so after a long and tedious troublesome life this famous Chrysostome departed Sentences out of Saint Chrysostome Of Continencie and Chastitie As a great showre of raine falling upon the fire doth streight extinguish it's force so the Word of God in the soule by meditation puts out all the fire of lustfull concupiscence Of Riches They are unthankfull Fugitives and destroy them that love them most as a boat if overladâ—n it sinkes but being justly ballasted sailes prosperously so when men stirre to heape up too much wealth they drown themselves in perdition Doe not hord up more therefore then is usefull for feare thou losest what is necessary be rich in necessaries not in superfluities Of covetous thoughts If thou wouldest not feare a storm in a calme or sicknesse in health nor beggery in wealth do as the dresser of Vines cut off the superfluous branches that the tree may bring fruit and not leaves onely so cut off those insatiable thoughts of wealth and thou hast enough Of brotherly love A bulwark of Adamant is not more impregnable than the love of Brethren as a City compacted and united is fortified against all assaults so Brethrens hearts knit up in love are unconquerable T was love that brought the Sonne of God from Heaven to reconcile all things to himselfe Against Covetousnesse A covetous man is as bad as the plague for as it infects the aire the house the body then the spirits now it makes men to be inflamed now they are distracted and can take no rest so is it with the covetous For there cannot be a worse infection in a Common-wealth than covetousnesse nay they are worse than Whores for as the Prophet says of them They open to all passengers so doth the covetous oppresse father mother brother sister servant or friend What he stands not in awe of God nor his sacred Word but laughs and derides his threats Of Faith Solid Faith is like a mighty Rocke which though the winds and waves and weather doe all beat against it to overthrow yet it stands unshaken So true faith grounded on that great Rock Christ holds out in all temptations and spirituall combats Man discerneth anothers fault easily but his owne very hardly because in anothers case his heart is quiet in his owne troubled and a troubled heart cannot consider what is good Contemne riches and thou shalt be rich contemne glory and thou shalt be glorious contemne thy enemies and thou shalt overcome them contemne slothfâ—lnesse and thou shalt enjoy rest and quietnesse Discourse and sudden speech declare a mans inward affection for a lascivious man craftily conceals his vice is discovered by his filthy speech For the conscience cannot be so dissembled but that the wantonâ—esse of the mind may be discerned in the countenance and the secrets of the heart are discovered by the motions and gestures of the bodie Spend an hundred yeeres in delights and another hundred nay ten hundred what are all they to eternitie Is not all the time of this life wherein wee enjoy delights and pleasures but like one Nights Dreame in comparison of eternity The Devils first assault is violent but if he be then valiantly resisted his second temptations will be weaker and being once foyled hee proves himselfe a coward If it were possible to be revenged on the rich you should see all the prisons filled with them but amongst other evill qualities belonging to riches this is one that they deliver and protect offenders from punishment If thou separate art and exercise exercise without art is more profitable than art without exercise For art is unfruitfull without practice and practice is rash without art Saint Chrysostome saith that Iohn Baptist spake more when his head was off than when it was on For saith he he then spake of Christ but with one tongue but being dead all that heard him speak of Christ spake by him Of prayse When God is praysed and when thanks be given unto him of men then the more plentifull blessings are given of him even for their sakes by whom hee is blessed for hee that prayseth God maketh him a debtor of a greater blessing When Eudoxia the Empresse who was wife of Arcadius had sent Messengers unto Saint Chrysostome with many threats and terrours how she would molest and vex him if he did not condiscend unto her desires The messengers failing of their purpose when they returned told her saying
that is who out-stripped others for piety and doing other things which made him admired that was his Charity and Writings â—irtutibus vitam instituit Eleemosynis claruit that is ordering his life in vertues pathes He shined in Alms-deeds and of his charity to the poor I must not let slip what is recorded of him by Photius and Simeon Metaphrastes On a time there came to him a poore man who made his mone to him that he had endured ship-wracke at sea and had lost all his goods insomuch that he had not any thing to relieve himselfe nor his family withall Gregory presently moved with compassion gives him forthwith six Ducats So he having received them departs and yet the same day returnes to this blessed Father and told him his necessity was so great that what he had received hee had payed away and so desires some more of him Saint Gregory gives him other sixe Ducats well hee the same day came the third time and desired reliefe which was given him without gain-saying by this Father proportionably but this poore man comming the fourth time and Gregory having no more gold to give yet unwilling to send him away empty hee remembred he had a piece of Plate in his House of a good value and presently commanded that to be given and it was performed according to his desire Here was compassion that was beyond the bounds of a common man foure times in one day and of the same party to crave and at every request to receive a reward without reluctancy or repining Here was Charity and Liberality bestowed the right way for whom perverse Fortune long sicknesse threats and oppressors have brought unto poverty to those let men extend forth their compassion and charity This Saint Gregory by the wisedome of God so disposing it for his admirable endowments being made as I have said before Bishop of Rome by the suffrages of all good men it was a custome that upon the first day of his enjoying that preferment there should twelve poore men be called in to dine with him so hee that was chiefe over-seer that way did as was injoyned him Well this father being sate with these twelve he presently counting them reckoned thirteene and asking his Officer why hee had transgressed the custome hee presently replyed that there were but twelve but Gregory affirmed there were thirteene so looking well upon them he saw one of their Countenances often change and to shine so after dinner hee tooke the thirteenth into his study and seriously demanded of him who hee was he replyed that he was the poore man which hee foure times in one day so bountifully relieved with gold and plate which almes-deeds saith he of yours are so well-pleasing to God that I am sent being an Angell to you to preserve your life and to direct you in your studies At which words Saint Gregory was strucke with feare but the Angel vanished immediately and Saint Gregory fell devoutly to prayers and gave God thanks for his great favour shewed to him Here I may say as it is of Cornelius Act. 10. Thy prayers and thy Almes-deeds are come up before me and I wonder where can we finde such a pattern of Charitie in these dayes Rich men doe debar themselves of many a great blessing for not exercising themselves in Almesdeeds as Photius saith here was that saying of Saint Paul verified Harbour and entertain strangers for so many have received Angels so did Abraham and Lot But I will not insist longer upon this Now I will proceed This Gregory was of that acutenesse of wit that he easily overthrew Eutyches the Heretike in a publicke disputation concerning the resurrection and did so confirme it that the Emperour caused Eutyches his books to bee burned as hereticall as you may see and reade in his Workes as also in Beda Read Iohannes Diaconus in the life of this Gregory in his first book and foure and twentieth Chapter where hee shall finde with what solid places of Scriptures and invincible arguments hee doth establish it When as the plague did rage so furiously in Rome that the living could scarce bury the dead and when Pelagius was dead of it how worthily did this Gregory behave himselfe during that heavy visitation and judgment how did he stirre up the hearts of the people with all speed to turn to God with fasting prayer and by serious and unfained repentance What an elegant speech did hee make unto them is easily to be seen it is so full of piety and wisdome that it deserves to be registred in Letters of Gold and is able to make the hardest heart to weepe and lament his sins and to set himselfe to seeke the Lord. How powerfully did he by dextrous Counsels establish the Churches How did he cause the Ligurians the Venetians and Spaniards to be drawn from Schismes and to embrace the authority of the Chalcedon Councell How did he reduce the African Churches from the Heresie of the Donatists Sicily from that of the Manichees Spaine from that of Arianisme Alexandria from that of the Agnoetans by his deep learning and judgment And did hee not likewise free France from Symoniacks which did grow up in every place Did hee not so powerfully prevail with Brunichilda the Queen with Theodoricke and Theodobert Kings of France that he procured from them a generall Councell against these persons and anathematized all that should dare to practise that sin Yet in these Heroick proceedings the Devill did all he could to oppose him by calumniation but he left not off to proceed maugre all their malicious conclusions to effect that good to the Church of God for which he thought he was set up how Christianlike did he speake to the Emperour Mauritius against his making that unjust Law that none of those souldiers which were marked in the hand should ever be converted to the faith of Christ Did not this Gregory answer the Emperour in these words Ego te de Notario Comitem Excubitorum de Comite Excubitorum Caesarem de Caesare Imperatorem nec solum hoc sed etiam Patrem Imperatorum feci Sacerdotes meos tuae manui commisi Tu à meo servitio milites tuos subtrahis that is I have meaning God made thee of a Notary to be Captain of the Watch from that I have made thee Caesar from Caesar have advanc'd thee to be Emperour and not only so but I have made thee a Father of Emperours Have not I given thee my spirituall Souldiers which are my Priests and dost thou take fâ—om my service thy Souldiers Answer I beseech thee ô Emperour to thy servants What wilt thou answer to thy Lord and Judge when he shall demand this at thy hands a worthy speech and savouring of a generous and religious spirit How severely did hee reprove the Bishop of Constantinople who would have beene called Vniversalis for his pridâ— and doth he not directly call it No men istud
counsell if I have wronged any one in anger I desire you pardon mee that am penitent for my offences After hee had made this prayer and confession being brought home againe hee died foure dayes afterward in the Reigne of the Emperour Heraclius and of Chintilan the most Christian King of the Goths in Spaine being exceedingly famous for soundnesse of doctrine and for abundance of charitable works Many mellifluous Sentences fell from his holy mouth and pen some whereof collected out of his writings are these following Of Affliction Thou seeekest rest and condemnest ease but remember that affliction and greater is the fruit of preaching then of silent quietnesse as Christ saith to the Church Sicut Lilium inter spinas sic amica mea inter filios As the Lily among thornes such is my beloved among the daughters of men Of Christ. Hee came from Heaven into the Virgins wombe from the womb into the manger from the manger unto the Crosse from the Crosse unto the Sepulchre from the Sepulchre he returned into Heaven Of the Church The Church is a fenced Garden because it produceth many fruits of spirituall workes it is a Fountaine because it floweth with the Doctrine of Salvation Armed because it is defended by the Lords protection and sealed by the word of Faith Of Wisdome Wisdome is above all things neither can there be any justice without wisdome and none can fully receive the wisdome of God but such as withdraw themselves from worldly cares He is more to be blamed that knoweth what hee ought to follow and will not follow that which he knoweth Knowledge and a good life are both profitable but if both cannot be obtained a good life is to bee sought rather than much knowledge Of Perseverance The reward is promised to those that begun but it is given to those that persevere As it is written He that shall persevere to the end shall be saved Of Converts New converts should not trouble themselves with outward cares for if they be entangled in them like new planted trees not well rooted they are suddenly shaken and doe wither Of Compunction Compunction of the heart is the humilitie of the minde accompanied with teares arising from the remembrance of him and the feare of judgement Of Repentance His repentance is acceptable that doth bewaile his sins condemning himselfe and lamenting for them being as profuse in weeping as he was forward in sinning Of thought As the Viper is killed by the young ones in her belly so wee are betrayed and killed by our owne thoughts nourished in our own bosomes which doe both poyson and consume the soule Of Conscience All things may be shunned but a mans owne heart For no man can run from himselfe for a guilty conscience will not forsake him wheresoever he goeth Of speech The evill speech of the heart are hurtfull cogitations and meditations of the tongue punishable speeches The evill speech of action is an ill life corrupting others by example Of pride Every sinner is proud for by doing that which is prohibited he contemneth divine precepts Therefore pride is the beginning of all sinne for the disobeying of Gods Commandements is transgression and sinne Of Diet. Diet should not bee luxurious nor wanton but sufficient to sustain Nature for as Philosophers say the belly should bâ— so meated that it may keep life and soule together not corrupt both life and soule together Of the Soule The life of the bodie is the soule the life of the soule is God and as the body is dead without the soule so the soule is dead without God As Angels had a beginning but no ending so also have soules For some things are temporall perpetuall and eternall Temporall matters have a beginning and ending Perpetuall have a beginning but no end Eternall have neither beginning nor end Of the Saints glory As white compared to black is more beauteous so the glorification of the Saints compared to the damnation of the wicked will bee more glorious therefore the damnation of the wicked is an augmentation of the Saints glory After the Resurrection the Saints all bodily ascend into Heaven as Christ saith to his Father Iohn 17. The Devils have a threefold prescience or fore-knowledge namely by naturall subtiltie temporall experience and supernaturall revelation The Devill in deceiving any one observes his nature and doth apply such temptation as will draw his naturall inclination to sin Good done with discretion is vertue and any action undiscreetly done is vice For even undiscreet vertue is accounted vice Philosophie doth shew the order of causes Morality the order of â—iving and Logicke the reason of understanding Drunkennesse is a vice which makes the mind forgetfull of it self through superflâ—ous drinkâ—ing It is impiety to spend on the rich that which should be given to the poore and by peeling the poore to obtaine the favour of the powerfull As to take water from the thirsty ground and powre it into Rivers that have no need thereof Hee that begins to amend and grow better let him beware lest he grow proud of his vertues lest vain-glory give him a greater overthrow than his former vices When the poor are fed for ostentation sake a worke of mercy is turned into a sinne Doe good in secret if thou canst but if not have a desire to doe it in secret and so thou shalt avoid ostentation Avoid anger or moderate it shunne furie or restrane it for a wise patient silence doth overcome an enemy sooner than impatience An. Christi 731. Beda VENERABLE BEDE THis Venerable Bede was a Benedictine Monke of the Monastery of Saint Peter and Paul in England He was an English Saxon borne in the yeare of Christs Incarnation 671. in the time of Deodatus Pâ—pe Hee was deprived of both his parents when he was but seven yeares old Hee was delivered into the Monastery of Saint Peter and Paul by the care of his Neighbours and was brought up there under Benedict and Cealfrid then Abbots and men famous for Piety and learning where in short space hee shewed what parts he had gained by vertuous education in his youth for he was a man most studious in the holy scriptures and wondrously learned skilfull in all secular occasions a great Philosopher Astronomer Musitian and Poet skilfull in the Greek Tongue a mellifluous Rhetorician Arithmetician and a famous Divine Hee practised these three things himselfe and taught others to doe so too O rare scribere docere to pray to write to preach at nineteene yeares of his age he was by Ceolfrids appoyntment ordained a Deacon Sergius the third being then Pope and at thirty he was ordained Priest from which time hee wholly devoted himselfe to the study of the sacred Scriptures in meditation and interpretation of them for he speakes so much of himselfe in the end of the History of England in these words