teach in this booke Though a man lyue many yeares and in them all reioyce yet he shall remember the dayes of darkenes because they are many all that commeth is vanitie THis is a very comprecation or prayer as I sayd lyke as he should saye that age would I faine see that had obserued the contentes of this booke the same were an excellēt man. Looke how pleasaunt ioyfull the Sun light is so pleasaunt a thing it is to sée a man many yeares inured with the experience of these matters yet meary at his hart and conteyning all worldy Daungers He should sée in déede much darkenes that is myseries of this worlde But this should delight him that he could set them lighter as one knowing and perceiuing long before that this were the state and trade of the worlde The xii Chapiter Be meary therfore O young man in thine youth and let thine hart be glad in thine young daies AFter that he hath described a rare kinde of byrde namely such a man as hath lyued all his life with a meary harte and hath laughed at the troubles malice of the world then he ioyneth to a kinde of exhortation Thou young man therefore sayth he that hast litle experience of the world if thou wilt lyue mearely harken what I write for the and teach thée that thou passe not thy boūdes Liue so as thou mayst contemne the world and ouercome the naughtines thereof And here maist thou sée what Salomon calleth contempt of the world not to forsake our selues or other men but to be conuersaunt in the worlde in the myddle of the broyles thereof but so as we must kéepe a quyet and peaceable harte in all maner of aduersities This it is therefore that he saith If thou wilt attaine to this gole or marke to haue a quiet hart in the myddle of all troubles enure thy selfe with troubles that from thy childhode For so shalt thou safelie stand al stormes and daungers Let thyne hart be glad THat is take prosperitie mearyly when it commeth and be not ouercommed of aduersitie when God sendeth it Thus should youth be brought vp and instructed And vnles youth follow such an admonisher he shall neuer doe lyke a man For youth is ledde altogether with affections is vnskilfull which vnskilfulnes is cause that it cā not beare nor yelde hereafter to the naughtines and ingratefulnes of the world Salomon therefore is an excellent instructer of youth He forbiddeth not ioyes and pleasauntnes as the foolishe masters the Monkes haue done For this is nothing els but of yoūg men to make blockes And as Anselme the veryest Monke of all other sayd to set a great tree in a litle pot Thus these Monkes shut vp their youth in a coupe and forbid them the sight and communication of men because they should learne nor perceaue nothing where as nothing is more daungerous for youth then solytarines The mynde must be well infourmed wyth good vnderstanding and opinions that it be not corrupted wyth the company and familiaritie of naughty men but the body must be conuersaunt in euery thing We must beholde the world and heare it onely sée that we haue a good maister and teacher Therefore we must beware that youth be not in sorrow and solitarines For myrth is as necessary for youth as meate and drinke For the body doth battel through mirth of minde And we must not beginne with the education of the body but with the mynde that it be not corrupted Whē the minde is well taught and enfourmed there the body is soone well gouerned We must therfore beare with youth to be meary and to doe all thinges with gladsomnes of hart onely we must take héede that they be not corrupted with the pleasures of the fleshe For these quaffinges surfetting and amourousnes are not the myrth of the mynde that Salomon here speaketh of but rather the sorrow of the same Walke in the wayes of thyne hart THys place caused me to thinke that all this Chapiter from the beginning was but a kynde of derision and scorne because if a man walke after the wayes of his owne hart it is commōly taken in euill part But we must sticke to the argument and consequēce of the text This it is then that he sayth when thine hart is well taught and enstructed no ioy or myrth shall be able to hurt it so that it be lawfull ioye and no such naughty and wofull myrth as I spake of before And walk in the sight of thine eyes THat is to say enioy that that cōmeth to thy sight Vexe not thy selfe about thinges to come least thou doe as the Monkes doe of whom there were some namely Syluanus the Monke which taught men they shoulde not looke vpon the Sunne They would bereue youth of their sight of hearing of taulking all their senses and shut them vp lyke Capons into a coupe being in déede vngodly and the true Misanthropi that is haters of men Therefore if thou see or heare any pleasaunt matter enioy it so thou offend not agaynst god Appoint or prescribe thy selfe no rules in this behalfe but enioy euery thing in the feare of god Sée thou follow not the peruerse pleasures of the worlde which will corrupt thy mynde Thus far for one part Put away greefe out of thyne hart and cause euill to depart from thy fleshe for childehode and youth are vanitie IT is as much as if he should say euen as I would haue thée stayed by the feare of God from following filthy noysome pleasures so woulde I keepe thee from being ouercommed with sorrowes and aduersitie Put sorrow therefore out of thy mynde that is vse not to be angry nor to conceaue indignation whē things goe not as thou desirest If any sad or sorowfull matter fall know that it is the state of this world Let other enuy hate and fret at it but doe not thou For such doinges marre the pleasaunt lyfe according to the prouerbe Enuie is the rotting of the bones For enuye is a fretting and a consuming sicknes Let thine hart alwayes be one neyther doe thou corrupt it with ouermuch worldly pleasures ne yet wyth too many worldly griefes c. Put away euill from thy fleshe THat is whatsoeuer may vexe or trouble thée put from thee not that he forbiddeth man to chasten his fleshe but in vayne saith he doost thou vexe thy selfe while thou lettest such thinges trouble thee Frowne not at these matters therefore but be of meary cheare Onely see that thou feare god For a meary countenaunce declareth a meary hart And euen as I will haue thée to be meary in mynde so will I thou be also cherefull of body For childehode and youth c. THat is remember thou art young and set all together in the way of vanitie For youth of it selfe is a vayne thing and led with sundry and diuers passions Be thou wise therfore
yea the wyser the holyer the more laborious a man is the lesse he preuayleth so that as well his wysdome as his righteousnes and workes are of no strength or force So that if neyther these nor any other thynges be of force then of necessitie must all thynges be vayne and forceles But here in the begynning must we roote out an errour and noysome opynion that many men haue namely that we thynke not Salomō to speake of the contempt of creatures which the scripture wyll not suffer to be contemned or condemned For all thynges which God created are very good and made for the vse of man which thyng Paule in playne wordes affirmeth 1. Tim. 4. saying Euery creature of God is good and nothyng is to be reiected that is receaued wyth thankes geeuyng For it is sanctified by the word of God by prayer It is therefore very foolyshly wyckedly done of some preachers to enuey agaynst glory power dignitie riches golde fame beuty women playnely condemning the creatures of god A Magistrate or officer is an ordinaunce of god Golde is good and ryches are the gyfte of god A womā is a good thing and made to be an helper vnto man For God made all thyngs to the ende they shoulde bee good and profitable some way to man. Therefore the creatures of God are not cōdemned by this booke but the naughty affection and desier of men which are not cōtented wyth these present creatures of God and the vse of them but are alway carefull how to heape vp ryches to get honour glory and great name as though they should alway lyue in thys world lothyng still their present state and condition and wyshing and aspyring to one thyng after an other For thys is a great vanitie and misery that a man should defraude and byguyle hymselfe of the vse of such pleasures as are before hym and vaynely to vexe and disquiet himselfe about thyngs he hath not These naughty affections I say and enterprises of men doth Salomon in thys booke condemne and not the creatures themselues For touching the vse of these creatures hee hymselfe sayth hereafter There is nothyng better then to be meary in thys life and to eate and drinke and man to reigne in his labour c. where he shoulde be founde vtterly agaynst hymselfe if he shoulde condemne the thynges and not rather the abuse of them which is onely in our affections Certayne foolishe men not perceiuyng these thyngs haue taught vs absurde opinions about the contempt and forsakyng of the worlde and haue themselues comitted many absurde thynges as we read in the liues of the fathers that there were some which would not looke vpon the Sunne beyng worthy doubtles to haue had their eyes put out and lyued most filthely and slouenly because they would seem religious which thing what we may iudge of it appeareth playnely by that is sayd before For it is but a sory contemnyng of the worlde to lyue solitarily and out of the company of men It is no contempt of golde to cast it away or to absteyne from touchyng of money as dyd the Franciscanes but he in deede contemneth it that vsing it euery day is not caryed away wyth the greedy desier of it Thys therfore is the principall thyng that they shoulde cōsider which will read thys booke of Salomō Farthermore this also is diligently to bee obserued that Salomon in this booke speaketh onely of mankynde and keepeth hymselfe within the bondes of mans nature that is of mans enterprises deuises desiers and counsayles least perhappes wee may imagine the same that the interpreters of this booke doe which thynke the knowledge of nature the studies of astronomy and all philosophy are here dispised as vayne and vnprofitable speculations whereas the commodities of these sciences are great and manifolde as dayly we see before our faces Besides that in searching out the groundes and causes of thynges naturall there is aswell great pleasure as profit And the holy Scripture proponeth diuers thynges to teach vs the properties and vertues of them such as is thys in the Psalme He maketh thee young and lusty like an Egle. Againe Like as the Egle that prouoketh her young ones to flye Againe As the hart desireth the water springs and soyle And Go sluggish body to the Emmet and Pismere Yea the scriptures are full of such metaphores and similitudes borowed of nature so that he that should take thē out of the holy Byble shoulde take therewith much lyght from it also To be plaine therfore the subiect and matter of the booke is that mankynde is so foolish that he desireth and searcheth after his owne wayes many thynges which he can not compasse and bryng to passe or if he bring them to passe he can not enioy them but possesseth them with care losse not thorough any fault in the thynges but by reason of his most foolishe affectiōs desiers Iulius Cesar was greatly occupyed to obteine the Empyre of the Romaynes but what perils trauels susteyned he before he could get it And hauing gottē it he was not yet quiet he had not bys whole wyshe but while he was carefully busied to clyme yet higher hee perished most miserably The same cōmeth to passe in all worldly affaires whē we haue greatest wealth straight way we lyke not with it If we want lacke we are neuer quiet at rest for desire of it This vice of mans nature and inclination saw that heathē writers For thus sayth Ouide That lawfull is we loth and like the thinges we are forbid to doe That foloweth vs we flee and seeke to follow that that flees vs fro Againe The present state doth no man please Vpon his owne to liue at ease This is the vanitie of mans hart neuer to be content with Gods present blessings but to despise them seeking still one thyng after other neuer content till he haue gotten his desire and hauyng once gotten it nothing regarding it but still deuising some other wayes Therfore to repeat againe my saying the scope and end of this booke is to teach vs to vse Gods present benefits creatures which he boūtifully bestoweth vpon vs with thākesgeuing without carefulnes hereafter to the entent our hart may be quiet setled and merry beyng content wyth Gods worde and workyng So in the chapiters folowing he exhorteth vs to eate and drinke with the wife of thy youth not to want oyle for our head but to haue our garments white according to the saying of Christ Sufficient to the day is the trauell and care therof And as Paul saith taking no thought for the fleshe to fulfill the lustes of it And if a man woulde followe this trade hys mynde would still be quietly setled and God would aboundantly prouide vs of all thynges And now men vexe and disquiet themselues with two mischiefes namely while they depriue themselues of the vse of thynges present and trouble
and put not oyle into the fier as the prouerbe sayth Be thou neyther in loue ne yet in sadnes be meary and enioy thy goods And vse thy selfe hereto in thy youth that thou mayst know how to doe in thine age For they that liue quietly and pleasauntly in their youth shall come also vnto a pleasaunt age ¶ Remember thy Creator now in thine youth before the euell dayes come the yeares approch where in thou shalt say I haue no pleasure in them ALl these thinges say I vnto thée because I would haue thée free from all youthly affections that thou mayst feare God and vse those thinges which he geueth thée Before the euell dayes come that is before thou waxe olde For age of it selfe is a sicknes although it haue none other dysease besyde For olde men lose the strength of mynde and body both He describeth age by many wordes and fygures and how age hath nothing but euell dayes and is vnprofitable to be entangled with busynes Whiles the sonne is not darke nor the light nor the Moone nor the Starres nor the Cloudes returne after the rayne LYght signifieth felicitie darkenes affliction and miserye as where it is sayd A light is risen vp in darknes to them that be true of harte This he meaneth Before the infelicitie and misfortune of age come when neyther the sunne shall be pleasaunt to thée nor the light delighteth thée There the cloudes returne after the rayne that is to saye there is a continual entercourse of tribulation and sadnes In other ages as in youth and myddle age c. there is a kinde of enterchaungeable myrth and after a tempest cometh cleare weather after sadnes myrth But in olde men after cloudes come rayne One mischaunce vpon another one foule weather vpō an other And thus the Poetes called age sad or heauye ¶ When the Reapers of the house shall tremble THese are descriptions and very pictures of age This he meaneth Acquaint thy selfe to beare aduersitie liue in the feare of God before the keepers of the house tremble or shake that is before thine handes tremble For the handes are the Protectours of the body as Aristotle calleth the hand the instrument of instruments Because it serueth so many vses namely all the members wherein all other membres haue their distinct and seuerall offices and duetyes For our body is lyke as it were an house wherein a man may beholde a president both of publicke and priuate gouernment the kinge of which publicke gouerment is the hed and the hands are the kéepers or garde c. †And the strong men shall bowe them selues THat is when the legges and knées shall waxe faint and yelde For vnto the bones and legges is attributed the strength of man as in the Psalme The Lord hath no pleasure in the strength of a mans legges When the Grinders shall cease because they are fewe OLde age is toothles The téethe are the grinders of the meate and the mouth is as the Myll There is euell grinding where the teeth be fallē out ¶ And they waxe darke that looke out at the wyndowes THat is whē the eyes waxe to be dimme of sight For age hath no cleare sight by reason that the strength of all senses in olde men is diminished And the streat dores be shut without the base sounde of the grinding waxe weake THat is when the mouth and chawes hang downe and are not fast For the mouth is the dore of the hart Math. 17. Out of the hart procede c. The throte shutteth in the voyce making it small Thus the doores are shutt For the twoo lippes are the doores or gate out of the which our hart commeth forth euen as by a doore into the streate This doore in olde men is shutt because they can not singe hallowe and speake out yea they can scarse drawe their breath When they shall ryse at the peping of the byrde and all the daughters of singing shall waxe fainte THat is they shall not onely speake with much paine but hardely catch any sleape For by reason of the drynesse of humors in olde men the roote and cause of sleape is taken away For sleape hath his feeding of the humors in man Olde men therefore are awaked with euery litle chirping of a byrde where younge men sleape lyke hogges and though the Cockes do crowe the Dogges doe barke or it thunder they sleape still The daughters of singing ARe bothe the eares It is an hebrewe phrase as the Sonne of helpe of light of darkenes as hath beene declared heretofore So the eares are called the daughters of singing that is they that are busied in hearing of songes These daughters of singing waxe fainte or weake They become weake and feble c. that is Olde mens eares waxe deaf they delight not in musicke When the height shal be afrayed feare in the waye THat is the olde man shall goe stowping with shoulders and head For the head and shoulders are the heigth of the body This heigth feareth that it waxeth crooked This he meaneth olde men go fearefully in euery place because they goe hanging downe their head and shoulders as they vse that are afrayed ¶ When the Almonde Tree shall florish THat is when the head waxeth white For the Almond tree of all others beareth whitest flowers Of this florishing Almond trée he boroweth his metaphor of hoary Age. †When the Grashopper shall be a burthen THat is such an olde man is lyke to a grashopper The whole bodie is nothing but skinne and bone For his bones sticke out and his body is worne away And so he is become a very Image and Counterfet of death When pleasure and delight abateth FOr thus had I lieffer to enterpretate the hebrewe worde for he vnderstandeth not the venerous pleasure which chiefly in olde men is ceased but also all other kinde of lawfull honest pleasure as if he should saye An olde man taketh delight in nothing but is vnfitt to all such purposes There is no pleasaunt taulke or familiaritye with him but he is euen a liuing corps Thou séest therefore that he speaketh here of decrepite Age good for nothing not of such age as is able yet to be occupied in such businesses For man shall goe into the house of his age and the mourners shall goe about in the streat HE entermedleth a place which enforceth me to vnderstand this chapter of age This he meaneth It remayneth the man must goe to the house of his eternitie that is to his graue For the graue is the house of his eternitie or worlde because he goeth thyther and returneth not againe yet we mourne and bewaile him thus going to his graue With houling and mourning is he brought to his graue Serue God therfore before thou waxe olde for then there remayneth nothing but that thou must be carryed to the graue Before the siluer corde