first step into a Being they are perfect and compleat as to their Substance without any dependance of any free Operation or Choice of which they are incapable But Man though he comes like them thus compleat into the World yet he cannot be said to be perfect because his Perfection and last Accomplishment has a Dependance on his own free Will For if he will by the Grace of God he may be good and if he will through his own Malice he may become evil So that though at the first Instant of his Creation he was equally the Work of God with other Creatures yet having not exercis'd his Liberty in the choice of Good his Approbation is suspended till it appears to which side he apply himself making choice either of Good or Evil. Ideo homo non ante laudatur says St. Ambrose quia non in forensi pelle sed in interiore homine antè probandus Amb. de Inst Virg. c. 2. sic praedicandus est But let me clear this Point a little farther Amongst the ancient Romans 't was a Custom when they sent forth Souldiers to the War to deliver to every Pier. l. 42. one a white Buckler that hence they might understand that if at their Return they expected Rewards of the Senate they should so behave themselves in the War that with the description of their own Gests and Atchievements they might fill up the White of their Shields And for this Reason says Rabbanus they were call'd in Latine Scuta Scutum dictum quasi Sculptum quod in ipso Antiqui L. 20. de Vniv c. 12. sua facta signabant The Roman Souldier therefore must take care how he behaves himself in the War being to expect no greater Honour at his Return than he gains by his own Prowess and Valour he carries forth with him a white Shield to be blazon'd with his own Actions See now Christians the Soul of Man is call'd by the Philosopher a smooth and plain Table which has nothing painted or decipher'd on it When God puts it into this World he sends it to the War Militia est vita hominis super terram The Life of Man upon Earth is a Job c 7. Ed. Vulg. Warfare it carries with it a Free Will which is as it were a white Buckler that so by a true Christian Valour having won many Victories over Vice and the Devil they may be all engraven and displayed on it thus to gain Honour and Perfection and at the hour of Death to receive the Commendation of him who at its Creation sent it forth to Battel Look back now Faithful and see how long 't is since you came into this World for so long 't is since you enter'd the Campagne with your white Shields What is it that you have engraven on them How have you employ'd your free Will Have you made War against Vice or Vertue Have you follow'd the Colours of Satan or the Standard of Jesus Christ In what Condition are your Souls Are they defil'd with the Abominations of Sin O base and unworthy Choice How can you ever expect the Welcome and Approbation of your Maker 'T is a thing St. Augustin could never cease to admire That Man Ser. 12. de Ver. Dom. in Mat. should desire every thing that is for his service to be good about him except his Soul You desire says the Saint that the Fields should be good in which you sow that the Timber should be good which you purchase that the House should be good in which you live that the Horse should be good which you buy and that the Cloaths should be good which you wear solam Animam vis habere malam Only your Soul you don't care how ill it is Quid te offendisti complains the same holy Father Quid de te tu ipse meruisti What Injury has thy Soul done thee What is the Reason thou hast deserved so ill of thy self That being industrious to provide every thing that 's good thou hast Patience to see only one thing ill about thee and that 's thy Soul Praepone vitam tuam caligae tuae But that thou may'st see that thy Soul deserves not this Neglect from thy Hands the Holy Ghost says to you to day Da illi honorem secundum meritum suum Give it Honour according to its desert And this it is that I intend you should consider now in what Esteem you ought to have your Soul how much it deserves being compar'd to the Body how much it deserves for being the Image of God what Respect is due to it for being redeem'd by the Blood of Jesus Christ and finally what Care you ought to have of it for that it is created for the Fruition of eternal Glory Da illi honorem secundum meritum suum Give it Honour according to its Desert I begin now One of the principal Duties of a Christian is to esteem The Excellency of the Soul compar'd to the Body all things according to their Worth and Dignity giving to them the Place that is due to them either as to Love or Hatred And this the Holy Spouse in the Canticles reckons for one of the chief Presents she had receiv'd from the Divine Spirit to wit That he had plac'd in order her Love and Affections Ordinavit in me Charitatem So Cant. 2. that whosoever bears a Love to that which he ought to hate or gives the first Place in his Affections to what should only have the last does not only not do like a Christian but even not like a rational Creature When Aeneas fled from his Country now going into Ashes his Enemies gave him leave to take with him out of that common Ruine the thing which was most dear unto him and he immediately made choice of his Gods And this his Zeal was so well liked by the Grecians that upon this 't was permitted him to save something else then he took his Father A third time Liberty was given him and he nam'd his Relations and Friends preferring these before his Goods and Riches At which Order in his Affections they were so well satisfied that he had forthwith leave to redeem every thing that belong'd to him from those Flames Now see Christian God created the Soul he form'd the Body and gave a Being to all other things for the Service of Man but so that all was to be subordinate to the Soul Now the business of a Christian is to see that the Soul has the Precedency in all Occasions and that he has always a greater Esteem for it than for the Body or any other transient and sublunary thing so that whensoever any danger threatens his first care ought to be to secure his Soul altho' all the rest perish Let Life let Honour let Possessions let Friends and all go rather than for the saving of these to hazard the loss of his Soul For What can it profit a man according to our B. Redeemer's Words to gain the
whole World if he lose Mat. 26. his Soul Quid prodest homini Supposing therefore this Order according to the Worth of things let us proceed and see what Comparison there can be betwixt the Soul and Body as to the Esteem that is due to them And for the setting forth of this I 'll ask this one Question Seeing that the Soul of Man according to the Psalmist is a Spirit like to the Angels what can be the Reason that God should confine and shut up this so noble a Creature within the Limits of a Body so infirm and subject to so many Miseries If she had been exempt from this clog of Earth and liv'd alone as the Angels do she had been freed from the Treachery of her Companion the Flesh But no says the great Nazianzen this was not Orat. 2. post Pasc agreeable to the Divine Providence Ne sicut Angelus homo superbiret periret God made choice says he of this means so to secure her against the Temptation of her own Excellency He created the Angels noble and glorious Spirits but Lucifer with the third part of that celestial Host viewing their own Excellency and Beauty soon fell into Pride and so from Heaven God therefore to prevent the loss of the Soul enclos'd it within a Case of Earth thus to remove all Occasions and that Pride as in the Angels might not be her Ruine Ne sicut Angelus homo superbiret periret Such therefore O Christian is the Greatness of thy Soul that God thought fit to cast over it a gross and heavy Body that so it might be out of danger of losing it self in the Contemplation of its own Beauty and Perfection This is the Poise which Job says God made to the Winds c. 28. to wit the Souls of Men as St. Gregory expounds it L. 19. mor. c. 4. Qui fecit ventis pondus That as the little Bee grasping a Peeble secures it self from the Violence of a stormy Air so the Soul being check'd and kept down by a weight of Clay may remain steddy and fix'd and frustrate all the Attempts of Pride endeavouring to raise her above her self so much care has the Soul cost her Creator in providing means for her security And according to this Doctrine now What is the Body But only the Case of this Jewel the Slave of this Empress the Ballast of this Ship This is the Order they hold from the Appointment of God But how are they rank'd by the Inordinacy of thy Malice The Soul is the Lady and Empress Dominamini said God to Adam Subter te erit Appetitus tuus Gen. 1. he said to Cain Consequently she ought to be honour'd Gen. 4. and serv'd by the Body Da illi honorem cui honor competit Give that Deference to the Soul which is due to it as being the Chief Honor animae debitus est writes C. A. lapide ut illa quasi Regina imperet Corpori sensibus 10 Eccl. quasi subditis ancillis The Body with all its Senses ought to attend on and serve the Soul for the obtaining Life everlasting How unreasonable therefore is it that the Flesh design'd for nothing but to be a Servant and Slave should be caress'd and waited on and the Soul a Queen and Monarch should be made to drudge What a monstrous kind of Disorder is this says St. Bernard Could any Christian with Patience see L. Med. c. 3. this in his House Why then does he suffer and allow of that within himself which in his Family 't is not possible he should endure There are three things says Solomon Prov. 30. which disturb the Earth and the fourth it cannot sustain Per tria movetur terra quartum non potest sustinere The first is when a Servant reigns the second a Fool that is fill'd with Meat the third an odious Woman that is taken in Marriage these are the three things by which the Earth is mov'd But what is that which is insufferable and cannot be sustain'd Per ancillam cum fuerit haeres Dominae suae which the Septuagint read thus Serva cum Dominam suam ejecerit 'T is a Servant that commands and domineers over her Lady and turns her out of doors And hear now St. Antony of Padua expounding what this is 'T is the Flesh says he when 't is rais'd up and takes the Command in hand is in all things observ'd obey'd and waited on while the Soul being dethron'd is neglected scorn'd despis'd and made a Servant to her Slave this it is that is intolerable Domina est Ratio ancilla est sensualitas quam etiam terra sustinere non potest cum sibi ipsi dominationem usurpaverit Ser. Dom. 9. Pent. Rationis But I 'll come now to Particulars Come hither therefore first you Covetous Men you The Sinner makes his Soul a Slave who according to the Character of St. Ambrose water your Fields with the Tears of the Poor you who concluding your selves Lords and Sovereigns of all that God Am. Ser. 59. de Au. has lent you for your use shut your Ears to the Cries of the Needy and spend nothing but on Vice or your selves you who consume your whole Care in encreasing your Heaps and matter not how much you trample under Foot the Law of God and your injur'd Neighbour so you can but advance upon them your Wealth and Possessions Come hither I say and tell me does your Soul command or serve is she Mistress or Slave But let the Royal Prophet answer for you Dormierunt somnum suum nihil invenerunt omnes viri divitiarum in Ps 75. manibus suis They slept their sleep says he and all the men of Riches found nothing in their hands Where tho' the Words seem to import no more than that Riches cannot exempt their Owners from dying nor redeem them from Hell if they are condemn'd to those Flames yet St. Ambrose has found a Criticism in them a direct L. de Nabuc c. 15. Answer to our Question for he takes notice that Covetous Men are here call'd Viri divitiarum Men of Riches Bene viros divitiarum appellat non divitias virorum there being a great difference between the Riches of Men and Men of Riches We must see therefore which belongs to which Does the Master belong to his Servant or the Servant to his Master 'T is out of doubt the Servant is his Master's But by what are we to know which is the Servant This too is evident for Servants are labouring and toyling in their several Employments while the Master is taking his Ease or divertising himself in some Recreation Now let us look into the House of a Covetous Man and we shall be soon satisfied as to our Query there we shall behold his Bags his Treasure laid up and oh with how much Care and Sollicitude all still and quiet But he how busie how uneasie hard at work in
securing and as earnest in drawing in more In this his Memory is wholly taken up 't is the Concern of his Vnderstanding and his Will and Affections are in a perpetual rack And now which here belongs to which Which the Servant which the Master He 's slaving it all day while his Riches lye undisturb'd and without Employ 'T is certain therefore the Riches are not of the Man but he 's the Man of his Riches Viri divitiarum says St. Ambrose ut ostenderet eos non possessores divitiarum Sup. esse sed à suis divitiis possideri aliena custodit ut famulus non tanquam Dominis suis utitur And this is the Answer of the Psalmist calling Misers Men of Riches to signifie to us that while they wait on their Bags like Servants and do not use them like Owners they are not the Masters of their Money but its Slaves And is not this an intolerable Blindness of Men that whenas God has given them Souls that should command and rule they subject them to the Body and make them Servants to dross O base Slavery of Covetousness and this is the Injury every Miser does his Soul thus does he debase it But let us come now to the unclean and luxurious man This is in all Propriety a Slave to his Flesh O poor Soul did God create thee to serve the Body in these filthy and brutal Desires Is it not strange that a Soul so noble which its Maker enrich'd with a Memory to reflect on his Benefits with an Vnderstanding to know his Greatness and with a Will to love his Goodness should now employ all his Thoughts his Desires his Memory and Affections in serving the Body in its Uncleanness and waiting on it in those its swinish Delights O Baseness to be lamented with Tears of Blood O Soul unworthy of that Name O that thou would'st be asham'd and confounded to see thy self a Slave to such a bestial Appetite We read in Genesis that Potiphar's Wife full of Concupiscence cast her Eyes upon c. 39. Joseph then a Servant in her House And 't is very observable how the Septuagint follow'd by St. Chrysostom and St. Ambrose word it Injecit uxor domini oculos in Joseph And it came to pass that his Master's Wife cast her Eyes upon Joseph Now 't is plain that she was not only his Master's Wife but also Joseph's Mistress and Joseph was her Servant And it had been a more compendious Expression to have stil'd her his Mistress than his Master's Wife 'T is true says St. Ambrose it had been more compendious but not so proper for why should she be call'd a Mistress who was such a Slave to her Lust No rather his Master's Wife Vxor Domini is more agreeable for she is unworthy of the Name of Mistress who is at the Command of so brutish a Passion Rectè Vxor Domini they are the Words of St. Ambrose non ipsa Domina L. 1. de Jos c. 5. dicitur Quomodo Domina quae dominandi non habebat affectum quae servilis libidinis incentiva praestabat Scorn therefore Christian to be led along by a Beast Be asham'd thus to debase thy Soul and to make it a Servant to thy Body which it ought to command Tell me Christian what would'st thou say if thou should'st see passing through the Streets a Horse nobly deck'd his Saddle embroider'd with Gold his Bridle of Silver his Trappings wrought with Diamonds and the Owner on his Back scarcely cover'd with Rags Would'st not thou think that he had lost his Judgment And what if thou should'st behold the Sight which the Wise-man saw Vidi servos in equis Principes ambulantes super terram quasi servos I have seen says he Servants upon Horses Eccl. c. 10. and Princes walking on the Ground as Servants Would not this have surpris'd thee What! Peers and Princes at the Horses Heels waiting on their Servants What a Madness and yet no other Madness than thou art guilty of when pamp'ring thy Body and giving it all Respect and Attendance imaginable thou neglect'st thy Soul leaving it basely disfigur'd and cover'd over with the filth of Vice and Debauchery no other Madness Christian than thou art guilty of as often as thou permittest thy Soul that noble Lady an Empress created for the Possession of the Kingdom of Heaven to be basely dragg'd through all the Mazes of Sin in Obedience to the slavish Commands of thy unruly Flesh O how disorderly and preposterous is this And yet this every Sinner does as often as he offends against his Maker and is it not a Madness enough to fill your Hearts with Horror and Confusion But this is not all says the Reverend Master Avila a Sinner when he offends yet goes farther he does not only make the Av. in andi silia c. 11. Slave ride in state and the Prince go on foot but even makes the Beast lead the Prince bridled where it lists The Beast governs and commands and the Prince likes well to be at such a Beck What Sense would'st thou have Christian of such a monstrous Spectacle A noble Man a Prince one admirable both in Learning and Arms to be at the Command of a Bit while a Brute has the Management of the Bridle What would'st thou say Christian but that such an one is only fit Company for Mad-men Why then say it to thy self Thou art he For what is thy Body but a kind of Animal void of Reason and Understanding and what is thy Soul a Spirit Prince of all Creatures and capable of enjoying God and thou permittest thy Body with its bestial Appetities to lead thy Soul without either Law or Reason wheresoever they list What is this Sinner what is this luxurious Man Where is thy Understanding and whither wilt thou go at last drag'd by this wild and untam'd Beast whither but to thy eternal Ruine And what can be the Conclusion of this disorder'd Government where the whole Command is in the hand of a Slave Give ear a little 'T is related in History that Semiramis from a Slave became Empress in Babylon and it happen'd thus Ninus Aelian l. 3. de Var. hist then King blind in Love oblig'd himself to grant her whatsoever she should ask she desir'd that she might have the Management of the Empire for one day and immediately by his Consent the Slave was rais'd to be a Sovereign And being thus enthron'd she ordered several things and was forthwith obey'd Amongst the rest she commanded that Ninus should be seis'd and have his Head cut off this also was immediately done For what else could be expected where Slavery rul'd the Scepter but Blood and Tyranny And what is to be expected Sinner from this Dominion which thou hast delivered to thy Flesh What is to be the end of this Obedience which thou yieldest to thy lustful Appetites What but an eternal Death O! how this was lamented by the Prophet Jeremy Principes