bicause he hath promised to giue vs greater rewards in the heauenly kingdome And to this feruentnesse of charitie let vs alwayes enforce our selues For by Augustynes opinion it is neyther the great number of workes nor the long continuance of tyme but the greater heate of charitie and the better readinesse of our wil which maketh God for his Christ to accept our merites For whosoeuer doeth obserue charitie in all his actions he fulfilleth as wel that which is apparant as also that which is mysticall in Gods booke For charitie doth as it were open the mynde and maketh the louer to be loued O Lord my God thou arte charitie sayth the Apostle thou art loue which can not be extinguished Doe thou therfore lighten my hart and make it dronken in thée Wherfore am I tossed about wherfore run I from one place to another why doe I wander after many things Is ther not in thée only most holy honorable mighty glorious God y perfect possessioÌ„ y incomprehensible pleÌ„tie and y infinit aboundance of all things y are good pleasant or to be desired TheÌ„ what is more exceleÌ„t or more louely y I shuld therfore withdraw my hart from thée turn it vnto frail things coueting or desiring any maner of thing without thée or besides thée And where was I when I was not with thée Whither ranne myne affections astray when they did not desire thée onely O God of my lyfe howe vaynely is it consumed And how vnfruitfully are my dayes stolen away whilest I liued idelly vnprofitably before thée But from henseforwardes let my soule bee vnmoueably fixed in thée For euen as the harte desireth the freshe fountaynes when he is chased euen so my hart desireth to be with thée O God. Whosoeuer doth glorifie mée I wil also glorifie him saith the Lord God in the second Chapiter of the first booke of the Kings And they which coÌ„tempne me shal be dishonored For of the loue of God the zeale of y diuine honor doth ryse and procéed As also an excéeding affection to adore worship him in all things Which zeale y prophet Helie had wheÌ„ he said I am become zealous in zeale for the Lord god And y more feruently that we loue him the more entâ—…tiuely also we desire to worship him in all things yea and to enduce others with vs to the worshipping of his name For euen as God by reason of his vnmeasurable bountie his infinite amyablenesse is such that no man can loue him so much as he is worthie to be beloued but doth infinitely fayle thereof So by the reason of his maiestie dignitie and vnmeasured asured holinesse he is infinitely to be honoured So that euery man is much defectyue in doing of suche reuerence vnto him as he in him self doth deserue And here vpon the holy fathers profoundlye pondering these considerations did estéeme all their déedes conuersatioÌ„ how perfect so euer it were to be of none effect And therfore the doctors say A man shuld rather suffer death theÌ„ commit the least fault or offence wilfully For as muche as sinne in that it derogateth any thing from the excéeding great maiestie of God is a huge and vnreasonable enormitie Then if we do honor the excelent maiestie of God so much the more bicause by the beholding consideratioÌ„ of his worthinesse we are able to dispise hartily to reiect all frail vain transitorie things to the end that being vnburthened and clean dispatched of them we may attentiuely giue our selues to that pure frée entire worshipping of the same it must néedes follow that they whiâ—…h through zeale doe altogither dispyse and forsake the world shall immediately honor God with all integrytie of harte And therefore by his grace and mercies are made worthie to be glorified honored extolled with him And lykewise the lesse that a man doe occupie him selfe in many businesses so much the more perfectly he is bent vnto the onely god And so much y loftier more sincere his mynde is in the praysing of his name Yea hée may so much the more be wholly at leysure to exercise him selfe in his seruice and walke vprightly in all godlynesse Moreouer Salomon saith Honor God with all thy substance and the first fruites of thine increase If then it pertayne vnto the honor of God to offer him any parte of our outward substance it must by stronger reason appertaine more vnto his honour to refuse all worldly things fréely for the worshiping and glorifying of him and to preseÌ„t our selues vnto him with full deuotion And so do they which coÌ„tempne the world in such maner as is beforesayd And therfore to the end thou mayest vncessantly as much as in thée lyeth giue thy selfe vnto the praise worship and honour of the diuyne maiestie yea that thou mayest quyetly repose thy self in the swéet contemplation of his mercyes reioyse in his blessednesse lyke a naturall louing chylde and spend all the dayes of thy lyfe vertuously I exhorte thée my welbeloued altogither to disspyse the world and to passe ouer all the transitorie vanities thereof with a noble courage yea to goe hartily to worke in the onely honoring of god For is not the vylenesse lothsomenesse of this world infinite being compared to the highest and vnchangeable goodnesse yea doest thou not thinke it an vnworthie thing by occasion of earthly and worldly coÌ„uersation to be hyndred letted from the duetie which thou owest vnto the honour and maiestie of God â–ª and to be withdrawen from the holy exercyses of vertue and godlinesse for the moste vayne liberties of worldly conuersation and vnlawfull actions To conclude if thou doe in this maner glorifie God and dispise the world then God doubtlesse wil cause thée to be honoured excéedingly as Esay witnesseth saying if thou glorifie God following not thyne owne wayes nor yelding to thyne owne will the Lord will giue thée rest and wil fill thy soule with comely brightnesse Yea then shalt thou be much delighted in the Lord and he shall set thée vp aboue the height of the earth Wherevpon Hyllarie sayeth This doe I chieflye owe vnto God that all my power all my sences all my spirits may sounde his praise For to that end we receyued bodie and bodily members yea lyfe and soule of God that we might worship him generally with them all And therefore the Apostle sayeth As you haue giuen ouer your members to serue vncleannesse and iniquitie so now sayth hée giue ouer your members to doe rightâ—…esse and holinesse And this it is to honour God worthyly to doe for his honour whatsoeuer we may possybly doe to please him yea and yet neuerthelesse humbly to confesse that we doe nothing worthy of thankes or meryte Therofore it is written To gloryfie God as much as lyeth in vs shall preuayle with his mercy and is beyonde all prayse Deferre not then my welbeloued to geue
is formed and made of Dust Clay Asshes and a matter much vyler which for modestie I doe not name coÌ„â—…eiued in concupisence of the fleshe in the feruent heate oâ—… lust in the loathsome stinck of desyre and that worse is in the blot and blemish of sinne borne vnto payne sorow and fearâ—… yea and that which is most miserable vnto death He doth lewd thinges wherby he offendeth God his neighbor and him selfe He doeth filthy facts whereby he defileth his good name his conscience and his person and he doth vayne thinges wherby he neglecteth serious profitable necessary things He shal become the fewel for fier which alwayes burneth and can not be quenched the foode of worms which euer gnaw and féede vpon him the continewall masse of corruption which alwayes stincketh is filthie odious and horrible Then our Lord God hath formed man of the â—…ime of the Earth which is more vile then the rest of the Elements as it appeareth in the second of Genesis He made the Planets and Starres of the Fyer the blastes and wyndes of the Ayre the Fisshes and Fowles of the Water and Man and beast he made of Earth Then if he consider of the creatures created in the water he shall perceiue him selfe to be vile Considering the creatures made of Ayre he shall finde himself more vile coÌ„sidering the creatures of fyer he shal fynd himself most vyle Neither shal he make him self equal with the heaueÌ„ly creatures nor dareth prefer himselfe before the creatures of the Earth for he shal finde him selfe equal vnto beastes and shall acknowledge himselfe lyke vnto cattell sithence th end of man and cattel of the feild is all one and their condicion and estate are equall neither can man doe any more then a beast From the Earth they sprang and rose and to the Earth they shal retorne together These are not the wordes of any worldly man but of the wysest euen Salomon What is man then but slyme and dust and thervpon he sayth vnto God Remember I besech thée that thou hast made me lyke vnto Earth and shalt bring me into dust againe and thervpon also God sayth vnto man Thou art dust and shalt retorne into dust I am compared sayth Iob vnto Clay and am lykened vnto Imbers and Asshes Clay is made of Water and dust and both the substaunces doe remaine therein and Asshes are made of Fyer woode and bothe the substances doe fayle An expresse mistery but to be expounded in an other place Then what is Clay to be prowde on or whereof doest thou extoll thy selfe O dust O Asshes whereof doest thou glory Peraduenture thou wylt answere that Adam him selfe was fashioned and formed of clay and that thou art procreate of the séede of man But he was formed out of virgin clay and thou art procreate of séede which is vncleaue for who can make that cleane which is conceiued of vncleane séede What is man that he may seme vndefiled or that which is borne of man may seme iust For behold I was begotten in iniquitie and my mother conceiued me in sin Not onely in one iniquitie nor in one onely transgression but in many iniquities and in many transgressions yea euen in strange iniquities and transgressions for there are two kinde of conceptions one of séede an other of nature The first is made in such factes as are committed The second in such thinges as are purchased and gotten for the parents commit in the first and their issue doe purchase in the second For who is ignorant that the act of generation yea euen betwene maried folkes is neuer committed without prouocation of the fleshe without heate of lâ—…st or of concupisence wherevpon the séedes which are conceiued be vncleane be blotted and made corrupt and the sowle beinge therewith ouer flowed dothe purchase the spot of sinne the blot of gilt and transgression and the blemish of iniquitie euen as liquor is corrupted beinge thrust into an vâ—…cleane vessell and beinge once poluted is defiled euen by the first touch therof For the sowle hath thrée natural powers or three natural forces that is to say a reasonable power to deserne betwene good and euill a passionate power to reiect the euill and a power of appetite to desier that which is good These three powers are originally corrupted with three opposite and contrary vices the reasonable power â—…y ignoraunce that it may not deserne betwene good and euill the passionat power by wrath and anger that it may reiect the good the power of appetite by the concupisence that it may desier that which is euill The first of these vices begetteth transgression the last bringeth forth sinne the midlemost ingeÌ„dereth both sinne traÌ„sgression for it is traÌ„sgression to doe that which is not to be done it is sinne to indeuor that which is not to be indeuored These thrée vi â—…es are purchased and gotten out of corrupted flesh by thrée allurements for in carnall copulation the vnderstanding is lulled on slepe to th ende that ignorance may be sowed the prouocation of lust is styrred vp to th ende that anger and motion of mynde may be spred a broade and the affection of voluptuousnesse is satisfied to thend that concupicence may be obtayned This is that Tyran fleshe the lawe and ruler of the members of man the norishment of sinne the languishment of nature and the fodder of death without the which no man is borne and without the which no man dyeth the which although it passe ouer at any tyme in state of accusation yet it remayneth alwayes in acte For if we say that we haue no sinne we beguyle our selues the trueth is not in vs Oh greuous misery and vnhappy estate condition before we sinne we are bound and wrapped in sinne and before we transgresse we are caught in transgression By one man sinne entered into the worlde by sinne death tooke hold of all men for dyd not the forefathers eate a sower Grape and their childrens téeth are set on edge Wherfore theÌ„ was light geuen to him that is in wretched nesse lyfe lent to such as are in bitternes of the sowle Oh happie they are which dye before they are borne which tast of death before they know what lyfe is for soure are borne so deformed and prodigious that they seme not men but rather abhominations vnto whom nature perhappes should much better haue foresene if she had neuer suffered them to be sene for they are demonstrate and set to shew as monsters and shewes and some againe lacking some of theyr members sences are borne vnperfect to the grefe of their freindes the infamy of their parents and the abashinge of their neighbors But what nede I speake perticularly of these imperfections sithence all men generally are borne without knowledge without speach without vertue without power wéeping wayling weake féeble and but little deâ—…eringe from brute beastes or
them vnto whome soeuer it pleaseth him At the same instant the worde was fulfylled vpon Nabuchodonosar Therefore it is trewe which is sayde in the Psalme Man dyd not vnderstande when he was in honour He was compared vnto the fonde cattell and was made lyke vnto them Pryde ouerthrew the Towre and confounded the tongues beat downe Golias and hanged Aman slew Nicanor and tooke away Antiochus It drowned Pharao destroyed Senacherib and cut of Holofernus head GOD hathe destroyed the seates of the proude Princes and Captaynes and hath dryed vp the rootes of the proude people The Lord himselfe dothe witnesse by the Prophet how detestable pride is saying I detest the pryde of Iacob and the Lorde hath sworne against the pride of Iacob If I forget all their workes vnto the ende Wherevpon amongest those seueÌ„ things which the Lord hateth his soule abhorreth the seuenth Salomon putteth in the first place high lookes And Esay sayth the daye of the Lorde of hostes vpon all prowde highe lookes and vppon them that are arrogant And they shal be broâ—…ght lowe And vpon all the Ceders of Lybanus both high and streight and vpon all the Okes of Basan and vpon all mountaynas and all hight hills all high Towers and all walles of defence and the height of men shal be bended downewards and the talnesse of mâ—…n shal be brought low Therfore hell hath eularged stresched out his spirite and hath opened his mouth vntill there bée no end and the high haughty and glorious thereof shall go downe vnto it The Lord of hostes hath thought this that he might abate the pride of all their glory Iob also sayth If pride clyme vp vnto heauen and his hâ—…ade reache the cloudes yet in th end it shal be destroyed and layed lowe as a dungehill In manner all thinges that be vycious doe loue theyr lykes But the proude doth hate the high mynded and arrogant man Wherevpon Salomon sayd amongst the proud there are alwaies contentions and where pride is there must néedes be despyt also A proude man doth go and gesture otherwyse then he was wount and despyseth those thinges that he is accustomed vnto He accounteth him a greate man whome hée vouchesafeth to speake vnto and verie greate if hée ryse and embrace hym Hée more estéemeth that the dygnitie procéedeth from him then that hée is made by the dygnytie Hée wyll neuer vse the affection of fatherhoode but hée but he will alwayes vse the imperiousnesse of giuing His pryde his arrogancie and his indignation are more than his might He reuolueth in his mynde that which is redde in the gospel There became a contention amongest the disciples of our Lord Iesu Christ which of them should séeme to be greatest And Iesus sayd vnto them The Princes of the people doe rule ouer them and those which haue power amongest them are called liberall But it shall not bee so with you but he which is greatest shall bée as the least amongest you and he which is foremost of you shall be as it were a seruaunt and as Peter the prince of the Apostles sayth not as though you ruled ouer the Clergie But as the rulers and gouernours of the flocke through good will. The earth is the Lordes and the plentie therof the whole world and all that dwell therein Then there is one God and one lord The rest are not Lordes but ministers and seruants vnto whom dominion is forbidden and the ministry is inioyned Giue eare vnto the wyse man herevpon saying If they haue made thée a ruler be not extolled But bee amongest them as thou wertone of them Behold the sonnes of Zebedy who by the intercession of their mother did séeke honour of christ Commaund sayde shée that these my two sonnes may sit one on thy right hand and that other on thy left hand in thy kingdome But they deserued to haue this answere you knowe not what you aske for you can not come into my kingdome by honour and promotion But heauy burthens of tribulation whervpon the Lorde added furder it is not myne to giue you As if he should haue sayde it is myne but not to giue you that is to say vnto ambitious men such as you are For although power be of God yet proude men doe not reigne as appoynted by GOD accordyng to the saying of the Prophette They reygned but not as sent from mée they becamâ—… Prynces and I knewe them not The proude arrogaunt man loueth the highest seates in the Synagoges and the highest chayre at table to be saluted in markett and to be called Rabby amongst men He will not be called by the name of his parson but by the name of his fortune and promotion He will not be honored like a man but lyke a Lorde He sytteth highest he goeth stately he would haue all men to ryse when he passeth by and he will giue a beck to euery man Furthermore a certen Philosopher mocking the arogance of a certeyne King wheÌ„ he sawe him sitt stately in the regall throne falling prostrat vpon the ground did worship him And immediately therwithall being not bydden he arose and sat downe by the Kinge The Kyng maruayling greatly thereat bicause he knew him to be a Phylosopher dyd aske him wherefore he did so and the Phylosopher aunswered Eyther thou art a God or a man If thou be a God then was it my duâ—…y to worshippe thée If thou be a man then may I sitt by thée But then the King turning his spéeche towards the Philosopher sayed Yea but bicause I am a man thou shuldest not haue worshipped me And if I be a god then shuldest thou not sytt by me A question both wysely aunswered and wettily propounded God made our first parents cotes of beasts felles skinns after they had sinned And it is sayd by Christ vnto suche as professe the name of Christians you shall not haue two cotes But according to the councell of Iohn he which hath twâ—… cotes let him geue one of them to him which hath â—…ne But the proude man to the end he may séeme magnificent doth loue to be dooble clothed and to haue delycat garments and pretious ornaments And what is a man decked with pretious thinges but onely a Sepulehre paynted white lymed without full of filthinesse within purple crymsynne Skarlett silke doo putryfie in the flyme of the earth And golde and siluer perles and pretious stones bâ—…come foâ—…le and filthy in clay Power and dygnitie doo lye vncoâ—…ly iâ—… in the dust And glory honour sit as 〈◊〉 in 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 TheÌ„ wherfore weare we these 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 pryde with broade sumpteous borders the ritch maÌ„ which was clothed in purple silke was buried in hell Dyna the daughter of the Patriark Iacob as Iosephus rehearseth before she went out
externall desyers For it is of necessitie that the swéetenesse of Chryst Jesus should make sower and vnpleasant the tast of this lyfe These thinges then haue I here sayed to the ende that I maye turne thée my welbeloued from the 〈◊〉 of the worlde and inuyte thée vnto the most sincere and perfect delyghtfulnesse in god Yea that I myght entyse thée vnto the state of perfection and enduce thée to proue howe swéete God is howe pleasant it is to serue hym feruently and famylyarely So that thou mayest not onely béecome a seruaunt but also a frend yea abeloued Soâ—…ne of thy creator and Sauiour For this is more worâ—…hy to be desyred then all this worlde with all the glorye and pompe thereof And I hope that the Lorde GOD wyll graunt thée vnderstanding of all these thinges For I presume not to thynke that this myne exhâ—…rtation will any waye profit thée vnlesse the holy Ghost bée present and geue thée tast thereof and wysdome by his secrete enspiration For it is wrytten The inspiration of the omnypotente doeth geue vnderstandinge and knoweledge The frendship of this world is hateful enemy to god Ther fore whosoeuer coueteth to be frendly vnto this worlde hée shall therby become an enemy vnto god As Augustine well witnesseth that onely loue charytie make distincton betwene the sonnâ—…s of god the sonnes of the Diuill For in the sonnes of god the spirituall diuine loue doth preuayle Wherby they climbe enteÌ„tiuely vnto heaueÌ„ly things And in the sonnes of the diuill the loue of this world yea the pryuate inordynate and wicked lust thereof which vnto godly charite are strong poysoÌ„ doo reigne preuayle altogither The whole text theÌ„ of holy scripturs doth exhort vs vnto the extyrpatioÌ„ rooting vp of this priuate worldly loue As also it encourageth vs to the prositable procéedings in charity the loue of god our neighbor Furthermore that is priuate loue by that which we are turned backe bend to estéeme our selues vitiously That is to say by coueting those things which are profitable delightfull to our nature more then that things which pertayne vnto god As for example riches delights honour prayse and such other worldly vanities But he which doth truely loue him self in god doth coÌ„teÌ„pne throw away all those things as vile abiect I meane the superfluous vse therof I take this worde Contempning or vtter mislyking for the full and extreme Contempning or mislyking that a christian ought to haue thereof But bicause euerie creature of God is good therfore to be loued and we are bidden commaunded to loue â—…ur enimyes and not to contempne any man but our selues according to Esayes wordes Woe bée to thée which dispisest shalt not thou also be dispised Herevpon aryseth a question how it were to be vnderstoode that the holy scriptures doe commaund vs to hate and dispise this world But if you marke my wordes well you shall perceyue that since euerie man which loueth the worlde doeth thereby become an enimie vnto God it falleth out also that the contempt of thys world is of necessitie vnto saluation Wherevpon some curious mynd might inâ—…erre that all secular people which are maryed and therby doe loue eche other should hereby stand in state of condempnation Wherevnto I answere that loue is to be taken diuers wayes as well in Philosophie as also in diuinitie For both Plato Pythagoras did exhort theyr schollers and sects to dispyse the world But to come vnto a more perticuler distinction First the world is taken for the Element of earth or for the whole globe and compasse of this earthly habitatioÌ„ And so it is taken in the Gospell where Christ spake vnto his Apostles saying Goe you out into the whole world and preach the Gospell to all creatures And the Philosophers doe say that the least Starre of the fyrmament is bigger then the whole world Secondarily it is taken for the whole regyon of the Elements and their myxtures Wherevpon it may be that the Apostle sayd The fygure of this world doth passe ouer And to that sence the Prince of Philosophers sayde This world sayeth hée must be adioyning vnto the cources of the higher powers That the whole vertue and power thereof may thereby be gouerned Thirdly the worlde is taken for the whole corporall substaÌ„ce created â–ª And so Plato in his booke de Timaeo doth séeme to bring in the sâ—…nsible world Fourthly the world is taken for the whole vniuersal thing in the which visible and vnuisible separate and materyall substances are comprehended And thereof this text may be ment The world was made by him Yea so also the Philosopher sayeth Nothing is without the world Fiftly by the world is taken for men remayning in thys world or for all mankynd Whervpon it was that the Apostle sayde Let all the whole worlde be subiâ—…cte vnto god And Christ him selfe sayde This Gospell of the kyngdome shall be preached and declared in the whole world Sixtly the world is taken for the chosen and predestinate vnto saluation Whervpon we read So God loued the world that he gaue his onely begotten sonne c. Seuenthly the world is taken for the peruerse and reprobate Wherevpon our sauiour sayde vnto the Iewes you are of this world But I am not of this world that is to say of the number of vngodly men leading a vayne and worldly lyfe Of which number you are your selues And agayne he sayde vnto his Apostles Bicause you are not of y world but I haue chosen you out of the world therefore the world hateth you And in this sence the world is most commonly taken in scriptures especially in the Gospell and Epistles of Saint Iohn And last of all a father of the Church which hath written a treatise of the vanitie of this world doeth take this word The world for the changeablenesse of mans conuersation in this lyfe Since then the holy scriptures doe bid the worlde to be contempned and hated according to that saying Loue you not the world nor those which are therein Therefore by this word The world we must vnderstand worldly and vayne creatures bent vnto transitorie and not vnto heauenly things Yea and there with must we comprehend earthly substance and such thinges as the worldlings doe most accoumpt as temporal prosperitie carnal delights to be praysed and honoured and to become rich and clyme alofte For all these sensible and temporall things are to bée contempned and hated Not as touching their verie beyng but bicause they hynder and stoppe vs in the way and foreslow our iourney vnto the heauenly kingdome And we must contempâ—…e and hate them least we doe cleaue and stick fast in the myre of them As they doe which sette theyr chiefe end and felicytie in frayle and transitorie things séekyng louyng wyshing and desiryng them more then they doe God. Therefore whensoeuer wée sée any man to prosper excéedingly in this world and to
written Thy name and thy memoriall O Lord are in the desires of my soule My soule hath desired thée by night yea thy spyrite is in the secretes of my harte and early in the gray mornyng will I wayte for thée Herein as goodnesse is the obiecte of our appetyte and desire so since god is the highest purest vnmeasurable perfectest goodnesse so is he insinitely to be desired to be loued In such sorte that we ought beyond all comparison to loue him aboue all things And so consequently it is méete and requisite to dispyse to refuse and to caste away whatsoeuer may let foreslow or turne vs from his loue and the feruentnesse therof But the world and that which 〈◊〉 thervnto doe withdrawe vs specially let and 〈◊〉 vs from the loue and goodnesse of God as Gregorie sayeth wée are euen so much disioyned and seperated from the loue of y high God as wée are wrapped in worldly thinges delighted in base things and occupyed in earthly things For vertue is both greater and of more force when it is vnited thē when it is dispersed therfore the more that the 〈◊〉 of our mynd are dispersed and deuyded into the inordinate loue of worldly creatures the weaker also colder blynder and more vnapte they be to loue God. Wherevpon Chrysostome sayeth looke howe muche thy mynd is set vpon any thing and euen so much the lesse it is set vpon god For what are these earthly carnall things but onely heauy wayghtes and burthens which draw down the affections of mans mynd from desire of heauenly things Let vs therefore extend our whole harte vnto god Let vs be borne vnto him with our whole mynde Let him be such a cause of loue vnto vs in al other things that we estéeme no worldly creature more thē for that it may as a meane serue vs towardes the attayning of his loue That is to say so far forth as it may bee vnto vs necessarie and profitable to further vs in our way towardes the heauenly kingdome But let vs become so feruent in the loue of God yea let vs so much estéeme his most swéete and delectable loue that we may dispise all and singular other vayne and transitorie things as vyle durte So that the omnipotent and eternall God may be more precious more to be desired more gloryous swéeter fayrer and in euerie kynde of comparison better of more perfection and worthinesse thē any other thing And let any liuyng worldly creature be lothsome vnto our soules being thus occupyed in contemplation of the diuyne maiestie Let vs sée and perceyue hereby that the whole 〈◊〉 world in respect or comparison of the vndiscrybable God is but as a small title of no reputation or louelynesse Yea in such sorte that we thinke these transistorie thinges vnworthie to be looked on But that we be wholly transformed 〈◊〉 established dissolued and swallowed vp in Christ Iesus So that we may say with his holy Prophet The God of my harte and God is my portion for euer And agayne I will loue thée O Lorde my strength And as the Apostle said I know that neither death nor life nor any creature can seperate me from Gods loue Let vs but marks and behold how vyle it were for the delightes of the mortal and miserable fleshe for the prayse and glorie of men and for temporall honour and preferment to be withdrawen or foreslowed from this highest supressentiall vnchangeable and incomprehensible goodnesse of god Let vs be made heauenly conformable vnto God and deyfyed yea familiar and entyrely beloued vnto the liuing god For what haue we to doe with these earthly things we being made and created to the shape and lykenesse of the most holy Trinitie béeyng redéemed and made frée by the bloud of Christ and called to the blessed fellowship of Angels Let vs therefore dispyse all these things and let our whole occupation conuersation entention and affection be fixed and altogither reposed in him onely which is onely necessarie to bee imbrased accordyng to the admonition of Augustine Let man sayth hée if he turne any way conuert him selfe vnto him which created him for by going backe from him he waxeth cold but by turning vnto him he shall waxe warme By going backe he shall waxe dimme and darke but by turning to him hée shall become bright and shyning For euen where he receyued his creation and being there must he also fetche his being good or godly For he the Lord our God is the verie swéetnesse swéete aboue all kynde of swéetenesse Brighter then any light déeper then any secret and higher then any honour or degrée Moreouer he is that purest kynde of lyfe to turne 〈◊〉 om him were a gréeuous fall but to returne vnto him is a highe rysing or clyming To abyde in him is a certaine dwelling and to dwell in him is happie lyfe And euen as corne in the wet furrow doeth rotte and 〈◊〉 but in the rydge or higher part of the land it is preserued florisheth so our hartes if they be raysed vp to God shalt neuer putrifie nor decay But if they be ouerthrowne or sunken in earthly things they rotte and consume immediately And myne earnest desire is my welbeloued that thou doe spurne from thée and dispise all transitorie things detest abhorre all the pompe of this world for the loue of the diuyne bountie and through the affection that thou haste to procéede in the imbrasing thereof Yea and that by the desire of so contemplatyue and holy meditations thou mayest with all thy hart and mynde be giuen ouer vnto him All which can not come to passe vnlesse thou dispise all corporal delightes all worldly vanities and all thine owne desires As Cassianus affyrmeth saying our affectiōs saith he are neuer perfectly kindled to the desire of eternal things neither is our vnderstandyng euer sharpened vnto the perfect contemplation of heauenly thinges vntill the cares and desires of the fleshe bee perfectly bridled in vs My welbeloued if thou wilt be rich and a possessor of infinite goods and treasures giue eare then vnto the counsell of Ambrose He that wil sayth he possesse God let him first renounce the world that God may be vnto him a blessed possession and heritage For looke how much thou dye vnto y world so much lyfe thou gaynest with god And the more that thou lyue as to this worlde so muche the more thou dyest vnto God. To conclude whosoeuer loueth the world doeth loue an enimie imbraseth a Traytor and dandleth in his lappe an vnspeakeable daunger Wherevpon Augustyne sayde if this world delight thée thou shalt alwayes be vncleane And if thou louingly kysse the worlde he will hungrily and gréedily swallowe and deuour thée And to make an end of thys deuision wee ought aboue all things to loue God. First for his vnmeasurable goodnesse Secondarily bicause he first loued vs. Thirdly bicause he powreth so many benifits vpon vs. Fourthly