how bigly soeuer he braue it begā in earth and shall end where he began As the flower may be knowne by the smel so a man by his wordes As they that are tenants at will beare themselues very euen and vpright so they that vnderstande that the house of their bodie is lent them of Nature for a short time doe liue more temperately and die more willinglie Seneca As an euill tree cannot bring forth anie good fruit as rotten and wormeaten seede cannot ingender any thing but like it self and as from a poysoned and infected vessell wee cannot drawe one drop of good wine so since our lapse wee are not able of our selues to produce any good work but whatsoeuer springeth from vs sauoureth of corruption and pollution As waxe cannot indure before the fire so mans righteousnesse cannot stand perfect before God As Marchants alwayes prayse and esteeme their wares marchandise more then they are worth so man doth his vertues but when they are examined and prised by those which know them as by the spirit of god his prophets they are altogither iudged as old rags torn tied togither patched vp again as old images new gilded ouer which outwardly haue glistering shew but within are nothing but dust and durt or as counterfeit money which is of ill mettall howe goodly a print soeuer it haue Some dream when they are asleepe that they haue found great treasure and haue a great ioy in it but after their wakning they see that all is vanished like smoke wherevpon they vexe and grieue themselues so when man thinketh that hee is righteous this is a dreame which passeth through his spirits and vanisheth as soone as hee is awake and deliuered from the darkenes of ignorance wherin he was asleep buried The arke of the couenant was but a cubite and a halfe high the wheeles of the Cauldron were but a cubite and a halfe high nowe we knowe that a cubite and a halfe is an vnperfect measure so there is no man in this life perfectly perfect seeing that the very highest is as the Arke in Moses Tabernacle or as the wheeles in Salomons Temple but a cubite and a halfe high perfectly vnperfect when hee beginneth vnperfectly perfect when he endeth Euen as the silkworme keeps her bodie spare empty vseth to fast two or three daies togither that she may stretch out her selfe the better better and spin her threed the finer so man must endeuour to bring vnder his body and as I may say to dyet it for the nonce that hee may no longer weaue the spiders web but with the silke worme spin a new threed As the Viper perceiuing her olde skinne to be so stiffe that she cannot easily stretch out her selfe in it strips it quite off so wee which are by nature a generation of Vipers must strip off our old skinne and perceiuing we cannot well do our endeour and stir our selues in the armour of Saule we must with Dauid put it off and put on the armour of light As Fletchers to make their shaftes flie steadily peece them with Sugarchest or Holly or such like heauy wood so wee must adioine to that Aspe or Seruice tree or such other light matter which wee are all made of the sweete Sugarchest of the Holy Ghost that we may not bee vnsteady as arrowes of Aspe nor yet slothfull in seruice but feruent in spirit seruing the Lorde Saint Ambrose reporteth that the Bee being to flie home to her hiue and fearing least if she shoulde bee taken by the waie with the winde shee might perhaps bee blowne about in the ayre counterpeises her selfe with a little stone and so flyes straight home so we must build our selues vpon the chiefe corner stone be grounded vppon the rocke and established with grace that howsoeuer the raine fall or the flouds arise or the windes blowe or what times soeuer come yet we may stande fast in the faith of Christ As Eue deceiued Adam so the flesh deceiueth man Lodouicus Granatensis lib. 1. Ducis peccatorum The Moon being in the wane is againe renued so is man after his death at the last resurrection The sunne appeareth againe after it setteth so doth man at the sound of the archangell The Sunne the Moone the stars the sea the earth trees herbes brute beastes and among these Bees Auntes and Shell fishes doe forefeele and foresee a tempest so shoulde man forefeele and foresee his owne daunger Plinius libro 8. cap. vlt. As things that are bred vpon the earth are for the vse and commodity of man so one man should be for another As a vessel is known by the sound whether it bee hole or broken so are men proued by their speach whether they be wise or foolish Good Men. AS the Laurel tree is not subiect to lightning nor hurt with that fiers violence so the iust man in the fire of tribulation is neyther hurt nor impaired but alwayes continueth fresh and greene Stella de contemptu mundi As in winter a fruitfull tree cannot bee knowne from one that is vnfruitfull so in this worlde a good man can scarselie bee discerned from an euill man Hermas seu Past. As cockell and darnell springeth vp among good corne so euill men growe vp with good men righteous people with vngodly folk Cyprianus cōtra Demetrianū As a bird soone getteth out of a snare so good men if they fal soone rise againe Origenes hom 5. in Psal 36. As the light of a candle is dimmed by the brightnes of the sun so al the works of good men are obscured by the perfection of Christ Origenes hom 9. in Ezechiel As wrestlers for a prize sustaine heate sweate dust and labour so good men for a crown must beare many things patiently Chrisost hom 1. de resurrectione As we say that that is a good body that can indure heat and cold hunger thirst so we say that hee is a good man that can generously and valiantly beare all the inuasions of sorrowe and greefe ibidem hom 5. de patientia Iob. As a rich subiect compared to a wealthy King seemeth poore so the best men compared to holy angels are foūd sinners Idem hom 4. in 1. Timoth. As the vnderstanding of a sinner is more and more darkened so the mind of a good man is more and more enlightened Idem hom 1 8. operis imperfecti In the vineyardes of Engaddi there is a Tree that when it is pricked ointment commeth out of it but if it be not pierced it smelleth not so fragrantly so it is with a good man Ambrosius in Psal beati immaculati serm 1. As a house built vppon a rocke standes firme against all tempestes so a righteous man building himselfe vppon the rocke Christ stands strong against al the stormes of Sathan the world and the flesh As a tree that is planted by the water side spreadeth out the roote vnto moystnesse neither can the heate harme it when it cōmeth
tongue confessing at the last that they coulde find none other thing but that God was incomprehensible and vnmeasurable Chrystomus hom 28. operis imperfecti As no man can measure the winde or weigh the fire so no man can attaine vnto the vnsearchable iudgementes of the Lorde Euen as one standing vppon the shoare doth see the Sea and yet doth not see the breadth and depth of it so the Angels and all the other elect which bee in heauen do see God reallie yet they can not comprehende either the depth of his greatnesse or the altitude of his eternitie Lodouicus Granatensis lib. 1. Ducis peccatorum Euen as there can be found nothing more bright and visible then the sunne yet nothing is lesse seene then it by reason of the excellency of his brightnes and the weaknesse of our sight so there is nothing in it selfe more intelligible then God yet there is nothing in this life lesse vnderstood then he for the same reasons Ibidem As that painter when he depainted the funerall solemnitie of a certaine kinges daughter pourtraied her kinsfolkes with heauie countenaunces and her mother more sorrowfull then the rest but when he came to delineate the father he did couer his face with an artificiall shadow signifying thereby that his Art did here faile him so when we speake of God and the deepe mysteries of his diuinitie vnder awe of admiration we are to lay our hands on our mouthes and to adore him with ineffable and chast silence Ibidem God is not the Authour of sinne AS the Sun which is made to illustrate and enlighten things cannot obscure and darken them so God who is righteousnesse it selfe cannot do vniustly Origines lib. 3. contra Celsum As the wicked doe naughtily entreate the goodnesse of God so God dooth vse to good ende the euill workes of the vngodlie Eusebius Emissenus hom 4. de Epiphania As the Smith is not the cause why the iron rusteth nor the progenitour of a liuelie bodie is the cause of the filth and blemishes it afterwards gathereth so neither God although he make and order all things is the cause of any sinne and wickednesse in them Mercurius Trismegistus in Pymandro As it belongeth vnto God being onely good to bee the cause of euerie good worke so it is vnmeete and incongruous that he should be supposed the authour of anie euill Fulgentius lib. 1. As a maister that would try his seruant whether he bee good or badde setteth in place where he may come to sweet meats and money now if this seruant take any his maister compelled him not to doe ill but laid open his bad disposition so also God giuing vnto men occasion to sinne if they will sin hee doth not make them to sinne but manifesteth the maliciousnes of their hearts Chrisostomus homil 46. operis imperfecti As the sun is not hurtful although it seemeth so vnto weake and bleard eies and as hony is not bitter to the tast albeit sick folke deeme it so so God is not euill nor carelesse of mens actions albeit wicked reprobate men think him so Chrisost hom 7. in Ioan. As it is no wonderfull thing to make a goulden bracelet of golde but it is admirable to make pure goulde of base lead so to make good of good is a thing of no such wonder but to extract vertue out of vice this is diuine God out of the wickkednes of the vngodlie done against the righteous doth extract their profit yea out of our owne faultes hee doth produce our welfare for by it he worketh in vs contrition and by his fauour we bring forth the fruits of repentance Pintus in Eze. cap. 38. The patience and longanimity of God AS God patientlie suffered Ionas to bee swallowed of the Whaile not that hee should perish but that he being cast vp agayne might more submit himselfe vnder the mightie hande of God and more glorifie him so God from the beginning hath beene patient in suffering man to bee swallowed vp of that great Whaile who was the authour of preuarication not that he shoulde finally perish but that hee might prepare him to seeke for that saluation of which Ionas was a signe Irenaeus li. 3. contra haereses cap. 22. An housholder doth not suddainly cast forth a faithful seruant but desireth him to stay so the Lord long suffereth if any one hath beene faithfull vnto him August sermone 146. in Lucam As Cities and Common wealths doe nourish hangmen and executioners of iustice by whome they may execute offenders malefactors not praising the office of the hangmā but tollerating his ministry for necessary vses so God the great magistrate and iusticer of this world doth suffer tyrants and oppressors as certain hagmē that by them hee may take vengeance of vngodly men and afterwardes deliuereth the tyrants vnto torment so God punished the children of Israell by the Assyrians Theodoretus ser 6. de Graecarum affectionū curatione Gods Prouidence AS a King when hee would keepe any man safe from daunger placeth him in his pallace that not onely the walles of the King but also the eyes of the King may defende him from his enemies then the which guard none can be safer so the heauenlie King by the same prouidence doth defend his Lodouicus Granatensis lib. 1. Ducis Peccatorum As the sun doth not only illuminate heauen the sea and the earth but shineth also thorow a windowe or a little creuice and doth cast light into the inmost place of the house so the diuine prouidence doth not only preserue great things but also respecteth the very least that are in the earth Clemens Alexandrinus lib. 7. stromatum As wee knowe that there are men in a ship that directly sayles into an hauen although we see none of them by reason of the right guydance of it so we know that God is the gouernour of all thinges by his prouidence albeit we cannot see him with our carnal eyes Theophilus Antiochenus lib. 1. ad Antolycum As an house decaieth without an inhabiter as a ship perisheth without a Pilot and as the body dyeth being forsaken of the soule so all thinges go to wracke and ruine without the diuine prouidence Lactantius Lib. 3. cap. 20. As a Wagoner directeh his chariot and a Pilot his ship so God guideth all his creatures Philo. lib. de Somnijs As wee knowe that there is a soule in a mans body by the motion of the body albeit the soule bee inuisible so God by his prouidence and ordering of all thinges is apprehended although by no eye hee can be discerned Theophilus Antiochenus lib. 1. ad Antolycum As an Eagle caryeth her young ones vpon her winges and as a mother carieth her child in her armes so God supporteth his Deuteron cap. 1. cap. 32. As God respecteth a litle bird of the sea called Alcyon that in the midst of winter hee sendeth a calme for fourteene dayes which the Mariners call Alcyon dayes til she hath hatched and fledged
estate the better of whome hee hath receyued a benefite and rendereth as good as he receyued Plin. lib. 18. cap. 14 cap. 12. eodem lib. A learned man is learned albeit hee holde his peace a valiaunt man is valiant albeit hee holde his handes a good Pylot is skilfull albeit he bee on drie land because they are men of perfect skill and nothing is wanting vnto them but opportunitie to shewe it so is hee also a gratefull man that is onelye willing to requite and regraciate albeit hee hath none other witnes of it but his owne kind and thankefull minde Seneca de benefic lib. 4. cap. 21. As our Auncestours haue left theyr learned wrytinges vnto vs their posteritie so wee should not onely bee gratefull to one age idem cap. 30. As glorie dooth rather followe them that flie it so the fruit of a benefite is more gratefully repayed vnto them that doe not expect it Idem lib. 5. de benefic As it is meete that wee pardon them that vnwittingly haue offended so they are not to bee repayed thankes that haue benefited vs of necessitie Cicero libro 1. de inuentione As fertill fields doe render more then they receyued so should a gratefull man in repaying of thankes Hesiodus Cicero lib. 1. Offic. Ingratitude AS Swine eating Acornes vnder an oke neuer looke vp that they may see from whence they come so vngratefull men receyuing benefites from God neuer cast vp their eyes to heauen to giue him thanks Lodouicus Granatensis lib. 1. Ducis peccatorum As hee is exceeding vngracious that hauing receyued large and ample giftes of a king which then forthwith mustered vp an armie and setteth vpon the King so is that man most vngratefull that with those same benefites which God hath bestowed vpon him moueth warre and setteth himselfe agaynst him ibidem As it is a wickednesse intollerable if a marryed woman should giue all her ouches tablets rings chaines earerings and bracelets which her husbande gaue her that shee might bee beautified with them and so please him to an adulterer that she may allure him to her loue so it is ingratitude vnsufferable if man spende and consume his fortitude strength health and riches which God hath giuen him to glorifie and honour him withall vpon euil workes and most filthie and dishonest actions ibidem As Iuy cleauing to the boughes of trees is raysed aloft through the helpe of another so base pesants mounting aloft thorough the countenance of mightie men become a meanes to strangle them of whoÌ„ they were promoted Plut. in Moralibus The stone Siphnius being heated in oyle waxeth hard otherwise it is very soft so some are made worse by benefites As hee is an â—ill father that giues his daughter to a diuorced man as hee is an ill housholder that commits his goods to a spendthrift as he doates that leaues his son to a couetous Gardian so is he an ill benefactour that bestowes his benefites vpon thankelesse persons Seneca lib. quarto de ben cap. 27. As that seruant is exceeding vngracious that hauing receiued kindnesse of his maister for his ill deedes if hee repay ingratitude so is that man exceeding faultie that for all his misdeedes doone against God receiueth benefits yet remaineth thanklesse Basilius in 2. ad Timoth. hom 5. As a husband louing his wife tenderlie to make his affection knowne vnto her bestowing vpon her manie great presents of golde and costlie iewels is verie heauie if shee dissemble the giftes which hee hath bestowed vpon her and say shee hath purchased them by her owne money so God can in no wise bee pleased with vs if wee will conceale or else attribute to our selues the graces which he hath bestowed vpoÌ„ vs which he would haue to be testimonies tokens and demonstrations of the inuiolable loue and fidelitie that he beareth vnto vs. As Alexander Phrygius who of Poets is commonly called Paris was ingratefull to Menelaus and to the King of Sydon who had giuen him friendlie entertainment as Dictys Cretensis writeth in his first Booke de Bello Troiano in stealing away the ones wife and treacherously killing the other so M. and D. Brutus C. Cassius Cn. Domitius C. Trebonius Q. Tullius Cimber the two Seruilii Casca Hala and manye others were verie vnthankfull to Iulius Casar who slue him with three and twentie woundes in the Senate house albeit hee had latelye pardoned them for their sighting agaynst him on Pompeyes side as sayeth Appian in his seconde Booke of the Romane ciuill warres As the Romanes suffered P. Scipio Aphricanus the first who defended them from so many perils most miserablie to die in Lynternum so the second Scipio Aemilianus Aphricanus for all that he subdued Carthage and Numantia which refused to become tributaries to the Romans found in Rome a murtherer but not a reuenger As the Athenians were ingratefull to Theseus and Solon so were the Lacedemonians vnto Lycurgus As Synon was vnthankfull to the Troians so was Zopyrus vnto the Babylonians As the Romanes were ingratefull to M. Furius Camillus so was Ptolomeus Dionifius king of Egypt vnto Pompey As the Athenians were very vnthankfull to their famous Captaine Miltiades in casting him into prison and suffering him there to die who had freed them froÌ„ the Persians in the expedition of Darius so was Valentinianus Caesar verie ingratefull to that valiaunt Captaine Aecius whome he commaunded to be slaine and Iustinianus vnto that renowned Captaine Bellisarius in commaunding his eyes to bee pluckt out in banishing him and forcing him to beg his breade who had deliuered the Romane Empire from the sauage cruelty of barbarous nations who ouercame the Persians in the Easte the Vandales in Aphrica and the Gothes in Italie As M. T. Cicero was slaine of Pompilius whome hee had saued from the gallowes so Leo the Emperour was depriued both of life and honor of Michael Thraulus vpon whome he had bestowed many dignities Plynye sayth that the colte of an Asse when hee hath filled his belly turneth his heeles against the damme and kicketh her so many ingratefull men hauing receiued blessings from God and benefits from man do spurne against the one and contemne the other He that nourisheth a serpent nourisheth his own bane so hee that bestoweth a benefit vpon an vnthankful person may perhaps arme an enemy against himself Plut. in Moralibus He that anointeth a deade carcasse with precious oyntment looseth it so hee that bestoweth a benefit vppon one ingrateful casteth it away ibidem As dogges haue beene so mindfull of their maisters benefits that they haue dyed by their slaine bodyes and some of them haue detected the murderers and brought them to execution so men should much more bee mindfull of good turnes and requite them with thankefulnesse and all possible recompence Basilus homil 9. Exameron Chiding AS the wounde of Telephus was healed with the same speare that made it so the wound of chiding is to bee healed of him that made it Plut. in Moral As
matter whereof thou wast made As the first Adam lost honor by pursuing and following it so the second Adam got honor by auoiding and eschewing it As the Iron must first be well heated in the fire ere it can be wrought by the hammer and driuen out on the anuile so cannot thy fame and name be honorably enlarged til they haue first suffred the strokes of many temptations and past through the fire of piercing trials The purest wine gets soonest into the heade which makes a wise Lorde or ruler of seruantes when hee sees any of his followers seeke to disorder themselues with drinking of the best wine that they shall abate the strength therof with water euen so is the will of God when fauour of men and worldly regarde doe trouble the sences and ouermaister our wittes that they shoulde be qualified with the water of more prouident respect namely those blames defects which depend vpon them When Antiochus entred the Temple he tooke away the lights the candlestickes euen so worldly fauor no sooner enter into our thoughts but it extinguisheth al light of knowledge of our selues As things caried aloft by the winde the wind no sooner ceaseth but they fall to the ground so it fares with them who without desert and by the fauor of men are highlie promoted when fauor slacketh down fals their dignity in a miserable case is he that hath no better assurance As the snowe in summer and as raine in haruest are not meet so is honor vnseemly for a foole As euery crown doth not become euery conqueror so euery honour doth not become euery man Plut. As a great Colossus and a huge statue ill poised are easily subuerted so too much honor through enuy doth ouerthrow many Plut. They that heape honours and glory vpon an euill man do giue wine to one sicke of a feuer hony to one oppressed with choler and meat to one troubled with morbus coeliacus which encrease the disease of his mind that is his foolishnes Plut. Nobilitie AS faith is very rich but without works quite deade so nobility is good but if not accompanied with vertue most base and infamous Stella de contemptu mundi As of one roote springeth both the Rose and the brier so of one mother may descend both a bad sonne and a good for a man may bee borne of a noble byrth and yet himselfe become vile and dishonorable ibidem As in fertill earth growes the Hemlock which is a venemous and deadly hearbe and in the barren growes the pure gold so oftentimes out of honorable houses issues degenerate minds out of base Stockes proceeds valorous thoughts ibidem As hee is a foole who hauing at all no beauty in him will neuerthelesse extoll his own beauty and perfection euen so as foolish is hee that beleeues himselfe to bee noble not hauing any part of nobility in him As of a bitter roote many times comes sweete and pleasant fruite so from a poore race may issue some to bee famous and noble by the vertuous behauiour which afterward shall renowme them ibidem As grosse clowdes couer the sun Moon and Starres and robs men of their celestiall splendour so the vices of them that are vertuously descended obscure the worthie actions of their famous forgoers Ibidem As brickes take their beginning from clay so nobility tooke her beginning from obscure parentage Gregorius Nyssenus apud Antonium monachum in Melissa As it nothing profiteth a muddy riuer to haue sprung from a pure fountaine so it nothing helpeth vicious children to haue descended from noble houses Hector Pinâ— tus in cap. 16. Ezechiel As he that is born a foole is born a slaue so hee that is borne a wise man is noblie borne And therefore Antisthenes saide very well that nobilitye did foly and onelie consist in vertue and wisdome whereupon the Stoikes concluded that only wise men were noble men As estimation many times springs from the foolish opinion of the people and not from desert so doth nobility Lodo. Viues in introductione ad Sapientiam cap. 3. As little Crab fishes do hide themselues in great empty shels that they may bee the more safe so some distrusting their own strength and vertue do protect themselues vnder the noble titles of their auncestors Erasmus As no bird can looke against the sunne but those that be bred of the Eagle neither any Hawke soare so high as the broode of the Hobby so for the most part none haue true sparks of heroicke maiestie but those that are descended from noble races As the wine that runneth on the lees is not therefore to be accompted neate because it was drawne of the same peece or as the water that springeth from the fountaynes heade and floweth into the filthie channell is not to bee called cleare because it came of the same streame so neyther is hee that descendeth of noble parentage if he desist from noble deedes to be esteemed a Gentleman in that he issued from the loynes of a noble Syre for that he obscureth the parents hee came of and discrediteth his owne estate The pure Corall is chosen as well by his vertue as his colour a king is knowne better by his courage then his crowne so a right Gentleman is sooner seene by the tryall of his vertue then blasing of his armes The Rose that is eaten with the Canker is not gathered because it groweth on that stalke that the sweet doth neither was Helen made a starre because shee came of that Egge with Castor so neither is he a true Gentleman that hath nothing to commend him but the nobilitie of his ancestours As it is a signe of true honour and nobilitie to reproue sinne so to renounce it is the part of honestie As no Thersites could bee transformed into Vlysses so no Alexander coulde bee couched in Damocles A good name FIre once kindled is easily kept but being extinct it is hardlie rekindled so it is an easie thing to maintaine a good name but being once lost it is not so easilie recouered Plutarchus in Moralibus Shippes well repayed doe endure manie yeares so wee must continuallye adde something to the propagation of our good names least time and age eate them out ibidem As a shadow sometimes goeth before and sometimes commeth after so some forthwith doe get good report and some haue it not till after death but he later that it commeth it is wont to be the greater Seneca As the famous monuments called Obelisci were long time in making and reared with much adoe by reason of their hugenesse c exceeding weight but being once finished they continued manie ages so it is a hard thing to get a name of vertue and wisedome but being once gotten it is neuer extinguished As in verie great Obeliskes almost as much is builded vnder the earth as is aboue that they may stand vnmoueable so a firme and sound foundation is to bee laid for the continuance of a perpetuall name As