and should put off that he had on before and although the same lineaments and ioynts of the body remayned yet he should change his minde and disposition I sayd how may such a conuersion be possible that that should speedily and on a sodaine be put off which eyther being bred in the bone is soundly confirmed by reason of the solidity of naturall matter or being accustomed is so deeply rooted by the customary frequentation of continuall practise These are firmely and profoundly fixed and haue taken fast rooting When shall he learne thriftines and frugality who hath continually accustomed himselfe to delicates feasts and large banquets Or how shall hee fit himselfe to homely and simple attire who hath vsually been inuested with glorious garments and shined in gold and purple He being delighted and setting his pleasure vpon honours and dignities cannot abide to be priuate or inglorious Hee being wayted vpon with multitudes of men and honoured with a company of officious seruants thinketh it a punishment and a plague when he is alone He that continually entangleth himselfe with the fast-hold enticements of pleasures and vices it becommeth a necessity vnto him still to frequent them his drunkennes inuiteth him his pride puffeth him vp his wrath inflameth him his rapes disquiet him his cruelty prouoketh him his ambition allureth him and his lust carrieth and driueth him headlong whether it list I often considered of these things with my selfe for as I my selfe was wrapped in very many errors of my former life which I thought vnpossible to be shut of so also I was obsequious vnto the vices that did sticke and cleaue vnto me and despayring of a better estate I abounded with mine owne euils as though they were proper and naturall vnto me But afterwards the blemish of my former life was washed away by the helpe of that begetting water and the heauenly light poured it selfe into my purged and clensed breast and afterwards the second birth had made me a new man by the operation of the heauenly spirit after a wonderfull and strange manner by and by doubtfull matters were confirmed vnto me secret matters layd open and matters altogether obscure and darke did appeare and that before seemed difficult now began to be easie and that seemed possible which before was thought impossible as it was to acknowledge that to haue beene earthly which before had liued carnally was borne in sinne and endangered with vices and this to be of God which now the holy Ghost hath quickened Thou assuredly knowest and in like manner thou canst recognize with me what this death of vices hath hindered vs of and what this life of vertues hath bestowed vpon vs. Thou thy selfe knowest neyther need I publish it because oftentation of selfe-prayse is odious albeit this cannot be taken as a boast or brag but acceptably for it is not ascribed to the vertue of man but divulged to be the gift of God that now not to sinne began to be of fayth which before to sinne was of humane errour Hetherto be the words of Cyprian by which both thine and the errour of many others is layd open who measure the difficulty of Vertue by their owne strength and therefore they deeme it a thing difficult and impossible to attayne vnto not considering that if they runne to Gods armes and firmely purpose to auoyde sinne that the grace of God will embrace them which maketh this way plaine and easie as here it is manifest by this example remembred seeing that it is most certaine that heere no lyes are told neyther shall that grace fayle thee which fayled not this holy man if thou wilt be conuerted vnto God as he was conuerted I will remember heere another example no lesse admirable then the former Augustine that famous and excellent Doctor of the Church writeth of himselfe that when as he now purposed in his hart to leaue the world a mighty difficulty represented it selfe vnto him in that change Trifles of trifles sayth he toyes of toyes and vanities of vanities my olde and auntient friends and louers held me backe and pulled and shaked my fleshly vesture and whispered vnto me saying Doost thou dismisse vs and from this moment shall wee neuer any more be with thee and from this moment shall it neuer any more be lawfull for thee to doe this and that And what they suggested in this that I call this and that for this ô my God take not away thy mercy from the soule of thy seruant what vncleannes ô my God and what dishonesty did they suggest And I heard them now not halfe so much as before not so freely nor so stoutly gayne-standing me in my way but as muttering behinde my back and priuily pulling me going on that I might looke back yet they hindered me I lingering to escape rid my selfe from them and to passe whether I was called when as violent custome sayd vnto me Thinkest thou that thou shalt be able to passe without these But this was spoken somwhat coldly On the other side he sayd that Vertue appeared vnto him The chast dignity of Continency appeared sayth he on that side towards which my face was and whether I was afrayd to goe of a cheerefull peaceable and quiet countenance not garishly merry honestly and vertuously enticing mee that I should not doubt but come vnto her stretching out her religious and deuout hands to take and embrace me hauing in them an army and a huge band of good examples There were many young men and maydes there was much youth and men of all ages also matronely widdowes and graue virgins and in them all Continency her selfe was not barren but a fruitfull mother of ioyfull children thou ô Lord being her husband And she derided me with an exhortatory irrision as if she would haue said Canst not thou doe that which these and these can doe Or doe these and these it of themselues or not rather in the Lord their God The Lord their God hath giuen me vnto them Why doost thou stand in thy selfe and not stand Cast thy selfe vpon him feare not he will not withdraw himselfe from thee that thou shouldest fall Cast thy selfe securely vpon him hee will receaue thee and will heale thee In the midst of this combat this holy man sayth that he began wonderfully to weepe I sayth he cast my selfe prostrate vnder a certaine figge tree I know not how and I gaue my teares their fill and floods gushed from mine eyes thine acceptable sacrifice And I sayd vnto thee many things not in these words but to this purpose And how long ô Lord How long ô Lord vvilt thou be angry without end Be not mindfull ô Lord of our olde iniquities For I perceaued that I was held back of them and therefore I cast out miserable and wofull plaints and bewaylings Howe long how long to morrow to morrow Why not now why not at this houre is an ende of mine vncleannes I sayd these things and I did
glory Doe not therfore run ouer these things carelesly slightly sleepingly as without aduisement thou doost read ouer many other things oftentimes passing ouer many leaues desirous to see an end before thou hast wel examined the beginning but I would that thou sitte as a Iudge in the iudgement seate of thine hart that thou heare all these words with silence quie tnes of mind These things are not to be posted ouer hastily but to be looked to heedfully discreetly because in thē are handled the whole regiment of thy life and what soeuer thereupon dooth depend Consider howe thou wouldest that all the businesses of thys worlde should bee ordered and appointed for in determining these things one mans opinion cannot suffice thee but haue an eye that they be seene to examined scanned of sundry Doctors Aduocates and Iudges least happily thou offend in them Wherefore seeing that in this case we doe not speak of earth but of heauen not of thine but of thy selfe haue an earnest care that this thing bee not considered of slothfully and negligently but with the greatest attention If thou hast erred hetherto now at the length cast with thy selfe that thou art regenerated and borne againe and beginne to enter into iudgement with thy selfe and cut off the thred of thine errors and begin by another way to vntwist this webbe O who will nowe so blesse my labours that thou maist now credite mee and harken vnto me with attentiue eares and that like a good Iudge thou mayst pronounce thy sentence and iudgement according to those things which are spoken and approued vnto thee for this thy resolution should be truelie blessed and thy labour exceeding profitable I know assuredly that I request too much and that a wryting cannot be found so effectuall and preuailing that may effect and performe this request therefore in the beginning of this my worke of what esteeme or value soeuer it bee I intreat this one thing that he who is the power and wisedom of his Father who hath the key of Dauid that he may shutte and open heauen to whom he will would be heere present and so temper these my writings that they may yeeld a perswasiue spirit lyfe to those who shall reade them But if I shall gette no fruite of thys my labour yet this shall be a recompence sufficient for mee that I haue satisfied mine owne desire delight and that once I haue filled glutted my selfe in praysing commending a thing greater then all praise as Vertue is especially seeing that of a long time I haue longed and wished to apply my minde to this studie This also I haue obserued throughout all this worke which also I haue doone in all the rest of my labours that I might fitte and apply my selfe to all sorts and estates of men spirituall and not spirituall Clergie and Laitie that as the cause and necessitie is common so also this Treatise might bee as common For the good reading this shall be confirmed in the loue of Vertue being deeplie grafted into it they shall take deepe roote in it they that be not good perhaps shall vnderstand by this what they haue lost and forgon With thys our labour good Parents may instruct and teach theyr chyldren when they are but young that they may be accustomed from theyr infancie to haue Vertue in honor reuerence and to bee studious of it seeing it is the greatest ioy that a Father hath to see his sonne whom he loueth to bee a louer of Vertue honest in very deede and beautified adorned with all kinde of Vertue This doctrine moreouer will be especially profitable to thē whose dutie it is in the Church to teach the people and to perswade them to embrace Vertue for heere are deliuered in order the chiefest instructions titles and reasons which make vs debtors vnto Vertue to the which also as to common places euery thing may bee reduced which is written of this matter And seeing that heere are handled those graces and blessings which are promised in this world to Vertue which are displaied and vnfolded in her twelue notable and famous preheminences and prerogatiues and seeing that it is true that we haue all these good things and blessings by Christ it consequently followeth that this doctrine shal bring much light to the vnderstanding of the holy Scriptures especially to those places which intreate of the misterie of Christ and the inestimable benefite of our Redemption of the which amongst others the Prophet Esay Salomon in his Canticles and such others doe write more of purpose THE ARGVMENT OF THE FIRST BOOKE THIS first Booke Christian Reader dooth containe a large exhortation to Vertue which is the watchman and keeper of the commandements of GOD in which consisteth true Vertue This Booke is deuided into three principall parts In the first part Vertue is perswaded to be embraced of vs with those reasons and common arguments which are wont chiefely to bee alledged of the holie and auncient Fathers as are those bonds by the which we are bound to our Lord GOD as well by that which hee is in himselfe as by that which he is for vs by reason of his inestimable benefits and also by the necessitie of Vertue herselfe which is prooued and layd open vnto vs by the foure last things which are Death Iudgement Heauenly-glory and Hell And these are handled in the first part In the second part the same thing is conuinced and prooued manifestly by other newe reasons as are the commodities and profits of grace which are promised in this life to the students louers of Vertue Heere the twelue particuler prerogatiues and priuiledges are rehearsed by which Vertue is famous renowned and they are handled and discoursed of seuerally and by themselues Which prerogatiues although many times they are touched of the Saints and holy Writers shewing the light the peace the true libertie and ioy of a quiet conscience and the consolations and comforts of the holy Ghost which things the righteous enioy and all those excellent benefits which are circumscribed within Vertues circumference yet neuer any man was seene or read of me who handled this matter so copiously and in that order as wee doe Therefore it hath not beene vnto mee a little trouble or a small labor to bring together into one head all these things out of diuers places of Scripture to call thē by their propper names to reduce them into order to declare and display them and to approue euery one of them seuerally by diuers testimonies of the Scriptures and of the Fathers This diligence was very necessarily bestowed that they who are not mooued to loue Vertue for the hope of the good to come because it seemes to be farre off frō them at the least that they might bee moued with the profite of that inestimable good which Vertue affoordeth in this world But because it suffiseth not to produce all the reasons which proue
before of vs the power and force of the cause is knowne by the effects and work and by the power force the Essence is knowne What maner of power shall it be from whence so great a worke proceeded and if this power be such and so great what an one and howe incomprehensible is that Essence which is knowne by that power This contemplation without all doubt doth farre exceed all humane reach In this we must further consider that all these excellent and great workes not onely as they are but as they might haue beene are as though they were not in the viewe of that diuine power yea after an infinite manner they are lesser for that is infinitely greater to which this power doth extend it selfe Who then will not be astonished considering of the greatnes of such an Essence and of such a power which although a man cannot see with his externall eyes yet he may make a most certaine coniecture and gather of the foresaid reason how great it is how incomprehensible This wonderfull immensitie of God that great Schooleman Thomas Aquinas doth show in his Breuiarie of Diuinitie by this example We see sayth he in things corporall that by how much any thing is more excellent by so much also it is greater in quantitie for we see that the element of the water is greater then the earth and the ayre greater then the water and the fire then the ayre furthermore the first or lowest heauen is greater then the element of fire the second heauen greater thē the first and the third then the second and after the same manner by ascending euen to the tenth Spheare yea euen to that heauen which is aboue all the Spheares whose greatnes is incomparable That any one may plainly see if he haue any consideration how little the Globe and roundnes of the earth and water be if they be compared with the heauens The Astrologers also say that the whole circumference of the earth and water are but as a pricke or a poynt in comparison of heauen which they proue manifestly by their demonstrations For although the circle of the heauen be deuided into the twelue signes of the Zodiacke through which once in a yeere the Sun doth runne yet in eyther Horizon onely sixe are seene for the bignes and standing of the earth dooth take vp and possesse no more place of heauen then a leafe of paper or a tablet will being placed and sette in the Center of the world from whence the compasse of the heauen may be seene without let or impediment Seeing therefore that that heauen which is aboue all the Spheares which is the chiefest and the noblest body of the world is of such an inestimable magnitude aboue all bodies we may easily vnderstand sayth Thomas how God who is without any circumscription the chiefest greatest and best of all things as well of things corporall as spirituall who also is the maker of them ought must exceed all things with a certaine infinite magnitude not in quantitie for he is no body but in excellencie and noblenesse of his most perfect Essence But that we may returne from whence we are digressed after the same manner we may search in all other things how great and of what condition be the magnitudes perfections of this Lord. For it is necessary that they be such as his Essence is Ecclesiasticus confesseth that where he speaketh of Gods mercy According to his greatnes saith he so is his mercy of such sort are all the rest of his perfections Such is his goodnes such is his benignitie maiestie gentlenes wisedome sweetnes noblenes beautie omnipotencie and to be briefe such is his iustice He therefore is infinitely good infinitely sweet infinitely amiable and woorthy whom all creatures should obey feare and reuerence insomuch that if mans hart could containe infinite loue and feare and infinite obedience and reuerence all that should be obliged by the bond and rule of iustice to the dignitie and excellencie of this Lord. For if as euery one is more worthy more excellent so greater reuerence is due vnto him it followeth that seeing the excellencie of God is so infinite that also infinite reuerence is due vnto him Heereupon is inferred that all that which is wanting to our loue and reuerence whereby we doe not come to that measure is therefore wanting because it is indebted to a dignitie of such greatnesse Which thing seeing it is so how great I pray thee is that debt which this onelie title although there were no other doth request of vs in the loue obedience of this Lord What I pray thee will he loue who doth not loue so great a goodnesse What will hee feare who doth not feare so great a Maiestie Whom will hee serue who will not attend vpon such a Lord For what is thy will made if not to loue and embrace that which is good If then he be the chiefest good what is the cause that our will doth not loue embrace him aboue all that is called God And if it bee so heynous an euill not to loue or feare his Lord aboue all things what wil it be not to esteeme or regard him Who would haue euer supposed that the malice of man would haue come to so great impietie Neuerthelesse to that height of peruersitie they are come that for a little beastly pleasure or for a little honour or for a small gaine and filthy lucre doe offend and contemne so great a goodnesse O blindnes to be deplored ô insensiblenes more then bestiall ô deuillish rashnes and presumption What doth not he deserue who dareth such things with what punishment with what kind of torture shall the contempt of so great a maiestie be worthily satisfied It is certaine that it shall be punished with no lesser torment then that which is prepared for such an offence that is that whosoeuer hee be that contemneth God shall be tormented in hell fire euerlastingly and yet neither shall he worthily be punished This then is the first Title which bindeth vs to the loue and seruice of this Lord which bond is so great that all bonds by which by any manner of meanes in thys world we are bound to any person eyther for his excellency or for his perfection are vnworthy the name of bonds if they be compared with this For euen as the perfections of all other things being compared with the diuine are no perfections so neither the bonds which by reason of their perfections and excellencies are named such are bonds beeing compared with this as neyther all the offences made onely to the creatures cannot be called offences if they be compared to them by which the Creator himselfe is offended For which cause Dauid also in that paenitentiall Psalme sayth that he had offended the Lord onely and onely sinned against him albeit he had offended most grieuously against Vrias whō he had commaunded to be slaine being innocent and against
be predestinated For if any Prince who is to be the heire of a great kingdome doth passe by any way all the inhabitants their houses being left flock to that place that they may see him and they admire that blessed according to the opinion of the world estate which doth tarry for that young man because he is borne to be the heire of a kingdome how much more then ought men to admire and wonder at this most blessed estate That is that man is borne and elected without any merrit of his not that he may be a temporall King in this world but that he may raigne in heauen with God himselfe and with his blessed Saints for euer and euer world without end Therfore by these things my brother thou mayest easily know of that great bond by which all the Elect for this benefit are bound to their Lord and Electour From the which benefit let no man thinke himselfe excluded so that he will doe his duty and will not be wanting vnto himselfe yea let him giue all dilligence that by good works as Saint Peter admonisheth hee may make his calling and election sure for we assuredly know that he that doth this shall be saued we also know that the fauour and grace of God doth neuer faile and diaspoynt any man neyther will at anie time leaue or forsake him Therefore let vs perseuere in good works in the vndoubted certainty of these two truths and let vs hope that wee are of that happy and blessed number of the Elect. THE SEAVENTH TITLE That man is bound to follow and embrace Vertue by reason of the first of these foure last things which happen vnto him which is Death CHAP. VII EVery one of the fore-sayde titles ought worthily and of right to mooue a man to serue the Lord his God to whom hee is bound by so many names and reasons But because the greater part of men is more moued by reward and hire then by the debt to iustice that is as others speake rather by profit then honesty we haue thought it a thing worth the labour if to these afore-sayd we adde the great profits and commodities which are promised to Vertue as well in this life as in the lyfe to come Heere at the first we will speake of two especially amongst the rest of the Glory which we obtaine by Vertue and of the Punishment which we auoide by it These are the two oares by the benefit of which we row and saile out of the danger of this troublesome stormy Sea these are the two spurs by which we are pricked forward to runne with celeritie to the way of this life Hence it is that certaine holy men inspired with the holy Spirit haue wished that Preachers would preach altogether or for the most part of vertues and vices of glorie and punishment of vertues and vices that they may teach how to liue well of glory and punishment that they may moue and perswade to liue well It is also the opinion of Phylosophers the common iudgement of all men that reward punishment are the two counterpoises by which the Horologe of mans life is mooued For so great is the misery of our will that no man desireth vertue being naked bare and plaine to the which punishment is not adioyned or which is not recompenced vvith some profit And because no punishment nor reward can bee thought of greater then that eternall glory euerlasting paine wee haue purposed at this present to speake of them before which wee will sette other two because they are first in order that is Death and the Generall Iudgement Because each one of them being well considered of they haue great motions to incite and stirre vs vp to Vertue and to feare vs from vice according to that saying of the Wiseman Remember the end and thou shalt neuer doe amisse By the end vnderstanding those foure that we a little before haue remembred of the which wee will entreat in order according to the tenour of our purpose Of Death therefore we wil take our beginning which is the first in the number of those last things that happen vnto man which is so much the more powerfull to moue the minde by much it is more certaine more vniuersall and more familiar common vnto him Especially if wee consider the particuler iudgement of all our life which shall bee pronounced of it which shall not be changed in that generall Iudgement for that which shall be gyuen at the houre of death that same for euer shall be ratified How seuere thys iudgement will be and how strickt the account which shall there be required I wil not that thou learne of my wordes but of an history which Iohannes Climacus remembreth of which he was an eye witnes vvhich truly is one of the terriblest and fearefullest which I remember that euer I read these are the words of Climacus I will not omit to relate the history of that solitary monastical man who dwelled in Choreb When as of a long time he had lyued verie dissolutely and loosely and had not had at all any care of his soule at the length he was taken with a disease and brought to his last home And now when as an extasie had seased vpon his body after an houre he came to himselfe againe and desired all vs that forth-with we should depart from him the entrance of his Cell beeing stopped with stones hee remained vvithin twelue yeeres not at all speaking any thing to any man neither tasting any other thing besides bread and water There sitting and beeing amazed hee onely ruminated and reuolued those things which he had seene in that seperation of his soule from his body and in these things he was alwayes of so fixed stedfast a meditation that he neuer changed his countenaunce but alwaies continuing thus amazed astonished silently he poured forth aboundance of seruent teares When he was nowe at deaths doore and death beganne to seaze on him the entrance of his Cell beeing broke open vve entred in And when as we earnestly desired some instruction and doctrine of him vve onely heard thys of him Pardon me No man can abide himselfe should be drawn to sinne if hee in deed doth soundly carry in his mind the remembrance of death We meruailously wondered at him beholding him that before was so negligent and loose to be so suddainly changed and to be made another man by this most blessed change Hetherto Climacus who was present at all these things and what he saw he testifieth in his writings So that no man ought to doubt of thys deede although it seeme to some incredible especially seeing that the witnes is true and faythfull In thys story there are many things which wee woorthily ought to feare considering the life which thys holy man ledde and much more the vision which hee sawe whence came that manner of lyuing which afterwards he obserued thorow out al
be the fulnes of light to our vnderstanding the aboundance of peace to our will and the continuance of eternity to our memory There the wisedom of Salomon shall seeme ignorance there the beauty of Absalon shall seeme deformity there the strength of Sampson shall seeme weakenes there the life of those men that liued at the beginning of the world shall be as it were death to conclude there wee may worthily call the treasuries of all Emperours and Kings starke beggerie and pouertie If these things be so ô wretched man as they are in deede wherefore and to what end doost thou desire to stay longer in the Land of Egipt and to gather stubble Why doost thou drinke troubled and foule water out of all cesternes despising the vaine of felicity and the fountaine of liuing waters Why doost thou loue to begge and â—o liue of almes when thou shalt finde such aboundance in heauen If thou desirest pleasure lift vp thine hart and see how delightfull that good is that contayneth in it the delight and pleasure of all good things If this life created doth please thee how much more shall that life please thee which created all things If health giuen make thee merrie how much more shall he make thee merry that giueth all health If the knowledge of the creatures be sweet and acceptable how much more sweeter shall the Creator himselfe be If beauty be acceptable vnto thee it is hee at whose beauty the Sunne and Moone admire If thou desirest nobility hee is the fountaine and originall of all nobility If thou desirest long life and health he is eternal life If thou desirest satiety and aboundance he is the fulnes of al good things If thou delightest in the wel-tuned musicke harmony of mortall men there Angels doe sing most sweetly the Organs of the Citty of God are heard there with great delight and pleasantnes If the friendship familiarity and society of good men doe like thee there thou shalt finde all the elect hauing one minde and one hart If thou thirstest after riches and honours in that house of the Lord they are found in great aboundance To conclude if thou desirest to escape all kinde of punishments tribulations and miseries there thou shalt finde libertie and freedome from them all God commaunded in the olde law that vpon the eight day Circumcision should be celebrated that secretly he might let vs vnderstand that vpon the eight day of our Resurrection which succeedeth the seauenth day of this life God will circumcise and cut off all the griefes sorrowes miseries and calamities of them that for his loue whilst they liued haue circumcised and cut off their appetites lusts and sinnes What thing then can be found out more blessed or happy then this estate of liuing most free from all kinde of misery What sayth Saint Augustine is more blessed then this life where there is no feare of pouerty no infirmity of sicknes No man is hurt none angry none enuieth no concupiscence is kindled no appetite of meat no ambition of honour or dominion doth vrge or moue thee There is no feare of the deuill no deceipts of deuils the terror of hell is farre of there is neyther death of body or soule but a pleasant life through the gift of immortality Then there shall be no mischiefes no discords but all agreement because there shall be one concord of all the Saints Peace and ioy embrace all things all thinges are at quiet and rest there is continuall brightnes and shining not that which is now but much more bright and cleare because that Citty as it is reade needeth neyther Sunne nor Moone but the Lord almighty shall enlighten it and the Lambe is the light of it Where the Saints shall shine as the brightnes of the firmament and they that turne many to righteousnes as the starres for euer and euer Wherefore there is no night no darknes no concourse of cloudes neyther anie distemperature or vnseasonablenes of heate or cold but there shall be such a temperature and moderation of all things which neyther the eye hath seene nor the eare hath heard neyther hath it entred into the hart of man except of them who are found worthy to enioy it whose names are written in the booke of life But aboue all these things it is to be consociate with the assembly of Angels and Archangels and of all the celestiall powers to behold the Patriarches and Prophets to see the Apostles and all the Saints to see also our parents These are glorious but much more glorious is it to behold the countenance of the Lord and to see that light not to be circumscribed that will be superexcellent glory when we shal see God in himselfe wee shall see and shall haue him in vs whom to behold there shall be no end O my soule sayth the same holy man if wee daily should suffer torments if for a long time we should endure hell it selfe that we might see Christ in his glory and haue society with his Saints were it not a thing worthy to suffer all bitternes and all crosse that we might be pertakers of so great good and so great glory Therfore let the deuils lye in waite for me let them prepare temptations let fastings weaken my body let hard and course cloathing afflict my flesh let labours oppresse mee let watchings dry me vp let this man cry out against me let this or that disquiet mee let cold benum me let my conscience murmur against mee let heate burne mee let my head ake let my hart boyle within me let my stomach faile mee let my countenance waxe pale let euery part of me be enfeebled let my life forsake me in griefe and let my yeeres end in sorrow let rottennes enter into my bones and flow vnder me so that I may rest in the day of tribulation and that I may ascend to the holy hil For what shal be the glory of the righteous How great the ioy of the Saints when as euery face shal shine as the Sun Hetherto S. Augustine If this good be so great and so vniuersall what shal the felicity and glory be of those blessed eyes which shal behold all these things How excellent a thing wil it be to see the beauty of this Citty And the glory of the Cittizens The face of the Creator The magnificence of the buildings The riches of the Pallace and the common ioy of that Countrey How pleasant a thing wil it be to see the orders of the blessed Spirits The authority of that holy Senate And the maiesty of those venerable Seniours and Elders which Saint Iohn saw Sitting vpon thrones in the sight of God clothed in white rayment and hauing on their heads crownes of gold How sweet and how pleasant wil it be to heare those sweet angelical voyces the consent of theyr musicke most excellently composed of maister singers such Psalmody of such holy singers such Symphonie
so great a good whose Lord is God who possesse God whose inheritance God is for by so much your good is more excellent by how much God is more excellent then the creatures This expresly confesseth the Prophet in the Psalmes saying Rescue and deliuer me ô Lord frō the hand of strangers whose mouth talketh vanity and theyr right hande is a right hand of falsehood that our sonnes may be as the plants growing vp in their youth and our daughters as the corner stones grauen after the similitude of a pallace that our corners may be full and abounding with diuers sorts and that our sheepe may bring foorth thousands and ten thousand in our streets that our Oxen may be strong to labour that there be none inuasion nor going out nor no crying in our streets Blessed are the people that be so yea blessed are the people whose GOD is the Lord. Why doost thou speake thys ô Dauid The reason is in a readines For he that possesseth GOD hee hath that good in which all goods are found which may be desired Let them glorie that will in all other things I will glory onely in the Lord my GOD. So also that holy Prophet dyd glory who said I will reioyce in the Lord I will ioy in the God of my saluation The Lorde God is my strength hee will make my feete like Hindes feete and hee will make me to walke vpon mine high places This then is the treasure this is the glory prepared for them in this world who serue the Lord. This is one and that the greatest reason which inuiteth vs to serue God and a iust complaint is it that God hath against them who will not serue him seeing that he is so good a Lord to them so faithfull a defendour and so sincere an Aduocate With this complaint in times past he sent Ieremy that he might expostulate and chide with the people saying What iniquitie haue your Fathers found in mee that they are gone farre from mee and haue walked after vanitie and are become vaine And a little after Haue I beene as a wildernesse vnto Israell or a land of darkenesse As if he should say No Seeing that this Land hath receaued of mine hands so many victories so much happines Wherefore sayth my people then Wee are Lordes wee will come no more vnto thee Can a mayde forget her ornament or a Bride her attire Yet my people haue forgotten me daies without number who am their ornament glory and beauty If God after this manner lamented in the old Lawe when as his fauours and graces vvere not so perfect what great cause hath he novve to lament seeing that his graces are so much the more excellent by hovve much they are more diuine and more spirituall Of that manner of prouidence by which God espieth out the wicked to chastise theyr maliciousnesse CHAP. XIII IF thou be not mooued with the loue of so happy and blessed a Prouidence in which the good do ioy at least let the feare of that Prouidence moue thee if it be lawfull so to call it with which God doth espy and watch ouer the wicked which is to measure them with theyr owne measure and to handle them according to the obliuion and contempt offered to the diuine Maiestie forgetting them who haue forgotten him and contemning them of whō first he was contemned But that I may speake this after a more homely manner God commanded his Prophet Hosea to take vnto him a wife of fornications that he might demonstrate the spiritual fornication of that people who had refused and put away theyr lawfull Bridegrome and Lord to play the fornicators And hee willed also that the Prophet should haue of that wife sonnes of fornications and the thyrd begotten he should call by an Hebrue name signifying Not my people that he might shew thereby seeing that they for their sinnes would not acknowledge GOD nor serue him as theyr God that he in like manner would not acknowledge them neither would haue them for his people And that he might confirme this sentence he saith by the Prophet a little below Pleade with your Mother pleade with her for shee is not my wife neyther am I her husband as if hee should say as shee hath not kept the fayth and obedience of a good wife towards me so in like manner I will not keepe that loue and prouidence which a good husband is wont to show and vse vnto a good wife See howe plainely our Lord teacheth vs heere how he dooth mete vnto euery one according to his owne measure whilst he dealeth so towards men as men deale with him Therefore the wicked doe liue as neglected and forsaken of the Lord and they are in this world as a patrimony without an heire as a schoole without a maister as a shippe without a guide and as a flock without a Pastour layd open to the deuouring greedines and voracity of Wolues After this manner he threatneth them by the mouth of his Prophet saying I will not feede you that that dyeth let it dye and that that perisheth let it perish and let the remnant eate euery one the flesh of his neighbor The same thing Moses obiecteth to Israel in his song I wil hide sayth the Lord my face from them I will see what their end shall be for they are a froward generation and children in whom is no fayth He sayth I will consider what their end shall be that is I will stand idely and will see what end their misery shall haue at length neyther will I bring any release vnto them Besides these things that haue beene spoken much more plainely speaketh Esay to the people of this kinde of prouidence vnder the name of a Vineyard in the person of the Lord against which when it had beene tilled and much cost and many benefits bestowed vpon it neyther brought forth tollerable fruites he pronounceth this sentence And now I will tell you what I will doe to my Vineyard I will take away the hedge thereof and it shall be eaten vp I will breake the wall thereof and it shall be troden downe And I will lay it wast it shall not be cut nor digged but bryers and thornes shall grow vp I will also commaund the cloudes that they raine no raine vpon it That is I will take away all the ayde and helpe with which I haue hetherto defended it which being taken away destruction and ruine will follow Doth not this kinde of prouidence seeme fearefull vnto thee Tell me what greater danger or what greater misery then to liue without the defence of the Diuine prouidence To be left and layd open to all the persecutions of the world to the iniuries and calamities of this life For seeing that the world is a tempestuous sea and as it were a wildernes full of theeues and fearefull beasts and seeing that there be so many and so great discomodities and
thee For such are wont to feele great motiues and prickes in the beginning of theyr conuersion as Thomas Aquinas sheweth in a certaine worke of his Amongst other causes of this alacrity and ioyfulnes hee sayth that this is one the nouelty of theyr estate of their loue of their light and knowledge of diuine things which then they know but did not know before For the nouelty of that knowledge doth beget in them exceeding admiration and loue ioyned with incredible sweetnes and gratitude which they exhibite vnto him of whom they haue receaued so great good things and of whom they are deliuered and freed out of so great darknes We see by experience that a man when he entreth into any famous Citty or royall Pallace the first day he walketh wondering his minde hanging in suspence by reason of the nouelty of things that there he seeth but when hee hath stayed longer in that place and hath seene the same things oftner that admiration is diminished and that pleasure lesned with which hee did see them at first The same thing happeneth to them at the first when as they enter into this new Citty of grace by reason of the nouelty of things which by little and little are vncouered and layd open in it Therfore it is not to be meruailed at if the Nouices Punies of piety doe feele greater feruours in their soules then those that be antient for the nouelty of the light knowledge of diuine things doth worke in them a greater alteration Hence it is that Saint Bernard hath very well noted that the elder sonne did not lye when hee sayd Behold so many yeeres haue I serued thee neyther euer haue I omitted thy commaundement yet neuer didst thou giue mee a Kid that I might banquet with my friends But after that this thy sonne who hath spent and consumed his substance with harlots came thou killest the fatted Calfe New loue worketh like new wine and water in a Cauldron is so long quiet vntill it beginneth to feele the heate of the fire then forth-with it boyleth swelleth and is carried aloft But afterward although the heate be more intense and augmented yet the water is more quiet and not so swelling leaping and bubling vp as it was when it first began to waxe hot The Lord most curteously and most amiably doth embrace them who first enter into his house The first day they eate with all pleasant allurements and all things are delightsome and acceptable Also the Lord doth himselfe towards these younglings and incipients as Merchants are wont who first bring out a show of their merchandize that by that the buier may estimate the whole thing and thereby be the more willing and be sooner drawne on to buy The loue with which parents embrace theyr young children although it is not greater then that by which they loue those that be elder yet it is more tender and more faire and pleasant These must walke alone the other are carried in their armes these are sent to labour and take paines the other are nourished deliciously and left to doe what they will these vnlesse they get their lyuing they often are hungry the other being idle and doing nothing are desired and entreated to eate yea meate is put into their mouthes Out of this friendship and sweete fellowship of the Lord a spirituall ioy at the length ariseth in them of which the Prophet speaketh Thou waterest aboundantly their furrowes thou multipliest their generations and their growing and braunching shall prosper and reioyce through thy dewing and dropping vpon them What generations be these What branching and growing and what dewing showring vnlesse the dew of the diuine grace by which the spirituall plants are watered which newly haue beene transplanted into the Lords Orchard Of these therefore sayth the Prophet that they are reioyced and refreshed with the dew and showers of his water which is sent from aboue that he might signifie the great ioy which they pertake in the nonage of this new visitation and celestiall benefit But least thou shouldest thinke because hee calleth this friendship or grace a dew or small showre that therefore according to the signification of the name it is little and small which is giuen to young beginners Saint Augustine sayth they drinke of the riuer of Paradice one drop of which is greater then the Ocean which alone is able to quench the thirst of the whole world The argument of them doth not ouerthrow this who say that they doe not feele these ioyes and consolations For if the palate which is corrupted and distempered by ill humors doth not tast the sweetnes of meate for that which is sweet seemeth bitter and that which is bitter sweet what meruaile is it if he that hath his soule corrupted with the worst humors of vices and inordinate affections so accustomed to the flesh-pots of Egipt that he loatheth Manna the bread of Angels Purge thy palate with the teares of repentance and that being purged thou shalt tast and see how sweete the Lord is If these things be so tell me my brother I pray thee what be the goods of this world if they be compared with these they shall not scarcely seeme durt and dung The Doctours teach that there is two kinds of blessednes one vnperfect the other perfect one present the other to come one of the way the other of the Countrey this the blessed enioy in glory the other the righteous enioy in this world What other thing is to be wished of thee then that here thou mayst begin to be happy and that thou mayst receaue in this life the pledge and earnest of the diuine espousals which there are solemnized by words for the present but heere they begin by words for the time to come O man sayth a learned Diuine seeing thou mayst liue in this Paradice enioy a treasure so inestimable goe and sell all that thou hast and purchase for thy selfe this precious and fertile possession especially seeing that it is not deare for it is Christ that selleth it yea rather which giueth it freely Doe not defer this purchase to the time to come for one minute of this time which now vainely slideth from thee is more precious then the treasures of the whole world Although this purchase at the length be giuen vnto thee yet be thou sure that with great greefe thou shalt complaine that thou hast wanted it so long and sorrowing with Saint Augustine thou wilt say I haue loued thee to late and after the time that I should ô thou beauty so auntient and so new I haue loued thee in the euening This blessed man alwayes lamented his slownes although at the length hee was not frustrated of his crowne Therefore attend thou diligently least thou at one time or other complaynest with the like sorrowing that now by thy negligence thou doost loose those blessings which the righteous enioy in this
his kingdome why doost thou draw backe to loue so gracious a Father And why doost thou not blush to deferre to the end of thy life to embrace so good and so bountifull a Lord How is it possible that thou shouldest perswade thy selfe that thou canst satisfie him with so short a worship who is determined to bestow vpon thee euerlasting benefits For it is requisite and meete that seeing the rewards are eternall that the worship should also be eternall if it possibly might be Which seeing that it cannot be yea seeing that thy worship and seruice is no longer then the life of one man why then wilt thou take from the Diuine worship the greater part of this short space and leaue vnto him the lesser and worser part For euen as out of a vessell sayth Seneca first that commeth forth which is the purest but that which is muddy and troubled sinketh to the bottome so in the age of our life that which is the best is the first Therefore let vs not reserue the dregs for God but let vs offer him the first purest See I pray thee what part is that that thou reseruest for the Lord God Cursed be the deceitfull sayth the Prophet which hath in his flocke a male and voweth and sacrificeth a corrupt thing to the Lord because I am a great King sayth the Lord of Hostes and my name is fearefull among the Heathen As if he should say to so great a Lord as I am great seruices and worships are due For it is mighty iniury to offer to so excellent a Maiesty those things which are the worst and basest Why therfore doost thou reserue the greater and better part of thy life for the seruice of deuils and sacrificest that part to God which the world resuseth Heare what the Lord sayth Thou shalt not haue in thy bag two manner of waights a great and a small neyther shalt thou haue in thine house diuers measures a great and a small But thou shalt haue a right and iust waight and a perfect and a iust measure shalt thou haue And darest thou agaynst this law haue two vnequall measures one so great for the deuill as if he were thy friend and the other so small for God as if he were thine enemy Besides all these if all these benefits seeme base and vild vnto thee yet I desire thee that at least-wife thou wouldest remember that inestimable benefit by which God the father gaue vnto thee his onely begotten sonne for he gaue that life for the price of thy soule which was more precious then all the life 's of men and Angels Wherfore although thou hadst the lifes of all men and also infinit others that in thee were all that lyueth or could liue all that thou owest to the giuer of that life Neyther was this sufficient Therfore with what forehead with what impudency with what ingratitude doost thou deny to giue this sole life which thou hast being so short so weake and so miserable to that Lord who for thee hath giuen a life so noble and so excellent It were somwhat tollerable if thou wouldest but giue that but certainly to take away the better part of this miserable life and to giue onely the dregs to him is intollerable and extreame impudency Therfore let that of Salomon in his Preacher be the conclusion of this Chapter Remember thy Creatour in the dayes of thy youth or euer the dayes of aduersity come and or the yeeres draw nigh when thou shalt say I haue no pleasure in them Before the sunne the light the moone and starres be darkned and or the clouds turne againe after the rayne When the keepers of the house shall tremble that is thy hands when the strong men shall bow themselues that is thy thighs which support the whole masse of thy body when the milners stand still because they be so few that is thy teeth or iawes and when the sight of the windowes shall waxe dim that is thy sight shall faile when the dores in the streetes shall be shut for then also the instruments of other sences shall decay and when the voyce of the milner shall be layde downe when men shall rise vp at the voyce of the bird that is at the crowing of a Cock by reason of lack of sleepe which happeneth in that age and when all the daughters of Musicke shall be brought low That is thine eares because all the arteryes are shut so that no sound can enter by which the hearing is made When men shall feare in high places be afraid in the streetes for old men can hardly walke vp ascending cliffie rockie waies When the Almond tree shall flourish for thy head shall be full of white haires and be loaden with the Grashopper and when all lust shall passe for which some haue translated that thy backe shall be loaden that is shall be bowed and crooked and thy concupiscence shall be lost for daily more and more the strength of our hart faileth vs in which is the seate of our appetites Because man goeth to his long home which is his graue and the Mourners goe about the streets that is his friends and kinsfolkes When the dust shall be turned againe vnto earth from whence it came and the spirit shall returne vnto God who gaue it Hetherto are the words of Salomon Remember therefore my brother thy Creator in the dayes of thy youth according to this description and doe not deferre thy repentance ouer to yeeres so troublesome vnpleasant in which nature faileth the strength of all thy sences in which man hath more need of all the cherishing that may be and to supply that by industrie which is wanting to naturall strength then to embrace the labours and troubles of repentance When as vertue shall rather seeme a necessitie then a will When as vices shall be honested by vs for they forsake vs before we forsake them although for the most part such is the old age as the fore-passed youth was according to that of Ecclesiasticus If thou hast gathered nothing in thy youth what wilt thou finde in thine age Therefore it is very wholsome counsaile that in another place the same Ecclesiasticus giueth saying Abide not thou in the errour of the vngodly but giue thankes before death As for the dead thankefulnes perrisheth from him as nothing giue thou thanks in thy life yea while thou art liuing and whole shalt thou giue thanks and praise God and reioyce in his mercie Surely great in times past was that misterie that amongst the diseased he was healed who first stepped into the Poole after the water had been troubled of the Angell that thou thereby mayst vnderstand how that all our safetie consisteth in that if we forth-with without any lingering obey the heauenly and diuine inspirations and motions Come therefore my brother and make hast To day sayth the Prophet if thou
with corporall eyes sayd Plato she would alure the whole world vnto her If we respect profit what thing is more profitable and supported with greater hope then Vertue for by Vertue we obtayne the chiefest good Length of dayes and gifts of eternity are in her right hand and in her left hand riches and honour If thou art delighted with pleasantnes what greater delight canst thou wish for then a peaceable and a good conscience the sweetnes of charity of peace and of the liberty of the children of God that in the meane time I may say nothing of the consolation of the holy Ghost which is most sweet and pleasant If thou desirest a perdurant and lasting name The righteous shall liue and shall be had in euerlasting remembrance But the memoriall of the wicked shall perish with them If thou be desirous of vvisedome that thou mayst finde the way that leadeth to heauen and the meanes that direct to this end there is no meane more certaine then Vertue which leadeth vnto God If thou desirest to be gracious and acceptable among all men there is not any thing more gracious or more conducent to it then Vertue For as Cicero sayth nothing is more amiable then Vertue nothing that more allureth men vnto loue seeing that for vertue and honesty we loue them whom we neuer saw Such force it hath which is more that we loue it in an enemy Euen as of the conueniency and proportion of the members and lyneaments and of the humours of the naturall body a certaine beauty ariseth which is acceptable to the eyes of men so of the order and vertuous frame of the life laudably led and formed so great a beauty proceedeth that not onely it is most acceptable to the eyes of God and Angels but it is also amiable and beloued of peruerse men and enemies That is truly and simply good which is good in euery respect neyther hath any euill in it Therfore God not without cause sendeth this honorable embasie to a righteous man which we haue set in the forefront of this booke and now againe repeate in the end Say yee surely it shall be well with the iust Say yee so because he is borne vnder an happy starre and that he shall die in a good houre because his life and death is blessed and whatsoeuer after death shall beside him Say yee so vnto him because all things shall goe well with him as well prosperous as aduerfe as well things pleasant as heauy both in quietnes and in labour For all things worke together for the best vnto them that loue God Say yee vnto him although the vvorld be turned topsey turuey and the elements confounded if heauen be ruinated and disturbed let not him feare yea then let him lift vp his head because the day of his redemption is at hand Say yee surely it shall be well with the iust Because a blessing is prepared for him vvhich in excellencie exccedeth all blessings that is God himselfe and that he is free from all euill and from the tiranny of the deuill which is the worst of all euils Say yee surely it shall be well with the iust For his name is vvritten in the booke of life and God the father hath adopted him for his sonne the holy Ghost to be a liuely temple vnto him Say yee surely it shall be well with the iust For that estate which he hath gotten is happy blessed in euery respect And if at any time in any temporal matter it seemeth lesse happy if this be patiently borne it is turned vnto him for a greater good for that which seemed a loose vnto him that is patient is made a gayne vnto him his labour becomes a reward and his warre victory and a perpetuall crowne As often as Laban changed the wages of Iacob his sonne in law he thought that it was profitable vnto him hurtfull to his sonne in law but it fell out cleane contrary for it was vnprofitable vnto him and profitable to his sonne in law Wilt thou then my brother be so cruell to thy selfe and such an enemy that thou shouldest linger to embrace so great a blessing which promiseth on euery side so great good vnto thee What counsaile is more wholsome what more profitable condition or estate of life canst thou follow Blessed are those that are vpright in their way and walke in the law of the Lord saith the Prophet a thousand times blessed are they and blessed againe that keepe his testimonies and seeke him with their whole hart If a good thing as the Philosophers say be the obiect of our will and by how much the more any thing is good by so much the more it deserueth to be loued desired What I pray thee doth make thy will so sottish and insencible that it tasteth not nor embraceth this so vniuersall a good O how much better did that King who sayd I haue chosen the way of thy truth and thy iudgements haue I layd before me I haue cleaued to thy testimonies ô Lord. And in another place O Lord I haue layd vp thy commaundements in mine whole hart He saith not in a corner not in his hand but in the midst or in his whole hart which is the beginning of life the chiefest the best place of all others as if he had sayd This is my best part in which I contriue and determine of all my busines and all my cogitations are in it The men of this world do contrarily for vanity possesseth the chiefest roome of their harts and Gods law lyeth obscured and hid in some corner But this holy man albeit he was a King and troubled with many businesses of his kingdome yet he put them all vnder his feete but placed the law of his Lord in the midst of his hart What hindereth then why thou doost not imitate this good example and embrace so great a good For if thou respectest the bond of the obligation what greater obligation can there be then that which is betweene God and man or only for that cause that he is what he is All the obligations of this world are not worthy of this name if they be compared with this as we haue sayd in the beginning of this booke If thou lookest vnto the benefits what benefits can be greater or more excellent then those that we receaue from the hand of the Lord For besides that he hath created vs and redeemed vs with his blood we haue receaued frō him all that we possesse both within and without our body our soule life health riches grace if so we haue it the continuance of our life our purposes the desires of our harts and all that which hath the name of essence or of goodnes we receaue it I say originally frō him who is the fountaine of all essences and of all goodnes Words are wanting vnto me by which I might set out her
neyghbour the hart of a mother towards himselfe the hart and spirit of a Iudge These be the three parts of iustice or righteousnes in which the Prophet teacheth that all our good consisteth when hee sayth I will showe vnto thee ô man what is good and what the Lord requireth of thee surely to do iustly and to loue mercy and humbly to walke with thy God For of these three kindes of duties the first belongeth vnto vs namely to doe iustly the second to our neighbour to loue mercy the third to God which the words of the Prophet declare when he sayth humbly to walke with thy God Of these three kindes therefore in thys last part we will speake seeing that all our good is contayned in them Of the bond and dutie of man towards himselfe CHAP. XIIII SEeing that loue rightly ordered in man beginneth of himselfe we will begin thys matter from that member which the Prophet hath put in the first place that is To doe iustly Which pertayneth to the spirit and hart of the Iudge and this duty man oweth to himselfe It is the part of a good Iudge to haue his prouince well composed and ordered And because in man as in a little Common-wealth two principall parts are to be reformed that is the body with all his members and sences and the soule with all her affections and powers it is necessarie that these parts should be reformed and well ordered according to the rule of Vertue which we will declare in thys place And so a man shall repay and render that he oweth to himselfe ¶ Of the reforming of the body TO the reformation of the body first an orderly discipline of the exteriour man is required that that may be obserued which Saint Augustine requireth in his rule that is that there be nothing in thy gate in thy state or in thy sitting or in thy clothing that may offend any mans eyes but that all things be agreeable to thy profession Wherefore the seruant of GOD ought especially to be carefull that his conuersation amongst men be graue humble sweet and curteous that as many as do conuerse with him may alwaies be edified and may daylie be bettered through his good example The Apostle would haue vs to be a good sauour which may communicate participate hys sweet smell to euery thing that it partaketh with The hands which haue handled any fragrant and odoriferous thing participate of the smell so the wordes the deedes the iestures and the conuersation of the seruants of God ought to be such that what man soeuer vseth them familiarly may be edified and after a certaine manner be sanctified by their examples and conuersation Thys is the especiallest fruite which springeth of this modestie which is as a silent Preacher for not by the noyse of words but by the examples of vertues he inuiteth man to glorifie GOD and to embrace Vertue Wherefore also our Sauiour himselfe stirreth vs vp vnto thys when he sayth Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good workes and glorifie your Father which is in heauen To whom agreeth Esay when he sayth that the seruaunt of the Lord is like to beautifull vvood planted of God vvhich whosoeuer seeth will glorifie the Lord. We must heere obserue that a man ought not therefore to doe good workes that hee may be seene but as Saint Gregory sayth Good workes are so to be doone in publique that the intent may remaine in secret that by our good workes wee may giue an example to our neighbour and by our intent to please God onely we may alwaies wish that they may remaine secret The second fruite of thys composition and orderly disposition is that the exteriour man is the best keeper of the interior and notably preserueth deuotion for betweene eyther man there is a great confederacy and neere league that that vvhich is done of one is forthwith cōmunicated to the other and the course being altered that which this doth hee communicateth it to the other that if the spirit be wel disposed immediatly the body is well composed and contrarily if the body be ill ordered the spirit also putteth on the same habit So that one of thē is as it were the glasse of the other For euen as whatsoeuer thou doost that also the glasse opposed to thee doth imitate so also whatsoeuer eyther of these two men dooth forth-with one of them imitateth it and therefore the outward modesty and grauity much helpeth the inward and surely it is a matter of great wonder to finde a modest and a quiet spirit in an immodest vnquiet body Hence it is that Ecclesiasticus saith He that is too hastie in his gate shall offend Insinuating by this kinde of speaking that those to whom that grauitie is wanting which becommeth Christians doe often stumble and fall through many defects as they who lift vp theyr feete too lightly when they goe The thyrd fruite of this vertue is that by it a man preserueth that graue authority which is agreeable both to his person and place especially if hee be a man seated in dignity as holy Iob kept his as he testifieth of himselfe saying The light of my countenaunce did not fall to the earth And a little before When I went out to the gate euen to my iudgement seate and when I caused them to prepare my seate in the streete The young men saw mee and hidde themselues and the aged arose and stoode vp The Princes stayed talke and layd theyr hand on theyr mouth The voyce of Princes was hid and theyr tongue cleaued to the roofe of their mouth So great was their reuerence towards Iob. Which grauity that it might be free from all pride thys holy man had ioyned vnto it so great curtesie that hee sayth of himselfe that sitting in his throne as King his Princes and people standing about him he ceased not to be an eye to the blinde a foote to the lame and a father vnto the poore We must here note that as benignity and curtesie and the good carriage of the outward man is commendable so to affect company and societie too much too much to care for the furniture and accoustrements of the body too much to cherish make of the exteriour man is faulty and immoderate Wherefore Ecclesiasticus sayth A mans garment and his excessiue laughter and going declare what person he is Like to thys is that which Salomon sayd As the face of the lookers are beheld in the waters so the harts of men are manifested to the wise by exterior workes These be the commodities which this modestie bringeth with her and certainly they be very great Neyther is it a thing that should delight any man to loue too much the familiarity and company of men to be too familiar populer which many men doe that because they would not be taken for hypocrites they