came to destroy For he preached Peace Love and good Will unto all Men and therefore his Doctrine is called The Evangele or Gospel that is to say Ioyful News or Glad Tidings Some there are that do say That if they should not kill and eat the Flesh of the Creatures they could not subsist or live which in a bad sense is true For should they cease from Violence and Killing then that cruel wrathful fierce Life in them could not subsist in such vigour and strength as it does but must of necessity become weak and as it were die that is it would no longer domineer in the Heart over the friendly Principle of God's Love But as to the Health of the Body which is that which I mean Herbs and Fruits will sustain Nature in every respect far beyond the best of Flesh. 16. It is said in Gen. 4. That Adam knew his Wife Eve and she conceived and bore Cain and said I have gotten a Man from the Lord that is from the strong Powers of the Wrath in Nature from whence all Lordliness Pride and Oppression in Government ariseth And she conceived again and bore his Brother Abel and Abel was a Keeper of Sheep that is a Keeper of and Dweller in Innocency But Cain was a Tiller of the harsh Earth which must be broken and torn up by Violence and hard Labour both of Man and Beast which was the Curse that the Lord laid upon Adam And in process of time it came to pass that Cain brought of the Fruits of the Ground an Offering unto the Lord And Abel he also brought of the Firstlings of his Flock and the Lord had respect unto Abel and unto his Offering but unto Cain and his Offering he had no respect And Cain was very wroth and his Countenance fell and the Lord said unto Cain Why art thou wroth If thou dost well shalt thou not be accepted and if not Sin lieth at thy Door and unto thee shall be his desire and thou shalt rule over him that is unto thee Cain shall be the Desire of my Kingdom of Love and Divine Light but if thou wilt not hearken unto its Counsel and be obedient to my Commandments then thou shalt rule over him that is over the Divine Power as it came to pass for Cain talked with Abel that is the Wrath contended with the Love and Divine Power and it came to pass when they were in the Field that is where the wild harsh Nature does predominate that Cain rose up against Abel his Brother and slew him Here the Wrath prevailed over the divine innocent Principle and destroyed it as it does at this day for those two Brothers did rightly and truly signifie the two grand Principles and the two Seeds that of the Woman and that of the Serpent And the Lord said unto Cain Where is thy Brother And he said I know not Am I my Brother's Keeper Here Cain viz. the Property of Wrath denied the Murther and pretended he had done him no Evil or knew nothing of him But the Lord answered and said What hast thou done The Voice of thy Brother's Blood crieth unto me from the ground and therefore the Lord cursed Cain and tells him he shall be a Fugitive and a Vagabond Then Cain bowed himself and said unto the Lord My Punishment is greater than I can bear Behold thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the Earth and from thy face shall I be hid and it shall come to pass that every one that findeth me shall stay me This Confession and Submission did so pacifie the kindled Wrath that the Lord said Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain Vengeance shall be taken on him seven-fold and the Lord set a Mark on Cain lest any finding him should slay him This Mark was the Light of the Lord that enlightens every Man that cometh into the World and which does more or less mollifie and withstand the fierce wrathful Powers in Mankind for if this were not the Wrath of Cain would grow so powerful that the Children of Abel would not have any being in this World Then Cain went out from the Presence of the Lord and dwelt in the Land of Nod on the East-side of Eden that is he went into the outward Principle of this World and dwelt in the Land of Vanity at a distance from the divine Principle which is intimated by Eden in which Cain did not live but on one side of it viz. in the operation of both the good and evil Nature which most Men of this World do live in And it is also said That he built a City that is he became strong and powerful in the Property of this World and therefore Cain was an Oppressor and one that did domineer and Lord it over his Brethren and slay the divine Principle of God's Love and hence all Violences Contentions Killing and Works of Darkness for Cain does truly signifie the Fountain of God's Wrath and the original Properties of the Father's Nature and Abel does represent the eternal Principle of God's Love in the Son's Property Cain intimates the Fire and Abel the Light if the meek Spirit of Abel were not overcome and murthered by the fierce Wrath of Cain there would be Peace on Earth as in Heaven and as when Cain arose and contended with and slew Abel he made no resistance this was a true manifestation that the fierce Wrath had got the Victory but Abel's Blood cried unto the Lord. The very same is to be understood in all kind of Oppression both to Man and Beasts they all by a sweet sympathetical operation call for Vengeance for God is no respecter of Persons or Things but whensoever any Creature is oppressed the same doth from the awakened Wrath curse the Oppressor and send up Cries and terrible Complaints to Heaven which moves the Principle of God's Wrath whence so many Judgments fall upon the People nor is it possible it should be otherwise as long as the Spirit of Cain predominates in their Hearts tearing and destroying the Peace and Well-being of one another and of all the inferiour Creatures far worse than the wild Savages of the Desart for when their Bellies are full they do rest satisfied until they are hungry again but Men are become such Belly-gods and Slaves to their Lusts and Passions that they are never satisfied either full or fasting but always contriving Mischief and how they may betray not only those of their own kind but also all other Creatures insomuch that all the Elements mourn and are filled with the Cries Groans and mournful Complaints of their miserable Inhabitants True Religion doth consist in this as our Lord Jesus Christ taught both by Precept and Example that Mankind do no Violence but live in the power and operation of the Spirit of the humble meek Spirit of Abel for every violent Action and Oppression let it be little or much or offered unto whatsoever Creatures does as naturally and spiritually awaken
had then would the wrath have been again awakened and Noah with the Creatures would have been comprehended in the same Judgment with those without the Ark For the Ark does truly signifie the heavenly Principle of God's eternal Love in which he has established his Covenant with Mankind and all Men that safeguard their desires and wills in this holy Ark denying themselves and abandoning all kinds of Violence but taking with them all kinds of Food that do bear a Simile with this friendly Principle shall be preserved from that deluge of Wickedness and Misery wherein the rest of the World is overwhelmed Now after this Deluge the Lord did permit Man to eat Flesh but not without distinction not with the Blood for Man would not be obedient nor keep himself within the Bounds and Limits of the holy Ark of God but turned their Wills into the wild bestial Nature and so longed after the Essences and Qualities of the Beasts whence arises the desire of killing and devouring of Flesh. This the Lord did well know and also his Prophets viz. That if Man did not obey the Voice of Wisdom and abstain front eating of the Fruit that grows in the midst of the Garden viz. in his Heart which is the wrathful violent Spirit of Oppression he should die which Spirit should not have been manifested nor have had any Government in Man As for the Tree that grows in the midst of the Garden 't is called the Tree of Life but not without a great Mystery for the Centre of Life stands in the Wrath's Property or fierce Fire whence proceeds the Sensibility and knowing Part in Man and therefore he was forbidden to eat thereof that is he should not have awakened it by his Imaginations and Desires but have continued in Resignation and Self-denial and then the Evil would not have been manifested in him nor have overcome him but as it came to pass well might the Prophets call it The Tree of Death For when Man did eat of the Fruit thereof be died unto the divine Life and lived in the Power of the fiery Spirit of wrath which has corrupted all Flesh even the very Earth and all things therein 'T was after this was come to pass when Man had by his Longing and Lusts precipitated himself into the fierce Spirit and wild Nature that the Lord permitted him to kill and eat the Flesh of the Beasts but it must be understood that this License or Permission of killing or eating of Flesh proceeded from the wrath of God in Nature as the Scripture saith in another place Such as the People are such is their God For the Lord appears to every one according to what Spirit and Property they live in whether it be in his Love or his Anger If they live in the divine Principle of his eternal Love then he appears to them in the same Principle as a loving Father and the God of all Consolation And on the contrary when men introduce their Wills and Desires into the fierce wrath then the Lord appears to them in the same Spirit dreadful and Terrible As the Scripture saith in another place Unto those that fear my Name and obey my Commandments I will be merciful and gracious but to those that despise my Commandments I will be an angry jealous God and a consuming Fire Or as the Apostle saith To one a savour of Life unto Life to the other of Death unto Death Thus all shall glorifie God either in his Love or Anger and remain Monuments of his Mercy or Trophies of his Justice Thus it happened to the Men of old whom the Lord permitted to kill their fellow-Creatures and eat their Flesh their Cruelties and Oppressions soon awakened the Wrath of the Lord even as the Blood of innocent Abel did therefore the Lord said He would go down and see if it were so Which Expression of God's coming down does intimate the kindling and awakening of his Wrath in the external Element as it came to pass in the ensuing Deluge when the Element of Water was enraged from this very Property of the awakened Wrath did the permission proceed for killing and eating of Flesh as also all the Commands for Fighting and the like for if the Lord's People in former Ages had continued their Obedience and lived in his fear there had never been any cause or foundation for Wars nor Oppression for as our Saviour saith The Tempter cometh but findeth nothing in me that is he findeth no Wrath nor Violence awakened in him and therefore he could have no ground to work on nor matter to entertain him or that would suit his Principle The like is to be understood of all Men that do live in the Power of God's Love and Light for whensoever the Lord suffers any to sight or engage in War with his People the original cause thereof hath been Sin in that they have forsaken the ways of Truth and Righteousness and entred into Oppression Pride and Cruelty which awaken the evil Principle and cry for vengeance and strengthen the common Enemy of Mankind and then the Lord suffers Wrath to take place Now whereas Men say It is lawful in the sight of God to fight kill and destroy one another and oppress and kill all other Creatures 't is true if it be understood as it ought to be viz. in the sight of the Principle of his Wrath as he is a consuming Fire and a jealous God but not as he is a God of everlasting Love and Mercy in Jesus Christ for in that respect all Fighting and other Violences are as contrary to him as Light is to Larkness Therefore in the Revelations to the Souls that were under the Altar crying to God to avenge their Cause being slain for the Testimony of Jesus it is answered Rest for a season which was as much as to say Be still do not awaken the Powers of Wrath for no Man can call for Vengeance but from the Power of that Principle and therefore White Garments were given unto them that is they were more replenished with the blessed Power and Vertue of the Love of God in Jesus Christ. Some may say If we should not fight and be ready to withstand our Enemies and neighbouring Nations we should quickly be brought into subjection This is very true if Men should leave off fighting and yet live such wicked ungodly Lives as they do but if any Nation would repent of the Evil of their Ways and enter with one mind into Unity and live in the power and operation of the Love of God c. they then should have no occasion to fear or dread any outward Enemies having so perfectly subdued those within they should rest secure This the Children of Israel did often witness when they did fear the Lord and refrain from Idols that is when they did not set their Hearts and Affections upon the Creatures nor live in Wantonness c. Then their Enemies were bowed before them and the very
only for all Uses in Housewifery and the Preservation of Health but the Saints and Holy Men of God have highly esteemed this Element by using it in the exteriour Acts of Divine Worship as having a Simile with the Eternal Water of Life that does purify and cleanse the Soul from Sin CHAP. XIX Of Marriagē and the Inconveniencies of unequal Matches SInce the main Scope of this whole Treatise is but to set before my Fellow-Mortals the means and courses whereby they may obtain Health both of the Body and Mind and shew them from whence the grievous Diseases of the one and tormenting Passions of the other do proceed And since there is nothing that more frequently brings Grief Affliction and Distraction on the Minds of People and many times lamentable Diseases in their Bodies too than inconsiderate and unfit Marriages I could not but think it necessary to add a few words on a subject so general and important THis sacred tye of Marriage was instituted by God in Paradise that the Woman might be an help-meet to the Man and each party a Comfort and Solace to each other and so propogate their Kind in Love and Peace but by Peoples corrupt manners and abuses of that holy Institution it is now to many become the greatest Plague of human Life where two unsociable Creatures are yoked together to each others torment yet cannot be separated but are forced with struggling and goring and kicking each other to drudge on a most uncomfortable days work of Misery till Death unharness them But I shall not spend time on general Complaints which are bootless but come to particulars 1. Of all sorts of Marriages the worst and most unequal'st is for Young Men to Marry Women who are through years past Child-bearing which as it is seldom if ever done but for some base hellish sordid self-ends on the Man's side and bruitish unnatural stimulations of Lust on the Womans so it very rarely fails to be attended with its own Punishment even in this Life there being few sins that people are guilty of that do more openly and shamefully contradict the Laws of God and Nature and that too which renders it ten times the worse under colour of an holy Institution of God In the Beginning after the Lord created Male and Female he said unto them Increase multiply and replenish the Earth This was the Command of the Creator which all Mankind are obliged unto and whosoever breaks this Law for any particular self-ends as Money Gluttony Honour Idleness or the like Vanities does draw upon himself the indignation of God because he has on purpose withstood the most Natural influences and Operations of Nature and turned them into Wantonness These kinds of Marriages do also contradict the whole course and progress of Nature and seems to threaten all things with a period and hereby man shews himself a hundred-fold worse and more depraved than the basest and most savagest of Beasts who will neither touch their Females when they are with Young nor after they are Old and past Breeding Which might be an Example unto us if Pride devilish Lusts and Intemperances did not possess peoples Souls All Creatures in this World even the very Vegetables do strive with highest diligence to produce its Seed wherein is contained all the Properties of the Body and then the old Body dieth This is the Bond of Nature which preserves all things and all Creatures do vehemently desire to bring forth their Likenesses which God's Law in Nature doth by an inward impulse constrain them unto and in the performance thereof all sensitive Creatures have the greatest pleasure and satisfaction Every Man and Woman in the World except some few who have depraved themselves has a Natural Desire to raise up unto themselves Posterity for without it Nature cannot be satisfied but something seems always wanting they have not discharged one great end of their Beeing and will die extreamly in the Worlds Debt how rich soever they may be accounted When Young and Old intermarry there is an inward natural and therefore unappeasable contrariety loathing and dislike between them whence ariseth Aversion Hatred Jealousie and Irreconcilable Discords and causeth the Young Man to long after forbidden and unlawful Beds It takes away all the true Natural Delight and Pleasure and renders the Mind uncapable of all Spiritual Duty polluting the Soul and Body whence doth proceed both Ruin and Destruction to the Health and also to the ill-gotten Estate for if a Young Man could attain a Young Virgin with the same outward Advantages viz. Money Honour Idleness c. as he can have with an Old Woman this latter sort might go without their Young Gallants But how base a thing it is and how unnaturally it looks that men should value Money more than the Law of God and the satisfaction of Nature and the raising up of Seed unto themselves which is a thing of so great moment that the Lord commanded That the Brother of him that died Childless should Marry the Wife of his deceased Brother that he might raise up Seed unto him for he that dies Childless seems to have lived to no purpose and not to have answered that End for which he was made Nor have we any Example in the Scriptures of Truth that ever any such Unnatural Marriages were celebrated Furthermore Children do encrease Love and makes the Affections more warm between men and their Wives encouraging lawful Care and Diligence both in the Father and the Mother Nor is there any thing can make a Marriage-State tolerable but True Natural Love and Affection not to be altered with Troubles when Sickness and the like Accidents happen there being few Married People but meet with many Troubles and Crosses which true Love to Wife and Children makes more easie and encourageth each Sex to go through them with cheerfulness of Spirit But on the Contrary when Men meet with Disappointments and Crosses Abroad and their Love is Cold at Home then all 's out of Tune and the Phantasie is set on wandering after Vanity which gives occasion for the Wife to do the like And thus there is caused an Unequal Disharmonious Life and is the Fruit of the Tree of Wrath which Mankind has stirred up through their Unnatural Lusts and Passions which cannot escape the Divine Hand of Retaliation for if all the Hairs of our Head be numbred and that a Sparrow cannot fall without Divine Providence how then should those great Sins which are absolutely against God's Divine and Natural Law and against the Right of Nature must they not be taken notice of by his Divine Hand For every Principle both in the Evil and the Good doth comprehend its own Children and also their works and if men by superfluity of Naughtiness and Devllish wantonness have kindled the fierce Wrath then they must not receive their Reward from another Principle But sew there be that are truly sensible or do consider how great a sin it is for men
Oates which opens unstops and cleanses the Passages from all kind of Obstructions This is further confirmed if we look into the Country where the Peasant that has no better than course Bread and other hard and mean fare is healthier stronger and more agile and sprightful than the City-Cormorant whose bruitish Appetite cannot be satisfied with any other thing than the costliest and richest Varieties that Nature can afford These latter sort of People accustoming themselves to the highest and finest Preparations of Food and Cordial Drinks are certainly the most unhealthful Men in the World because this sort of Food being in its own nature too Spirituous does prey upon the natural Heat causing either a suffocation or evaporation of the Spirits and contracting the Vessels of the Stomach whereby the whole body seems to languish Every sort of Food has its various operations upon the body and spirit of a Man and that by way of simile Therefore all Meats and Drinks ought to be equally compounded of a body and spirit as most things are in themselves before the Artist makes the separation the Food as the Man should be compounded both of body and spirit And to conclude I know of no separation that should be made of the one from the other but what is done inwardly by the act of the Stomach and natural Heat Of Pease and Beans Beans and Pease are Mars's Grains being drier and courser than the former Pease of the two are the finest and easiest of Concoction they are both of a Windy Quality yet being eaten when they are dryed are not only wholsomer than the Green but also afford a better and finer Nourishment not so apt to generate Crudities in the Body when they are boyled in plenty of Water the Winter-season is the most proper time for eating of them for then the natural Heat being more central the Stomach is much the stronger they are a good Food for young healthy People But Green-Pease and Beans are indued with a gross Phlegmatick Nature and being frequently eaten generate many gross raw Humours in the Body but in the declining part of the year when the Sun and Elements have consumed and dryed away the gross humid parts they thereby become firmer and wholsomer Food and will continue good and sound for several years but if they be cut down before the Sun has acted its part in extracting the gross Juices they will presently corrupt Therefore the frequent eating of such green Pease is of evil Consequence and detrimental to the Health they afford not only unfirm Nourishment but also cause Obstructions Fevers and Pains in the Bowels with Fluxes and a great many other Maladies That this kind of Nourishment is not good will further appear by giving you an Example from Cattle which when they are fed with green Food as Grass or the like their flesh and fat is soft greasy and full of phlegmy gross Matter neither will it take Salt nor keep half the time as that which is fed with Hay Corn and the like nay they are fainter and weaker and more apt to tire in their Labour and to take Surfeits than those that feed with Hay c. I do not say but green Pease may be eaten now and then for they are in their Nature opening and slippery which is caused by the great Quantity of Phlegmy Matter that is in them Yet these Rules should be observed in the dressing of them boyl them in good store of River-Water let your Fire be quick and your Pot open all the time of their boyling and they are to be put in when the Water begins to seeth and not before By this way of Preparation they are made wholsomer than otherwise they would be There is a sort of Bean called by the French English Bean but we commonly call them Kidney or French Beans they run upon sticks like Hops these are mostly eaten when Green they are of an opening and cleansing Nature purge by Urine and help Concoction the usual way of dressing them is to boyl them in the Shells and to eat them together They far exceed and are much better than other Pulses that are eaten green being in their nature and operation more mild and gentle Of Herbs Raw and Boyled The best raw Sallets are made of Spinage Parsley Sorrel Sage Pepper-grass with a small quantity of the Tops of Penny-Royal and Mint for all these have a chearing and warming Quality but Lettice and Onions should be sparingly put in because they are endowed with a gross thick Juice and are of a poysonous Nature sending Fumes into the Head whence proceeds a dull kind of Drowsiness and propensity to sleep which is offensive to the Eyes and Brain There are other Herbs made use of in Raw Sallets but the fore-mentioned are the best and most material Ingredients The proper season for eating them is from the beginning of February to the middle of Iune the earlier in the Spring so much the better and the more frequently they are eaten at this season so much the wholsomer for they are opening and cleansing powerfully the Blood is purified the natural Heat is tempered and encreased the Spirits are made brisk and lively the Appetite is quickned and Concoction facilitated Raw Herbs are a sublime kind of Food and are to be preferred before that which is boyled for the pure Volatile Spirit in the Herbs whence the Animals fragrancy proceeds cannot endure the violence of the fire but in boyling a great part of it is evaporated for this cause boyled Herbs lie heavier and colder in the Stomach than Raw which is scarcely credited by any for they that love boyled Herbs do generally eat much Flesh with them and so cannot discern the operation they have The strength and comforting Quality of every thing consists principally in the spirituous parts which are lost in the boyling and so they become just of another Nature that lively Tincture and spirituous part which it had whilst raw can never be retriv'd by all the Ingredients Nature or Ar 〈…〉 can afford Do not all Creatures eat their Herbs raw and are they not sustained by them to admiration They are powerful Preservers of Life and Health far beyond all the contriv'd Preparations of other Food In most Countries of this World the Inhabitants thereof do eat England excepted their Herbs Raw both in hot and cold Climates This kind of Food is preferrable to the great Quantities of Flesh Butter Cheese c. which are too often eaten among us these latter not only affording too great store of Nourishment but being naturally hot they over-heat the Blood and are heavy to be digested by reason of the oyly fat matter all such things do plentifully contain they dull the Appetite and obstruct and as it were fur the Passages Besides the Vertues we have ascribed to Raw Herbs God Almighty has created them for the use of Man and they were the first Food which was allotted him after the Fall where he
Vine viz. under the Government of the divine Principle of God's Eternal Love Here all Contention ceaseth no hideous Cries nor mournful Groans are heard neither of Man nor Beast no Chanels running with the Blood of slaughter'd Beasts no stinking Shambles nor bloody Butchers no roaring of Canons nor firing of Towns no loathsome stinking Prisons nor Iron Grates to keep Men from enjoying Wife Children and the pleasant Air nor no crying for want of Food and Cloths no Rioting nor wanton Inventions to destroy as much in one day as a Thousand can get by their hard Labour and Travel no swearing nor stabbing Heaven with dreadful Execrations no galloping Horses up Hills without any consideration or fellow-feeling of the Creatures pains and burthens no deflouring of Virgins and then expose both them and their own Seed to all the Miserie 's imaginable nor no Letting Lands and Farms so dear that the Farmer must be forced to oppress himself Servants and Cattle almost to death and all too little to pay his Rent no Disobedience of the Inferiour nor Oppression of the Superiour but the first knows how to obey and the last how to govern neither is there any Want because there is no Superfluity nor Gluttony No Noise nor Cries of wounded Men no need of Chirurgeons to cut Bullets out of their Flesh nor no cutting off Hands broken Legs and Arms no roaring nor crying out with the torturing pains of the Gout nor other painful Diseases as Leporous and Consumptive Distempers except through Age and the Relicks of some Strains they got whilst they lived in intemperate Egypt neither are their Children afflicted with such a great number of Diseases but are as free from Distempers as Lambs Calves or the young ones of any of the Beasts who are preserved sound and healthful because they have not outraged God's Law in Nature the breaking of which is the Foundation of most or all cruel Diseases that afflict Mankind there being nothing that makes the difference between Man and Beasts as to Health but only Superfluity and Intemperance both in Quality and Quantity Man in his first state was made the soundest healthiest of the greatest Spirit and the longest life'd as witness the Antients in the first Ages of the World But when Man enter'd with his Will into Violence Oppression and Cruelty then the Lord said That Man had corrupted the Earth and filled it with Violence that is the Elements and Properties of the Humane Nature was corrupted and become unequal in their Operation every particular Quality did endeavour to get the upper hand Here the Harmony was broken and Discord took place here was the Strife Then the Lord shortned Man's Life but not before he became intemperate and did Violence not only unto himself but to all other Creatures therefore they do groan to be delivered into that first State and glorious Liberty Man was created in which if he had continued in Obedience and lived under the Government of the innocent Principle of God's Light and Love all the inferiour Creatures would have enjoyed all the Privileges and Liberty which were ordained for them according to their Capacity For this Cause whensoever any of the inferiour Creatures are oppressed hurt or killed they do by a natural Disposition and Inclination cry unto the Fountain whence they proceeded and groan for Deliverance which will never be until Men with their Wills and Desires enter into the innocent Principle of God's Love and holy Light whence doth arise no Disposition of Hatred Violence or Oppression it being as contrary to it as Light is to Darkness All Cruelty and Blood-shedding do proceed from another Fountain as different in Nature and Operation as the common consuming Fire doth differ from the Light thereof which is of a most friendly pleasant Quality and benevolent Operation but the Fire is fierce and altogether the contrary yet nevertheless the harsh Fire is the cause of the Light and if there were no Fire there would be no Light The Fire is the Father and the Light is the Son and they are Emblems of the Father and Son or of the internal Fire and Light The Light of this internal Fire is a most pleasant chearing Quality of Life but the Fire in its own Nature is a strong harsh sulphurous Property a devouring lofty proud Spirit who endeavours to consume all things and the internal dark Fire is its Root and the Scripture saith Who can dwell with everlasting Burnings God is a Consuming Fire to all that are not cloathed with the Son's Wedding-Garment of Light Love and Innocency therefore the scrupling Violence and Oppression both to Man and Beast and denying our selves of other Vanities and Superfluities is of great moment and the only Path that leads Men to the holy Land preserving both the Body and Soul in health For this Cause in the Beginning the Lord put Man into a Garden which doth truly signifie Innocency and gave him a great number of fragrant Herbs Seeds Fruits and Grains which are all endued with an innocent Nature and Operation but when he had precipitated his Will and Desires into the Principle of Wrath then presently the Earth was filled with Violence and the Element of his Body and Soul was corrupted then Distemperatures took place in him and his Life was shortned but not before Therefore the Eating of Herbs Seeds Grains and Fruits is of far greater consequence than most imagine and they may justly be esteemed the Food of good Angels for their Innocency excellent Virtues Fragrancies and Odours and therefore they were the Food ordain'd for Man whilst he remained in his Angelical State and if he had continued in Innocency he would never have desired any other Food but when by Desire he awaken'd the fierce Wrath and lived under the Power and Government of its Nature then he could not be satisfied without doing Violence and Killing for innocent Herbs and Fruits had no Simile with that Nature that had gotten the upper Dominion in him for every Property as I have told you before must have its own Food or else it cannot subsist then it was and not before that the Lord permitted Men to kill and eat the Flesh and Blood of Beasts which would never have been had Man continued in Innocency And therefore great are the Benefits and manifold Privileges that now do accompany all those that have attained to that state of Purity and Innocency which our first Parents were cloathed with their Minds being freed from Snares and their Bodies from superfluous Labours therefore can say We have no need of Lawyers Honesty Justice and Prudence makes their Trade nothing worth and but a few Physicians and none of them keep neither Coaches nor Chariots they are not clothed with Gold Silver nor Plush Coats our Temperance keeps them poor The true Knowledge of God and Nature in our selves destroys the Trade of divining for Money Our Superiours are not proud nor ambitious neither do they spend the choicest and
behind them a disorder'd Body and a perplexed Soul the Memory of which calls for Repentance and do ingender in the Mind Sottishness and insolency and a Forgetfulness of all Good making the Body an House of Sorrow and the Soul a Den of Thieves Intemperance never goes alone having many other Evils and perverse Companions attending her but at her first appearance doth court her Lovers with a curious painted smiling Countenance which doth allure and draw after her a great Train of young Gallants by her counterfeit Beauties but we through the good Favour of the Lord know her Snares and that she is that Woman the wise Man saith Sits in the Corners of the Streets of Man's City alluring and inviting the foolish Ones by her fading Delights and Pleasures therefore we warn our Citizens to beware of her Charms But Vertue who is our Captain though at first she do appear to us with a dismay'd Face and in modest plain Garments and neither decked with feigned Speeches nor with fading Beauties but with other most sublime and durable Riches as Temperance Cleanness Separation Self-denial which is a little austere and burthensome at first to old Adam and to those that have spent most of their days in the Intemperances and Oppressions of Egypt nevertheless a little Use Custom and Self-denial makes them most friendly both to the Body and Mind for she freeth them both from Ignorance vain Opinions Self-conceitedness and all other Snares and Troubles and crowns the Soul with eternal Felicity If our Children are gluttonous idle or disobedient to Parents our Law and Custom constrains them to make retaliation by Servitude in our publick Houses and Places provided for that purpose We do not enslave our Bodies by Labours nor put our more noble Parts on the Rack by carking Cares to maintain our Wives and Children because we observe order and count that unlawful that is not needful a little serves and supports the necessity of Nature where Superfluity is laid aside The more Children we have the richer we do esteem our selves we do not pray and wish that we may have no more Children and at the same time continue the Means neither do we hinder Conception for fear of Disgrace Trouble or that we shall have more Children than we can maintain all those things we esteem to be Sins against God and his Law in Nature We are contented and highly gratified with the most pleasant Fruits of the Gardens and desire as much as we can to imitate our first state of Innocency counting every green Herb and Seed our principal Food having a Simile with the friendly Principle in Man We fear all Inclinations after Flesh and Blood they smell of the Original Sin and of the awakened fierce Wrath of God which renders man fitter to live in a Flesh-Market and Butcher's Shambles than in a Garden there being no more affinity between Slaughter-houses Shambles Butchers-Shops and Sheep than there is between a pleasant Garden and the Fruits that grow therein and Dogs Lions Bears and the like wild Beasts of Prey We do not complain and say If we should not eat Flesh and Blood we should die as some will meaning the death of the Body this none need to fear but the main thing lies occult they are not willing to kill and destroy the Government of the violent wrathful Spirit and ravenous Nature which most Men love to practise all such things that support and keep that Spirit in motion which would quickly be weakned if Man did not supply it with its proper Food and Aliment If Violence nor Oppression did not come into the noble Tents of Men then Man would be like a pleasant Field in May where there grow various sorts of fragrant Herbs Fruits Grains and Seeds of different Forms Shapes Colours Beauties Odours and Natures but they have but one Mother whence they have and receieve Virtue Life and Power standing all in quietness and silence suffering all sorts of Winds to blow on them they complain not neither do they grutch or envy each other because they are not all alike or that one is more beautiful and fairer than another no they all thrust forth their Virtues in quietness to God's Praise and Glory even so it would be with Man if he did fear the Lord as he ought and lay aside Violence and live in Innocency then the Tempter would lose his labour 2. If any amongst us be idle gluttonous or commit any evil and will not amend his Life and become sober at the first second or third Reproof then they are committed to Houses and Places appointed for several sorts of Work and there they are put to such Labour Arts or Trades as they shall be capable of being well furnished with Meat Drink Cloathing sweet wholesome Chambers and Beds there to continue until they have made retaliation their greatest Punishment is they are confined to work double the time that is allotted for others viz. twelve hours in a day for we do not oppress our selves nor Servants with labour it being not lawful among us to work above six hours in a day which doth bountifully support us with plenty of all things where Superfluity is not there needs not much labour neither to Man nor Beast the remaining time is set apart for Prayer Meditations and Contemplations of the divine and natural Mysteries of God as Arts and Sciences and all lawful innocent Recreation We do account none capable to know the hidden Mysteries of God and the Creation but those that become even as Nature her self viz. true simple constant patient and pious no ways hurtful to any thing viz. a regenerated Man none else are fit for the search and speculation of divine Mysteries but those that are thus qualified when by an innocent pious Life we have made God our Friend then the Heavens the Earth Elements and all the Terrene and Celestial Influences are constrained to come to our help We draw Peace Love and Vertue out of all things for every Likeness doth forcibly draw proper Aliment out of all things for the increase and support of its own Body both in good and evil and for this same purpose we do often meet together for our outward occasions do not hinder us where we do speak and discourse freely like so many Children keeping nothing back or hidden whether it be good or evil but manifesting the inward secrets of our Hearts and the Mystical Operations of the various Properties of our own Nature and of the Force Power Vertue and Vice of each Quality and of their rising and continual contest amongst themselves for Mastery and also the manner and way the divine Principle of God in us doth open the seven Seals and call the Soul back out of Egypt viz. out of Discord and Inequality into Concord and Harmony We do not admit of any Discourse that is not filled with Vertue and Experience either of divine or natural Wisdom by which the low mean Capacities are rais'd by
and coupling of Stocks as if their Bags must needs mutually Engender and breed and multiply as well as their Persons This making of Matrimony a Matter of Money and Miserly Parents sacrificing their Children to Mammon is a wretched Idolatry little inferiour to theirs of Old who offered their Sons and Daughters to Molock they made oblations of them in Flames which quickly devoured them but you deliver them up and force them into loathed Embraces where perhaps they languish out twenty or thirty Years in perpetual Vexations and Torment without one hours solid Content or Satisfaction and all this for a little Base Pelf which never has been known to make any happy where Content Sobriety and Virtue have been wanting But if God's Law and the Influences of unbiast Nature did take place in peoples hearts there would not be such over-looking those that have but a little Money the Rich and Noble then would often marry with the poor or those they now call their Unequals For where shall we find a healthy fresh rosie straight-Limb'd Angel-fac'd Innocent Virgin fit for Emperours to get Princes upon sooner than amongst the Daughters of Shepherds or the untutor'd Troops of a poor Country-Village Did men live in the Power and Operation of God's Laws and the Dictates of Nature none of them would delude the Simplicity of Virgins by Deceitful Kindnesses and when they have gotten their Lewd Desires of them then leave them and their own Off-spring to beg their Bread exposed to shame and want and all the Evils imaginable making nothing to cut off the Thread of Love and bury Affection through the power of their depraved Wills which is a Crying Sin and next door to Murther The truth is there is scarce one Person of an hundred that make his or her choice from Wisdom or a right Understanding and to answer the end for which the Lord instituted Marriage in the beginning but if a Man have but an Estate tho otherwise never so diseased infirm or unfit all is overlook'd and excused Money covers all Infirmities where the heart is degenerated from Truth and Virtue making that there Master which if well used would be a good Servant most People being so blind and stupid that they dare not cast their Care and repose their Trust in him who by his bountiful Divine Hand of Providence taketh care for all and preserveth all and from whom every good Gift proceeds both Temporal and Spiritual this trusting and relying on the Creature more than the Creator is the greatest Idolatry and that which the Lord abominates for a Curse does follow all those who prefer their devillish Lusts and foolish Passions and greedy Desires of Money before the good and holy fear of the Lord and his Innocent Law Themselves Wives and Children being afflicted with a numberless Number of Diseases and Infirmities and what Fruit can be expected from such corrupt Trees Whence think ye proceed Leprous Scabby Diseases Joint-evils and that which they call the Kings-Evil wherewith many thousands in this Nation of all sorts are afflicted as also the Gout in Youth Consumptions and other incurable Diseases Are not most or all these Evils the effect of undue Marriages Uncleannesses and Intemperances And yet if a Man ask them how came such or such a Disease they will confidently answer We do not know even as it pleaseth God we know nothing we have done which should occasion it Thus laying the Cause on the Lord of all their Infirmities and Evils never considering that it is the Reward of their own Transgression and of their own Evil Courses which have awakened the poysonous Properties in the Elements of the Body 4. A fourth sort of Blame-worthy are those who do Marry without any due Consideration of the weight and importance of what they go about sure a thing in which the Happiness or Misery of a Man's whole future Life is involved and which can be done but Once should be considered Twice before we undertake it But many People are so hurried away with the Heat and Fury of youthful Lusts Passions and Wantonness as they mind nothing but a present Satisfaction of their bruitish Desires vainly imagining that they shall never be otherwise but alas as soon as those fiery Transports are allayed their Love languishes grows cold and flat and those very Embraces wherein they placed their highest Happiness become wearisom nauseous and perhaps loathsom and then these hot Lovers become Rude Sordid Stubborn Bold Surly and Inhumane having no true Natural Affection unto nor taking any honest Care for Wife or Children but grow Dissolute Drunken and Idle as they get Childen in the heat of Drink and Lust so they make not the least Provision to preserve them How many thousands of poor Women and Children are more miserable than any Creatures on the Earth if we do but consider the Hunger Cold Diseases Griefs Vexations and Distractions which they endure from the intolerable Idleness Debauchery Crosness or other ill Carriage Words and Communications of some brutified Things whom they are obliged to call Husbands and Fathers 5. The Fear of the Lord being the beginning of all Wisdom both Divine and Humane ought to be the principal Object of every Man and Womans Thoughts Words and Actions and then they would be taught by the Spirit of Truth how they may chuse unto themselves suitable Wives and Husbands For Marriage is as it were the Foundation either to Virtue or Vice and nothing can make a Conjugal Life happy but suitable Dispositions and Virtue and where their coming together is from a well-grounded Love and natural Affections mutually combined to answer the End of that State that is to raise up Seed in the fear of the Lord and then the Blessing of the most High is with and upon them in all their Affairs and whether they have much or little of the World's Wealth they are satisfied as knowing that it is not Riches but true Love that can make a married Life pleasant or encourage Industry in the Man and Wife But where Equality in Tempers Years and Virtues meet it makes this Society the most happy of all others there Love covers a multitude of Infirmities Joys are doubled Griefs divided and all Troubles made easy 'T is true every Married Estate is followed more or less with Inconveniences for it forceth a Man to appear in the World and thrust himself into Business and attend and bow himself to those that perhaps he doth not much care for or desire their Company because they often spur him to Evil or to do that which if Interest were not at stake he would not do and where there are six or seven more in a Family there will unavoidably be committed many Disorders sometimes by Servants sometimes by Children and seldom is it that they are all in Health long together And if it happens that the Wife have a good esteem of her Doctor and his Physick then she will do nothing without his Advice
worse Guide than the Crowd Few there be that ever in their whole Lives consider or so much as imagine that they can be guilty of any Sin with their own Wives tho they commit all kinds of Folly Wantonness and Uncleanness with them Whereas in truth since thereby they violate the Law of God and course of undepraved Nature there is but very little difference as to the Intrinsick Evil between him that Marries an Old Woman or him that commands his Wife at unfit seasons as in the time of Pregnancy or her Lunar Visits and him that goes to Common-Harlots only the former is not so Scandalous because allowed by Law or Custom which forbid the latter but in the sight of God and Nature they are both grand Evils 6thly Intemperance is so great an Enemy to Mankind that it corrupts both Root and Branch as when Men overcharge themselves with Meats and Drinks which heat the Blood and so violently inflame and swell the Spermatick Vessels whence proceed wanton Desires and loose Imaginations that vehemently impress and incorporate themselves in and with the Venerial Properties even as the Imagination and Desires of a Woman with Child do impress the Image of the thing longed for on the Fruit or Child The Seed does contain all the true Properties and the whole state of the Mind and Sensual Powers whether it be Good or Evil at the time of Conception and accordingly the Fruit is endued with good or evil Dispositions and Inclinations and the Face or Complexion of each Child is figured or framed according as the Posture and Aspects of the Parents Faces are at the very juncture or time of Conception viz. whether they look Soberly or Merry Languishing or with Wide Mouths Eyes distorted sullen sleepy or heavy and dull or lively and brisk or any other Fashion or Form the very same will the Imagination impress on the Fruit or Child for Nature has a secret Power of conveyance by Virtue of the Phantasy and Spirits which is unperceivable to the Parents Therefore all Fathers and Mothers ought at all times to be Sober and keep themselves cool and low that the Spirit of Understanding may have its Operation For every Thing or Quality whether it be Evil or Good has a Key in it self to open its own Principle and hath a Seed to beget its own Likeness in all Particulars For this cause a simple mean Life in which the Power of God and Nature have their Operation in equal weight and measure is to be preferred before the Grandeur and State of this World Sobriety and the Fear of the Lord being the Foundation of all Virtue for all Health Strength and Vigour both of the Body and Mind do consist in the Unity of the Parts and a just Temperament or Equality As on the other side Contrariety is the Root and Parent of all Diseases both Internal and External Therefore let every one apply himself to Wisdom which will teach the Knowledg of God in a Man's self which Knowledg and Eye of Wisdom will lead and conduct every one that is an obedient Student into the Life of Uniformity where every property of Nature does impress and reign in each other sending forth Hymns and Hallelujahs and Everlasting Songs of Praises unto the God of Unity and Order Lastly It is to be noted That the Lord and Great Creator of all Beings has subjected all Creatures unto his unalterable Law of Nature and therefore they keep and observe their proper Times and Seasons for Generation and consequently are more healthy and sound than Mankind but Man being made greater than any other Creature visible viz. God's Image and endued with Divine and Humane Wisdom and a free uncontroulable Will which he can immerse either into Evil or Good the Lord for this cause saith I have set Life and Death before you chuse ye Now most Men inclining to the left-hand-way are thereby precipitated into all Uncleanness Unchastity and Intemperance and in all Evil do as much exceed most sorts of Beasts as Men do excel Beasts in Wisdom for the Lord endued Man with the Spirit of Understanding by which he might be a Guide and Law unto himself but he has degenerated and withstood the good Counsel of Wisdom and chosen the left-hand-way which leads into all kind of Evil and Superfluity Whereas if this had not come to pass but instead thereof if men had chosen the right way and lived in the Power and Operation of God's Law then there would have been no need of Outward Laws and Magistrates but every Man would have done what was Right and Just in the sight of the Lord from an innate power and virtue in himself and not for fear of external Laws neither would he have leaned on the shoulders of the Multitude nor complyed with Tradition and Custom against the Dictates of Nature and Reason The Beasts of the Field bieng under the driving and impulse of God's Natural Law they are wholly acted by it so that when Nature stirs and prompts them on then they move and when Nature stands still they are quiet This is the Way of God and his unalterable Law in the course of natural things but Man has so greatly depraved himself through the power of his Free-will always inclining to Evil that he forceth Nature out of her simple Way violating the Law of God to the great hurt of his Soul and Body But few there be that are sensible of the sublime Virtues and Benefits that accompany Sobriety and Chastity tho the Pleasures that attend them are so many and great and most easily attainable if we will hearken to the Voice of Wisdom which is the best Physician and the best Law-giver and the only Theology in a word The opener of all Seals and Mysteries both Divine and Humane and Happy yea thrice Blessed are all they that are acquainted with and obey it CHAP. XX. How to cure Wounds Cuts Pricks of Thorns and other Accidents without Salves Oyntments or Plaisters Also if any part of the Body or Flesh be Poysoned it is a certain Remedy MANY persons happening to Cut or Prick with Thorns or Splinters some Parts of their Bodies or being troubled with Ring-worms Tettors Fellons on their Hands or Fingers or with Common Bruises or any the like Accidents running presently to Chyrurgions who for gain put them to much pain and misery or otherwise tampering therwith so far encrease those Maladies that many times they grow to Gangreens and Mortifications and their Fingers Arms Legs are often forced to be cut off and not a few have their Lives thereby shortened To prevent which Mischiefs I think my self obliged in Charity ty my Countrey-men to recommend to them an easie ready Course of Remedy without any Charge Trouble or Hazard which as has been proved by manifold Experience will not fail to heal and cure all such Defects and let none slight it for its plainness and meanness for all the ways of God and Nature are so