{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_44895/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_44895","id":"gutenberg_44895","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/44895","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Religion/Spirituality","Christian life","Christian life -- Quaker authors","Self-denial -- Early works to 1800"],"text":"Transcriber's note:\n\nText enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).\n\nSmall capital text has been replaced with all capitals.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: title page]\n\n\n\n\n  NO CROSS, NO CROWN:\n\n  A DISCOURSE,\n\n  SHEWING THE NATURE AND DISCIPLINE\n\n  OF THE\n\n  HOLY CROSS OF CHRIST.\n\n  TO WHICH ARE ADDED,\n\n  The Living and Dying Testimonies\n\n  OF\n\n  MANY PERSONS OF FAME AND LEARNING,\n\n  BOTH\n\n  OF ANCIENT AND MODERN TIMES, IN FAVOUR OF\n\n  THIS TREATISE.\n\n  \"And Jesus said unto them all; If any man will come after me,\n  let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow\n  me.\"-- LUKE, ix. 23.\n\n  \"I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the\n  faith; henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness,\" &c.--2\n  TIM. iv. 7, 8.\n\n  IN TWO PARTS.\n\n  BY WILLIAM PENN.\n\n  A NEW EDITION, REVISED.\n\n  LONDON:\n  HARVEY & DARTON, GRACECHURCH STREET.\n\n  1842.\n\n\n\n\n  LONDON:\n\n  JOSEPH RICKERBY, PRINTER,\n  SHERBOURN LANE.\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE.\n\n\n  READER,\n\nThe great business of man's life, is to answer the end for which\nhe lives; and that is to glorify God and save his own soul: this\nis the decree of Heaven, as old as the world. But so it is, that\nman mindeth nothing less than what he should most mind; and\ndespiseth to inquire into his own being, its original duty and end;\nchoosing rather to dedicate his days (the steps he should make to\nblessedness) to gratify the pride, avarice, and luxury of his heart:\nas if he had been born for himself, or rather given himself being,\nand so not subject to the reckoning and judgment of a superior\npower. To this wild and lamentable pass hath poor man brought\nhimself by his disobedience to the law of God in his heart, by doing\nthat which he knows he should not do, and leaving undone what he\nknows he should do. And as long as this disease continueth upon man\nhe will make his God his enemy, and himself incapable of the love\nand salvation that He hath manifested, by his Son Jesus Christ, to\nthe world.\n\nIf, Reader, thou art such an one, my counsel to thee is, to retire\ninto thyself, and take a view of the condition of thy soul; for\nChrist hath given thee light with which to do it; search carefully\nand thoroughly; thy life is in it; thy soul is at stake. It is\nbut once to be done; if thou abuse thyself in it, the loss is\nirreparable; the world is not price enough to ransom thee: wilt thou\nthen, for such a world, belate thyself, overstay the time of thy\nsalvation, and lose thy soul? Thou hast to do, I grant thee, with\ngreat patience; but that also must have an end: therefore provoke\nnot that God that made thee, to reject thee. Dost thou know what\nit is? It is Tophet; it is hell, the eternal anguish of the damned.\nOh! Reader, as one knowing the terrors of the Lord, I persuade thee\nto be serious, diligent, and fervent about thy own salvation. Aye,\nand as one knowing the comfort, peace, joy, and pleasure of the\nways of righteousness too, I exhort and invite thee to embrace the\nreproofs and convictions of Christ's light and spirit in thine own\nconscience, and bear the judgment, who hast wrought the sin. The\nfire burns but the stubble: the wind blows but the chaff: yield up\nthe body, soul, and spirit to Him that maketh all things new: new\nheavens, and new earth, new love, new joy, new peace, new works,\na new life and conversation. Men are grown corrupt and drossy by\nsin, and they must be saved through fire, which purgeth it away:\ntherefore the word of God is compared to a fire, and the day of\nsalvation to an oven; and Christ himself to a refiner and purifier\nof silver.\n\nCome, Reader, hearken to me awhile; I seek thy salvation; that is\nmy plot; thou wilt forgive me. A refiner is come near thee, his\ngrace hath appeared unto thee: it shows thee the world's lusts, and\nteaches thee to deny them. Receive his leaven, and it will change\nthee: his medicine, and it will cure thee: he is as infallible as\nfree; without money, and with certainty. A touch of his garment did\nit of old: it will do it still: his virtue is the same, it cannot\nbe exhausted: for in him the fulness dwells; blessed be God for\nhis sufficiency. He laid help upon him, that he might be mighty\nto save all that come to God through him: do thou so, and he will\nchange thee: aye, thy vile body like unto his glorious body. He is\nthe great philosopher indeed; the wisdom of God, that turns lead\ninto gold, vile things into things precious: for he maketh saints\nout of sinners, and almost gods of men. What rests to us, then,\nthat we must do, to be thus witnesses of his power and love? This\nis the Crown: but where is the Cross? Where is the bitter cup and\nbloody baptism? Come, Reader, be like him; for this transcendant joy\nlift up thy head above the world; then thy salvation will draw nigh\nindeed.\n\nChrist's Cross is Christ's way to Christ's Crown. This is the\nsubject of the following Discourse; first written during my\nconfinement in the Tower of London, in the year 1668, now reprinted\nwith great enlargements of matter and testimonies, that thou,\nReader, mayest be won to Christ; and if won already, brought nearer\nto Him. It is a path, God, in his everlasting kindness, guided my\nfeet into, in the flower of my youth, when about twenty-two years of\nage: then He took me by the hand, and led me out of the pleasures,\nvanities, and hopes of the world. I have tasted of Christ's\njudgments and mercies, and of the world's frowns and reproaches: I\nrejoice in my experience, and dedicate it to thy service in Christ.\nIt is a debt I have long owed, and has been long expected: I have\nnow paid it, and delivered my soul. To my country, and to the world\nof Christians, I leave it: my God, if He please, make it effectual\nto them all, and turn their hearts from that envy, hatred, and\nbitterness, they have one against another, about worldly things;\nsacrificing humanity and charity to ambition and covetousness,\nfor which they fill the earth with trouble and oppression; that\nreceiving the Spirit of Christ into their hearts, the fruits of\nwhich are love, peace, joy, temperance, and patience, brotherly\nkindness and charity, they may in body, soul, and spirit, make a\ntriple league against the world, the flesh, and the devil, the\ncommon enemies of mankind; and having conquered them through a life\nof self-denial, by the power of the Cross of Jesus, they may at last\nattain to the eternal rest and kingdom of God.\n\n    So desireth, so prayeth,\n    Friendly Reader,\n    Thy fervent Christian Friend,\n\n    WILLIAM PENN.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS.\n\n\n  CHAPTERS I. AND II.--Page 1-23.\n\n  Of the Necessity of the daily bearing of the Cross of Christ.\n\n\n  CHAPTER III.--Page 24-28.\n\n  What the Cross of Christ is.\n\n\n  CHAPTER IV.--Page 29-42.\n\n  What the great Work of the Cross is.\n\n\n  CHAPTERS V. AND VI.--Page 43-74.\n\n  Of unlawful Self in Religion and Morality.\n\n\n  CHAPTERS VII. VIII. IX. X. XI. AND XII.--Page 75-149.\n\n  Of Pride, the first capital Lust, its Rise, Definition, and\n  Distinction.\n\n\n  CHAPTER XIII.--Page 150-167.\n\n  Of Avarice, the second capital Lust, its Definition and Distinction.\n\n\n  CHAPTERS XIV. XV. XVI. XVII. AND XVIII.--Page 168-229.\n\n  Of Luxury, what it is, and the Mischief of it to Mankind.\n\n\n  CHAPTER XIX.--Page 233-294.\n\n  The Testimonies of several great, learned, and virtuous Personages\n  among the Gentiles, urged against the excesses of the Age.\n\n\n  CHAPTER XX.--Page 295-324.\n\n  The Doctrine and Practice of the blessed Lord Jesus and his Apostles,\n  the primitive Christians, and those of more modern Times in\n  favour of the Discourse.\n\n\n  CHAPTER XXI.--Page 325-355.\n\n  The serious Apprehensions and Expressions of several aged and\n  dying Men of Fame and Learning.\n\n\n  CHAPTER XXII.--Page 356-365.\n\n  An Exhortation to all professing Christianity, to embrace the\n  foregoing Reasons and Examples.\n\n\n\n\nNO CROSS, NO CROWN.\n\n\n\n\nPART I.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\n     I. Of the necessity of the Cross of Christ in general; yet the\n     little regard Christians have to it.--2. The degeneracy of\n     Christendom from purity to lust, and moderation to excess.--3.\n     That worldly lusts and pleasures are become the care and study\n     of Christians, so that they have advanced upon the impiety\n     of infidels.--4. This defection a second part to the Jewish\n     tragedy, and worse than the first: the scorn Christians have\n     cast on their Saviour.--5. Sin is of one nature all the world\n     over; sinners are of the same church, the devil's children:\n     profession of religion in wicked men makes them but the\n     worse.--6. A wolf is not a lamb; a sinner cannot be, whilst\n     such, a saint.--7. The wicked will persecute the good; this,\n     false Christians have done to the true, for non-compliance\n     with their superstitions; the strange carnal measures false\n     Christians have taken of Christianity; the danger of that\n     self-seduction.--8. The sense of that has obliged me to make\n     this discourse for a dissuasive against the world's lusts, and\n     an invitation to take up the daily cross of Christ as the way\n     left us by him to blessedness.--9. Of the self-condemnation of\n     the wicked; that religion and worship are comprised in doing the\n     will of God. The advantage good men have over bad men in the\n     last judgment.--10. A supplication for Christendom, that she\n     may not be rejected in that great assize of the world. She is\n     exhorted to consider what relation she bears to Christ; if her\n     Saviour, how saved, and from what: what her experience is of\n     that great work. That Christ came to save from sin and wrath by\n     consequence; not to save men in sin, but from it, and so from\n     the wages of it.\n\n\nI. Though the knowledge and obedience of the doctrine of the cross\nof Christ be of infinite moment to the souls of men, for that is\nthe only door to true Christianity, and that path the ancients ever\ntrod to blessedness; yet, with extreme affliction let me say, it\nis so little understood, so much neglected, and what is worse, so\nbitterly contradicted by the vanity, superstition, and intemperance\nof professed Christians, that we must either renounce to believe\nwhat the Lord Jesus hath told us, that whosoever doth not bear his\ncross, and come after him, cannot be his disciple; (Luke, xiv. 27;)\nor, admitting that for truth, conclude, that the generality of\nChristendom do miserably deceive and disappoint themselves in the\ngreat business of Christianity, and their own salvation.\n\nII. For, let us be never so tender and charitable in the survey\nof those nations that entitle themselves to any interest in the\nholy name of Christ, if we will but be just too, we must needs\nacknowledge, that after all the gracious advantages of light, and\nobligations to fidelity, which these latter ages of the world\nhave received by the coming, life, doctrine, miracles, death,\nresurrection, and ascension of Christ, with the gifts of his\nHoly Spirit; to which add the writings, labours, and martyrdom\nof his dear followers in all times, there seems very little\nleft of Christianity but the name; which being now usurped by\nthe old heathen nature and life, makes the professors of it but\ntrue heathens in disguise. For though they worship not the same\nidols, they worship Christ with the same heart: and they can never\ndo otherwise, whilst they live in the same lusts. So that the\nunmortified Christian and the heathen are of the same religion. For\nthough they have different objects to which they do direct their\nprayers, that adoration in both is but forced and ceremonious, and\nthe deity they truly worship is the god of the world, the great\nlord of lusts: to him they bow with the whole powers of soul and\nsense. What shall we eat? What shall we drink? What shall we wear?\nAnd how shall we pass away our time? Which way may we gather\nwealth, increase our power, enlarge our territories, and dignify\nand perpetuate our names and families in the earth? Which base\nsensuality is most pathetically expressed and comprised by the\nbeloved Apostle John, in these words: \"The lust of the flesh, the\nlust of the eyes, and the pride of life,\" which, says he, \"are not\nof the Father, but of the world, that lieth in wickedness.\" (1 John,\nii. 16.)\n\nIII. It is a mournful reflection, but a truth no confidence can\nbe great enough to deny, that these worldly lusts fill up the\nstudy, care, and conversation of wretched Christendom! and, which\naggravates the misery, they have grown with time. For as the world\nis older, it is worse; and the examples of former lewd ages, and\ntheir miserable conclusions, have not deterred, but excited ours; so\nthat the people of this seem improvers of the old stock of impiety,\nand have carried it so much further than example, that instead of\nadvancing in virtue upon better times, they are scandalously fallen\nbelow the life of heathens. Their high-mindedness, lasciviousness,\nuncleanness, drunkenness, swearing, lying, envy, backbiting,\ncruelty, treachery, covetousness, injustice, and oppression, are\nso common, and committed with such invention and excess, that they\nhave stumbled and embittered infidels to a degree of scorning that\nholy religion, to which their good example should have won their\naffections.\n\nIV. This miserable defection from primitive times, when the glory\nof Christianity was the purity of its professors, I cannot but call\nthe second and worst part of the Jewish tragedy upon the blessed\nSaviour of mankind. For the Jews, from the power of ignorance, and\nthe extreme prejudice they were under to the unworldly way of his\nappearance, would not acknowledge him when he came, but for two or\nthree years persecuted, and finally crucified him in one day. But\nthe false Christians' cruelty lasts longer: they have first, with\nJudas, professed him, and then, for these many ages, most basely\nbetrayed, persecuted, and crucified him, by a perpetual apostasy in\nmanners, from the self-denial and holiness of his doctrine; their\nlives giving the lie to their faith. These are they that the author\nof the epistle to the Hebrews tells us, \"Crucify to themselves\nthe Son of God afresh, and put him to open shame:\" (Heb. vi. 6:)\nwhose defiled hearts John in his Revelation styles, \"The streets\nof Sodom and Egypt, spiritually so called, where also our Lord\nwas crucified.\" (Rev. xi. 8.) And as Christ said of old, a man's\nenemies are those of his own house, so Christ's enemies now are\nchiefly those of his own profession; they spit upon him, they nail\nand pierce him, they crown him with thorns, and give him gall and\nvinegar to drink. (Matt. xxvii. 34.) Nor is it hard to apprehend;\nfor they that live in the same evil nature and principle the Jews\ndid, that crucified him outwardly, must needs crucify him inwardly;\nsince they that reject the grace now in their own hearts, are one in\nstock and generation with the hard-hearted Jews, that resisted the\ngrace that then appeared in and by Christ.\n\nV. Sin is of one nature all the world over; for though a liar is\nnot a drunkard, nor a swearer a whoremonger, nor either properly\na murderer, yet they are all of a church; all branches of the one\nwicked root; all of kin. They have but one father, the devil, as\nChrist said to the professing Jews, the visible church of that age:\nhe slighted their claims to Abraham and Moses, and plainly told them\n\"That he that committed sin, was the servant of sin.\" (John, viii.\n34, 35.) They did the devil's works, and therefore were the devil's\nchildren. The argument will always hold upon the same reasons, and\ntherefore good still: \"His servants ye are,\" saith Paul, \"whom ye\nobey:\" (Rom. vi. 16:) and saith John to the church of old, \"Let no\nman deceive you; he that committeth sin is of the devil.\" (1 John,\niii. 7, 8.) Was Judas ever the better Christian for crying, Hail,\nMaster, and kissing Christ? By no means; they were the signal of\nhis treachery; the tokens given by which the bloody Jews should\nknow and take him. He called him Master, but betrayed him; he\nkissed, but sold him to be killed; this is the upshot of the false\nChristians' religion. If a man ask them, Is Christ your Lord? they\nwill cry, God forbid else: yes, he is our Lord. Very well; but do\nyou keep his commandments? No, how should we? How then are you his\ndisciples? It is impossible, say they. What! would you have us keep\nhis commandments? No man can. What! impossible to do that without\nwhich Christ hath made it impossible to be a Christian? Is Christ\nunreasonable? Does he reap where he has not sown? Require where he\nhas not enabled? Thus it is, that with Judas they call him Master,\nbut take part with the evil of the world to betray him; and kiss\nand embrace him as far as a specious profession goes; and then sell\nhim, to gratify the passion that they most indulge. Thus as God said\nof old, they make him serve with their sins and for their sins too.\n(Isa. xliii. 24.)\n\nVI. Let no man deceive his own soul; \"grapes are not gathered of\nthorns, nor figs of thistles:\" (Matt. vii. 16:) a wolf is not a\nsheep, nor is a vulture a dove. What form, people, or church soever\nthou art of, it is the truth of God to mankind, that they which have\neven the form of godliness, but by their unmortified lives, deny the\npower thereof, make not the true, but false church: which, though\nshe entitle herself the Lamb's bride, or church of Christ, (Rev.\nxvii. 5,) she is that mystery, or mysterious Babylon, fitly called\nby the Holy Ghost, the mother of harlots and all abominations:\nbecause degenerated from Christian chastity and purity, into all\nthe enormities of heathen Babylon; a sumptuous city of old time,\nmuch noted for the seat of the kings of Babylon, and at that time\nthe place in the world of the greatest pride and luxury. As she was\nthen, so mystical Babylon is now the great enemy of God's people.\n\nVII. True it is, They that are born of the flesh, hate and persecute\nthem that are born of the spirit, who are the circumcision in heart.\nIt seems they cannot own nor worship God after her inventions,\nmethods, and prescriptions, nor receive for doctrine her vain\ntraditions, any more than they can comply with her corrupt fashions\nand customs in their conversation. The case being thus, from an\napostate she becomes a persecutor. It is not enough that she herself\ndeclines from ancient purity, others must do so too. She will give\nthem no rest that will not partake with her in that degeneracy,\nor receive her mark. Are any wiser than she, than mother church?\nNo, no: nor can any make war with the beast she rides upon,\nthose worldly powers that protect her, and vow their maintenance\nagainst the cries of her dissenters. Apostasy and superstition are\never proud and impatient of dissent: all must conform or perish.\nTherefore the slain witnesses, and blood of the souls under the\naltar, (Rev. vi. 9,) are found within the walls of this mystical\nBabylon, this great city of false Christians, and are charged upon\nher, by the Holy Ghost in the Revelation. Nor is it strange that she\nshould slay the servants who first crucified the Lord: but strange\nand barbarous too, that she should kill her husband and murder\nher Saviour; titles she seems so fond of, and that have been so\nprofitable to her; and that she would recommend herself by, though\nwithout all justice. But her children are reduced so entirely under\nthe dominion of darkness, by means of their continued disobedience\nto the manifestation of the divine light in their souls, that they\nforget what man once was, or they should now be; and know not\ntrue and pure Christianity when they meet it; yet pride themselves\nupon professing it. Their measures are so carnal and false about\nsalvation, they call good evil, and evil good; they make a devil\na Christian, and a saint a devil. So that though the unrighteous\nlatitude of their lives be matter of lamentation, as to themselves\nit is of destruction; yet that common apprehension, that they may\nbe children of God, while in a state of disobedience to his holy\ncommandments; and disciples of Jesus, though they revolt from his\ncross, and members of his true church, which is without spot or\nwrinkle, notwithstanding their lives are full of spots and wrinkles;\nis, of all other deceptions upon themselves, the most pernicious to\ntheir eternal condition. For they are at peace in sin, and under\na security in their transgression. Their vain hope silences their\nconvictions, and overlays all tender motions to repentance; so that\ntheir mistake about their duty to God is as mischievous as their\nrebellion against him.\n\nThus they walk on precipices, and flatter themselves, till the grave\nswallows them up, and the judgments of the great God break their\nlethargy, and undeceive their poor wretched souls with the anguish\nof the wicked, as the reward of their work.\n\nVIII. This has been, is, and will be the doom of all worldly\nChristians: an end so dreadful, that if there were nothing of duty\nto God, or obligation to men, being a man, and one acquainted with\nthe terrors of the Lord in the way and work of my own salvation,\ncompassion alone were sufficient to excite me to this dissuasive\nagainst the world's superstitions and lusts, and to invite the\nprofessors of Christianity to the knowledge and obedience of the\ndaily cross of Christ, as the alone way, left by him, and appointed\nus to blessedness; that they who now do but usurp the name may\nhave the thing; and by the power of the cross, to which they are\nnow dead, instead of being dead to the world by it, may be made\npartakers of the resurrection that is in Christ Jesus, unto newness\nof life. For they that are truly in Christ, that is, redeemed by,\nand interested in him, are new creatures. (Gal. vi. 15.) They have\nreceived a new will; such as does the will of God, not their own.\nThey pray in truth, and do not mock God, when they say, Thy will be\ndone on earth as it is in heaven. They have new affections; such\nas are set on things above, (Col. iii. 1, 2, 3,) and make Christ\ntheir eternal treasure. New faith; (1 John, 4, 5;) such as overcomes\nthe snares and temptations of the world's spirit in themselves,\nor as it appears through others: and lastly, new works; not of a\nsuperstitious contrivance, or of human invention, but the pure\nfruits of the Spirit of Christ working in them, as love, joy, peace,\nmeekness, long-suffering, temperance, brotherly-kindness, faith,\npatience, gentleness, and goodness, against which there is no law;\nand they that have not the Spirit of Christ, and walk not in it, the\napostle Paul has told us, are none of his; (Rom. viii. 9;) but the\nwrath of God, and condemnation of the law, will lie upon them. For\nif there is no condemnation to them that are in Christ; who walk not\nafter the flesh, but after the Spirit, which is Paul's doctrine;\nthey that walk not according to that Holy Spirit, by his doctrine,\nare not in Christ: that is, have no interest in him, nor just claim\nto salvation by him: and consequently there is condemnation to such.\n\nIX. And the truth is, the religion of the wicked is a lie: \"there\nis no peace, saith the prophet, to the wicked.\" (Isaiah, xlviii.\n22.) Indeed there can be none; they are reproved in their own\nconsciences, and condemned in their own hearts, in all their\ndisobedience. Go where they will, rebukes go with them, and\noftentimes terrors too: for it is an offended God that pricks\nthem, and who, by his light, sets their sins in order before them.\nSometimes they strive to appease him by their corporeal framed\ndevotion and worship, but in vain; for true worshipping of God\nis doing his will, which they transgress. The rest is a false\ncompliment, like him that said he would go, and did not. (Matt.\nxxi. 30.) Sometimes they fly to sports and company, to drown the\nreprover's voice, and blunt his arrows, to chase away troubled\nthoughts, and secure themselves out of the reach of the disquieter\nof their pleasures; but the Almighty, first or last, is sure to\novertake them. There is no flying his final justice, for those\nthat reject the terms of his mercy. Impenitent rebels to his law\nmay then call to the mountains, and run to the caves of the earth\nfor protection, but in vain. His all-searching eye will penetrate\ntheir thickest coverings, and strike up a light in that obscurity,\nwhich shall terrify their guilty souls; and which they shall never\nbe able to extinguish. Indeed, their accuser is with them, they\ncan no more be rid of him than of themselves; he is in the midst\nof them, and will stick close to them. That spirit which bears\nwitness with the spirits of the just will bear witness against\ntheirs. Nay, their own hearts will abundantly come in against them;\nand, \"if our hearts condemn us,\" saith the apostle John, \"God is\ngreater, and knows all things;\" (1 John iii. 20;) that is, there\nis no escaping the judgments of God, whose power is infinite, if\na man is not able to escape the condemnation of himself. It is at\nthat day proud and luxurious Christians shall learn that God is no\nrespecter of persons; that all sects and names shall be swallowed up\nin these two kinds, sheep and goats, just and unjust: and the very\nrighteous must have a trial for it; which made that holy man cry\nout, \"If the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly\nand the sinner appear?\" (1 Pet. iv. 18.) If their thoughts, words,\nand works must stand the test, and come under scrutiny before the\nimpartial Judge of heaven and earth, how then should the ungodly be\nexempted? No; we are told by him that cannot lie, many shall then\neven cry, Lord, Lord! set forth their profession, and recount the\nworks that they have done in his name, to make him propitious, and\nyet be rejected with this direful sentence, \"Depart from me, ye\nworkers of iniquity; I know you not.\" (Matt. vii. 23.) As if he had\nsaid, Get you gone, you evil doers; though you have professed me,\nI will not know you; your vain and evil lives have made you unfit\nfor my holy kingdom: get you hence, and go to the gods whom you\nhave served; your beloved lusts which you have worshipped, and the\nevil world that you have so much coveted and adored: let them save\nyou now, if they can, from the wrath to come upon you, which is the\nwages of the deeds you have done. Here is the end of their work that\nbuild upon the sand; the breath of the Judge will blow it down, and\nwoful will the fall thereof be. Oh, it is now that the righteous\nhave the better of the wicked! which made an apostate cry, in old\ntime, \"Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end\nbe like unto his.\" (Numb. xxiii. 10.) For the sentence is changed,\nand the Judge smiles; he casts the eye of love upon his own sheep,\nand invites them with \"Come, ye blessed of my Father,\" (Matt. xxv.\n34,) that through patient continuance in well-doing have long waited\nfor immortality; you have been the true companions of my tribulation\nand cross, and, with unwearied faithfulness, in obedience to my\nholy will, valiantly endured to the end, looking to me, the Author\nof your precious faith, for the recompense of reward that I have\npromised to them that love me, and faint not: O, enter ye into the\njoy of your Lord, and inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the\nfoundation of the world.\n\nX. O Christendom! my soul most fervently prays, that after all thy\nlofty profession of Christ, and his meek and holy religion, thy\nunsuitable and un-Christ-like life may not cast thee at that great\nassize of the world, and lose thee so great salvation at last. Hear\nme once, I beseech thee: can Christ be thy Lord, and thou not obey\nhim? or, canst thou be his servant, and never serve him? \"Be not\ndeceived, such as thou sowest shalt thou reap.\" (Gal. vi. 7.) He is\nnone of thy Saviour whilst thou rejectest his grace in thy heart, by\nwhich he should save thee. Come, what has he saved thee from? Has\nhe saved thee from thy sinful lusts, thy worldly affections, and\nvain conversations? If not, then he is none of thy Saviour. For,\nthough he be offered a Saviour to all, yet he is actually a Saviour\nto those only that are saved by him; and none are saved by him that\nlive in those evils by which they are lost from God, and which he\ncame to save them from.\n\nIt is sin that Christ is come to save man from, and death and wrath,\nas the wages of it; but those that are not saved, that is delivered,\nby the power of Christ in their souls, from the power that sin has\nhad over them, can never be saved from the death and wrath, that are\nthe assured wages of the sin they live in.\n\nSo that look how far people obtain victory over those evil\ndispositions and fleshly lusts, they have been addicted to, so far\nthey are truly saved, and are witnesses of the redemption that comes\nby Jesus Christ. His name shows his work: \"And thou shalt call his\nname JESUS, for he shall save his people from their sin.\" (Matt. i.\n21.) \"Behold,\" said John, of Christ, \"the Lamb of God that takes\naway the sins of the world.\" (John, i. 29.) That is, behold him whom\nGod hath given to enlighten people, and for salvation to as many as\nreceive him, and his light and grace in their hearts, and take up\ntheir daily cross and follow him; such as rather deny themselves the\npleasure of fulfilling their lusts than sin against the knowledge he\nhas given them of his will, or do that they know they ought not to\ndo.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\n     1. By this Christendom may see her lapse, how foul it is, and\n     next, the worse for her pretence to Christianity.--2. But there\n     is mercy with God upon repentance, and propitiation in the\n     blood of Jesus.--3. He is the light of the world that reproves\n     the darkness, that is, the evil of the world; and he is to be\n     known within.--4. Christendom, like the inn of old, is full of\n     other guests: she is advised to believe in, receive, and apply\n     to Christ.--5. Of the nature of true faith; it brings power\n     to overcome every appearance of evil: this leads to consider\n     the Cross of Christ, which has been so much wanted.--6. The\n     apostolic ministry, and end of it; its blessed effect; the\n     character of apostolic times.--7. The glory of the cross, and\n     its triumph over the heathen world. A measure to Christendom,\n     what she is not, and should be.--8. Her declension, and cause\n     of it.--9. The miserable effects that followed.--10. From the\n     consideration of the cause the cure may be more easily known,\n     viz., Not faithfully taking up the daily cross; then, faithfully\n     taking it daily up must be the remedy.\n\n\nI. By all which has been said, O Christendom! and by that better\nhelp, if thou wouldst use it, the lamp the Lord has lighted in thee,\nnot utterly extinct, it may evidently appear, first, how great and\nfull thy backsliding has been, who, from the temple of the Lord,\nart become a cage of unclean birds; and of a house of prayer, a\nden of thieves, a synagogue of Satan, and the receptacle of every\ndefiled spirit. Next, that under all this manifest defection, thou\nhast nevertheless valued thy corrupt self upon thy profession of\nChristianity, and fearfully deluded thyself with the hopes of\nsalvation. The first makes thy disease dangerous, but the last\nalmost incurable.\n\nII. Yet, because there is mercy with God that he may be feared,\nand that he takes no delight in the eternal death of poor sinners,\nno, though backsliders themselves, (Ezek. xviii. 20, 23, 24,) but\nis willing all should come to the knowledge and obedience of the\nTruth, and be saved, he hath set forth his Son a propitiation, and\ngiven him as a Saviour to take away the sins of the whole world,\nthat those that believe and follow him may feel the righteousness\nof God in the remission of their sins, and blotting out their\ntransgressions for ever. (Matt. i. 21; Luke i. 77; Rom. iii. 25;\nHeb. ix. 24 to 28; 1 John ii. 1, 2.) Now, behold the remedy! an\ninfallible cure, one of God's appointing; a precious elixir, indeed,\nthat never fails; and that universal medicine which no malady could\never escape.\n\nIII. But thou wilt say, What is Christ? and where is he to be\nfound? and how received and applied, in order to this mighty cure?\nI tell thee then, first, he is the great spiritual light of the\nworld that enlightens every one that comes into the world; by which\nhe manifests to them their deeds of darkness and wickedness, and\nreproves them for committing them. Secondly, he is not far away\nfrom thee, (Acts, xvii. 27.) as the apostle Paul said of God to the\nAthenians. \"Behold,\" says Christ himself, \"I stand at the door and\nknock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in\nto him, and sup with him, and he with me.\" (Rev. iii. 20.) What door\ncan this be but that of the heart of man?\n\nIV. Thou, like the inn of old, hast been full of guests; thy\naffections have entertained other lovers; there has been no room for\nthy Saviour in thy soul. Wherefore salvation is not yet come into\nthy house, though it is come to thy door, and thou hast been often\nproffered it, and hast professed it long. But if he calls, if he\nknocks still, that is, if his light yet shines, if it reproves thee\nstill, there is hope thy day is not over, and that repentance is\nnot yet hid from thine eyes; but his love is after thee still, and\nhis holy invitation continues to save thee.\n\nWherefore, O Christendom! believe, receive, and apply him rightly;\nthis is of absolute necessity, that thy soul may live for ever with\nhim. He told the Jews, \"If you believe not that I am he, ye shall\ndie in your sins; and whither I go ye cannot come.\" (John, viii.\n21, 24.) And because they believed him not, they did not receive\nhim, nor any benefit by him. But they that believed him received\nhim; and as many as received him, his own beloved disciple tells us,\n\"to them gave he power to become the sons of God, which are born\nnot of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man,\nbut of God.\" (John, i. 12, 13.) That is, who are not children of\nGod after the fashions, prescriptions, and traditions of men, that\ncall themselves his church and people, which is not after the will\nof flesh and blood, and the invention of carnal man, unacquainted\nwith the regeneration and power of the Holy Ghost, but of God; that\nis, according to his will and the working and sanctification of his\nSpirit and word of life in them. And such were ever well versed in\nthe right application of Christ, for he was made to them indeed\npropitiation, reconciliation, salvation, righteousness, redemption,\nand justification.\n\nSo I say to thee, unless thou believest that he that stands at the\ndoor of thy heart and knocks, and sets thy sins in order before\nthee, and calls thee to repentance, be the Saviour of the world,\nthou wilt die in thy sins, and where he is gone thou wilt never\ncome. For, if thou believest not in him, it is impossible that he\nshould do thee good, or effect thy salvation: Christ works not\nagainst faith, but by it. It is said of old, \"He did not many mighty\nworks in some places, because the people believed not in him.\"\n(John, i. 12, 13.) So that, if thou truly believest in him, thine\near will be attentive to his voice in thee, and the door of thine\nheart open to his knocks. Thou wilt yield to the discoveries of his\nlight, and the teachings of his grace will be very dear to thee.\n\nV. It is the nature of true faith to beget a holy fear of offending\nGod, a deep reverence to his precepts, and a most tender regard to\nthe inward testimony of his Spirit, as that by which his children\nin all ages have been safely led to glory. For, as they that truly\nbelieve receive Christ in all his tenders to the soul, so as true\nit is that those who receive him thus, with him receive power to\nbecome the sons of God: that is, an inward force and ability to do\nwhatever he requires; strength to mortify their lusts, controul\ntheir affections, resist evil motions, deny themselves, and overcome\nthe world in its most enticing appearances. This is the life of\nthe blessed Cross of Christ, which is the subject of the following\ndiscourse, and what thou, O man, must take up, if thou intendest\nto be the disciple of Jesus. Nor canst thou be said to receive\nChrist, or to believe in him, whilst thou rejectest his cross. For,\nas receiving of Christ is the means appointed of God to salvation,\nso bearing the daily cross after him is the only true testimony of\nreceiving him, and therefore it is enjoined by him as the great\ntoken of discipleship, \"If any man will come after me, let him deny\nhimself, and take up his cross, and follow me.\" (Matt. xvi. 24.)\n\nThis, Christendom, is that thou hast so much wanted, and the want\nof which has proved the only cause of thy miserable declension from\npure Christianity. To consider which well, as it is thy duty, so it\nis of great use to thy restoration.\n\nFor as the knowledge of the cause of any distemper guides the\nphysician to make a right and safe judgment in the application of\nhis medicine, so it will much enlighten thee in the way of thy\nrecovery, to know and weigh the first cause of this spiritual lapse\nand malady that has befallen thee. To do which, a general view of\nthy primitive estate, and consequently of their work that first\nlaboured in the Christian vineyard, will be needful; and if therein\nsomething be repeated, the weight and dignity of the subject will\nbear it, without the need of an apology.\n\nVI. The work of apostleship, we are told by a prime labourer in\nit, was to turn people \"from darkness to light, and from the power\nof Satan unto God.\" (Acts, xxvi. 18.) That is, instead of yielding\nto the temptations and motions of Satan, who is the prince of\ndarkness or wickedness, the one being a metaphor to the other, by\nwhose power their understandings were obscured, and their souls\nheld in the service of sin, they should turn their minds to the\nappearance of Christ, the Light and Saviour of the world; who by\nhis light shines in their souls, and thereby gives them a sight\nof their sins, and discovers every temptation and motion in them\nunto evil, and reproves them when they give way thereunto; that so\nthey might become the children of light, and walk in the path of\nrighteousness. And for this blessed work of reformation did Christ\nendue his apostles with his spirit and power, that so men might not\nlonger sleep in a security of sin and ignorance of God, but awake\nto righteousness, that the Lord Jesus might give them life; that\nis, that they might leave off sinning, deny themselves the pleasure\nof wickedness, and, by true repentance, turn their hearts to God\nin well doing, in which is peace. And truly God so blessed the\nfaithful labours of these poor mechanics, yet his great ambassadors\nto mankind, that in a few years many thousands that had lived\nwithout God in the world, without a sense or fear of him, lawlessly,\nvery strangers to the work of his Spirit in their hearts, being\ncaptivated by fleshly lusts, were inwardly struck and quickened by\nthe word of life, and made sensible of the coming and power of the\nLord Jesus Christ as a judge and lawgiver in their souls, by whose\nholy light and spirit the hidden things of darkness were brought\nto light and condemned, and pure repentance from those dead works\nbegotten in them, that they might serve the living God in newness of\nspirit. So that thenceforward they lived not to themselves, neither\nwere they carried away of those former divers lusts, by which they\nhad been seduced from the true fear of God; but \"the law of the\nspirit of life,\" (Rom. viii. 2,) by which they overcame the law of\nsin and death, was their delight, and therein did they meditate day\nand night. Their regard towards God was not taught by the precepts\nof men any longer, (Isaiah, xxix. 13,) but from the knowledge they\nhad received by his own work and impressions in their souls. They\nhad quitted their old masters, the world, the flesh, and the devil,\nand delivered up themselves to the holy guidance of the grace of\nChrist, that taught them to \"deny ungodliness and the world's lusts,\nand to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present life:\"\n(Tit. ii. 11, 12:) this is the cross of Christ indeed, and here is\nthe victory it gives to them that take it up; by this cross they\ndied daily to the old life they had lived, and by holy watchfulness\nagainst the secret motions of evil in their hearts they crushed\nsin in its conceptions, yea in its temptations. So that they, as\nthe apostle John advised them, \"kept themselves, that the evil one\ntouched them not.\" (1 John, v. 18.)\n\nFor the light, which Satan cannot endure, and with which Christ had\nenlightened them, discovered him in all his approaches and assaults\nupon the mind; and the power they received through their inward\nobedience to the manifestations of that blessed light, enabled them\nto resist and vanquish him in all his stratagems. And thus it was\nthat, where once nothing was examined, nothing went unexamined;\nevery thought must come to judgment, and the rise and tendency of\nit be also well approved, before they allowed it any room in their\nminds. There was no fear of entertaining enemies for friends, whilst\nthis strict guard was kept upon the very wicket of the soul. Now the\nold heavens and earth, that is, the old earthly conversation, and\nold carnal, that is Jewish or shadowy worship, passed away apace,\nand every day all things became new. He was no more a Jew that was\none outwardly, nor that circumcision that was in the flesh; but he\nwas the Jew that was one inwardly, and that circumcision which was\nof the heart, in the Spirit, and not in the letter, whose praise is\nnot of man, but of God. (Rom. ii. 28, 29.)\n\nVII. Indeed, the glory of the cross shined so conspicuously through\nthe self-denial of their lives who daily bore it, that it struck\nthe heathen with astonishment; and in a small time so shook their\naltars, discredited their oracles, struck the multitude, invaded the\ncourt, and overcame their armies, that it led priests, magistrates,\nand generals in triumph after it, as the trophies of its power and\nvictory.\n\nAnd, while this integrity dwelt with Christians, mighty was\nthe presence, and invincible that power that attended them; it\nquenched fire, daunted lions, turned the edge of the sword,\noutfaced instruments of cruelty, convicted judges, and converted\nexecutioners. (Heb. xi. 32, to the end; Isaiah, xliii. 2; Daniel,\niii. 12, to the end.) In fine, the way their enemies took to\ndestroy, increased them; and, by the deep wisdom of God, they who\nin all their designs endeavoured to extinguish the truth were made\ngreat promoters of it. (Dan. vi. 16, to the end.) Now, not a vain\nthought, not an idle word, not an unseemly action was permitted; no,\nnot an immodest look, no courtly dress, gay apparel, complimental\nrespects, or personal honours: much less those lewd immoralities\nand scandalous vices, now in vogue with Christians, could find\neither example or connivance among them. Their care was not how to\nsport away their precious time, but how to redeem it, (Eph. v. 15,\n16,) that they might have enough to work out their great salvation,\nwhich they carefully did, with fear and trembling: not with balls\nand masks, with playhouses, dancing, feasting, and gaming; no,\nno; to make sure of their heavenly calling and election was much\ndearer to them than the poor and trifling joys of mortality. For\nthey having, with Moses, seen him that is invisible, and found\nthat his loving-kindness was better than life, the peace of his\nSpirit than the favour of princes,--as they feared not C\u00e6sar's\nwrath,--so they chose rather to sustain the afflictions of Christ's\ntrue pilgrims than enjoy the pleasures of sin that were but for a\nseason; esteeming his reproaches of more value than the perishing\ntreasures of the earth. And if the tribulations of Christianity were\nmore eligible than the comforts of the world, and the reproaches\nof one than all the honour of the other, there was then surely no\ntemptations in it that could shake the integrity of Christendom.\n\nVIII. By this short draught of what Christendom was, thou mayest\nsee, O Christendom, what thou are not, and consequently what thou\noughtest to be. But how comes it that from a Christendom that was\nthus meek, merciful, self-denying, suffering, temperate, holy,\njust, and good, so like to Christ, whose name she bore, we find a\nChristendom now that is superstitious, idolatrous, persecuting,\nproud, passionate, envious, malicious, selfish, drunken, lascivious,\nunclean, lying, swearing, cursing, covetous, oppressing, defrauding,\nwith all other abominations known in the earth?\n\nI lay this down as the undoubted reason of this degeneracy, to wit,\nthe inward disregard of thy mind to the light of Christ shining\nin thee, that first showed thee thy sins and reproved them, and\nthat taught and enabled thee to deny and resist them. For as thy\nfear towards God, and holy abstinence from unrighteousness, was,\nat first, not taught by the precepts of men, but by that light\nand grace which revealed the most secret thoughts and purposes of\nthine heart, and searched the most inward parts, setting thy sins\nin order before thee, and reproving thee for them, not suffering\none unfruitful thought, word, or work of darkness to go unjudged;\nso when thou didst begin to disregard that light and grace, to be\ncareless of that holy watch that was once set up in thine heart, and\ndidst not keep sentinel there, as formerly, for God's glory and thy\nown peace, the restless enemy of man's good quickly took advantage\nof this slackness, and often surprised thee with temptations, whose\nsuitableness to thy inclinations made his conquest over thee not\ndifficult.\n\nIn short, thou didst omit to take up Christ's holy yoke, to bear\nthy daily cross; thou wast careless of thy affections, and kept\nno journal or check upon thy actions; but didst decline to audit\naccounts in thy own conscience, with Christ thy light, the great\nBishop of thy soul and Judge of thy works, whereby the holy fear\ndecayed and love waxed cold, vanity abounded, and duty became\nburdensome. Then up came formality, instead of the power of\ngodliness; superstition, in place of Christ's institution: and\nwhereas Christ's business was to draw on the minds of his disciples\nfrom an outward temple, and carnal rites and services, to the inward\nand spiritual worship of God, suitable to the nature of divinity, a\nworldly, human, pompous worship is brought in again, and a worldly\npriesthood, temple, and altar, are re-established. Now it was that\nthe sons of God once more saw the daughters of men were fair, (Gen.\nvi. 2,) that is, the pure eye grew dim, which repentance had opened,\nthat saw no comeliness out of Christ, and the eye of lust became\nunclosed again by the god of the world; and those worldly pleasures\nthat make such as love them forget God, though once despised for the\nsake of Christ, began now to recover their old beauty and interest\nin thy affections, and from liking them, to be the study, care, and\npleasure of thy life.\n\nTrue, there still remained the exterior forms of worship and a\nnominal and oral reverence to God and Christ, but that was all; for\nthe offence of the holy cross ceased, the power of godliness was\ndenied, self-denial lost, and, though fruitful in the invention\nof ceremonious ornaments, yet barren in the blessed fruits of the\nSpirit. And a thousand shells cannot make one kernel, or many dead\ncorpses one living man.\n\nIX. Thus religion fell from experience to tradition, and worship\nfrom power to form, from life to letter; and, instead of putting up\nlively and powerful requests, animated by a deep sense of want and\nthe assistance of the Holy Spirit,--by which the ancients prayed,\nwrestled, and prevailed with God,--behold a by-rote _mumpsimus_,\na dull and insipid formality, made up of corporeal bowings and\ncringings, garments and furnitures, perfumes, voices, and music,\nfitter for the reception of some earthly prince than the heavenly\nworship of the one true and immortal God, who is an eternal,\ninvisible Spirit.\n\nBut thy heart growing carnal, thy religion did so too; and, not\nliking it as it was, thou fashionedst it to thy liking: forgetting\nwhat the holy prophet said, \"The sacrifice of the wicked is an\nabomination to the Lord,\" (Prov. xv. 8,) and what St. James saith,\n\"Ye ask, and receive not.\" (James, iv. 3.) Why? \"Because ye ask\namiss;\" that is, with a heart that is not right, but insincere,\nunmortified, not in the faith that purifies the soul, and therefore\ncan never receive what is asked: so that a man may say with truth,\nthy condition is worse by thy religion, because thou art tempted to\nthink thyself better for it, and art not.\n\nX. Well; by this prospect that is given thee of thy foul fall from\nprimitive Christianity, and the true cause of it,--to wit, a neglect\nof the daily cross of Christ,--it may be easy for thee to inform\nthyself of the way of thy recovery.\n\nFor, look, at what door thou wentest out, at that door thou must\ncome in; and, as letting fall and forbearing the daily cross lost\nthee, so taking up and enduring the daily cross must recover thee.\nIt is the same way by which the sinners and apostates become the\ndisciples of Jesus. \"Whosoever,\" says Christ, \"will come after me\nand be my disciple, let him deny himself, and take up his daily\ncross and follow me.\" (Matthew, xvi. 24; Mark, viii. 34; Luke,\nxiv. 27.) Nothing short of this will do; mark that! for, as it is\nsufficient, so it is indispensable; no crown but by the cross, no\nlife eternal but through death; and it is but just that those evil\nand barbarous affections that crucified Christ afresh, should, by\nhis holy cross, be crucified.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\n     1. What the cross of Christ is. A figurative speech, but truly\n     the Divine power that mortifies the world.--2. It is so called\n     by the apostle Paul to the Corinthians.--3. Where it is the\n     cross appears, and must be borne? Within; where the lusts are,\n     there they must be crucified.--4. Experience teaches every\n     one this; to be sure Christ asserts it, from within comes\n     murder, &c., and that is the house where the strong man must be\n     bound.--5. How is the cross to be borne? The way is spiritual, a\n     denial of self, of the pleasure of sin; to please God, and obey\n     his will as manifested to the soul by the light He gives it.--6.\n     This shows the difficulty, yet the necessity of the cross.\n\n\nThe daily cross being then, and still, O Christendom! the way to\nglory, that the succeeding matter, which wholly relates to the\ndoctrine of it, may come with most evidence and advantage upon thy\nconscience it is most seriously to be considered by thee,--\n\nFirst, What the cross of Christ is?\n\nSecondly, Where the cross of Christ is to be taken up?\n\nThirdly, How, and after what manner it is to be borne?\n\nFourthly, What is the great work and business of the cross? In\nwhich, the sins it crucifies, with the mischiefs that attend them,\nwill be at large expressed.\n\nFifthly and lastly, I shall add many testimonies from living and\ndying persons of great reputation, either for their quality,\nlearning, or piety, as a general confirmation of the whole tract.\n\nTo the first, What is the cross of Christ?\n\nI. The cross of Christ is a figurative speech, borrowed from the\noutward tree, or wooden cross, on which Christ submitted to the will\nof God, suffering death at the hands of evil men. So that the cross\nmystical is that Divine grace and power which crosseth the carnal\nwills of men, and gives a contradiction to their corrupt affections,\nand that constantly opposeth itself to the inordinate and fleshly\nappetite of their minds, and so may be justly termed the instrument\nof man's wholly dying to the world, and being made conformable\nto the will of God. For nothing else can mortify sin, or make it\neasy for us to submit to the Divine will in things otherwise very\ncontrary to their own.\n\nII. The preaching of the cross, therefore, in primitive times was\nfitly called by Paul, that famous and skilful apostle in spiritual\nthings, \"the power of God,\" though to them that perish, then, as\nnow, \"foolishness.\" That is, to those that were truly weary and\nheavy laden, and needed a deliverer, to whom sin was burdensome\nand odious, the preaching of the cross, by which sin was to be\nmortified, was, as to them, the power of God, or a preaching of\nthe Divine power by which they were made disciples of Christ and\nchildren of God; and it wrought so powerfully upon them that no\nproud nor licentious mockers could put them out of love with it.\nBut to those that walked in the broad way, in the full latitude of\ntheir lusts, and dedicated their time and care to the pleasure of\ntheir corrupt appetites, to whom all yoke and bridle were and are\nintolerable, the preaching of the cross was and is foolishness.\n\nIII. Well: but then where does this cross appear, and where must it\nbe taken up?\n\nI answer, within: that is, in the heart and soul; for where the\nsin is, the cross must be. Now all evil comes from within: this\nChrist taught: \"From within,\" saith Christ, \"out of the heart of man\nproceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts,\ncovetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye,\nblasphemy, pride, foolishness: all these evils come from within, and\ndefile the man.\" (Mark, vii. 21, 22, 23.)\n\nThe heart of man is the seat of sin, and where he is defiled he must\nbe sanctified; and where sin lives, there it must die: it must be\ncrucified. Custom in evil hath made it natural to men to do evil;\nand as the soul rules the body, so the corrupt nature sways the\nwhole man: but still, it is all from within.\n\nIV. Experience teaches every son and daughter of Adam to assent to\nthis; for the enemy's temptations are ever directed to the mind,\nwhich is within: if they take not, the soul sins not; if they are\nembraced, lust is presently conceived, that is, inordinate desires;\nlust conceived, brings forth sin; and sin finished, that is, acted,\nbrings forth death. (James, v. 15.) Here is both the cause and the\neffect, the very genealogy of sin, its rise and end.\n\nIn all this, the heart of evil man is the devil's mint, his\nwork-house, the place of his residence, where he exercises his\npower and art. And therefore the redemption of the soul is aptly\ncalled the destruction of the works of the devil, and bringing in of\neverlasting righteousness. (1 John, iii. 8.; Dan. ix. 24.) When the\nJews would have defamed Christ's miracle of casting out devils, by a\nblasphemous imputation of it to the power of Beelzebub, he says that\n\"no man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods,\ntill he first bind the strong man.\" (Matt. xii. 29.) Which, as it\nshows the contrariety that was between Beelzebub and the power by\nwhich he dispossessed him, so it teaches us to know that the souls\nof the wicked are the devil's house, and that his goods, his evil\nworks, can never be destroyed till first he that wrought them, and\nkeeps the house, be bound. All which makes it easy to know where the\ncross must be taken up, by which alone the strong man must be bound,\nhis goods spoiled, and his temptations resisted, that is, within, in\nthe heart of man.\n\nV. But in the next place, how and in what manner is the cross to be\ndaily borne?\n\nThe way, like the cross, is spiritual: that is an inward submission\nof the soul to the will of God, as it is manifested by the light of\nChrist in the consciences of men, though it be contrary to their own\ninclinations. For example: when evil presents, that which shows the\nevil does also tell them they should not yield to it; and if they\nclose with its counsel, it gives them power to escape it. But they\nthat look and gaze upon the temptation, at last fall in with it, and\nare overcome by it; the consequence of which is guilt and judgment.\nTherefore, as the cross of Christ is that spirit and power in men,\nthough not of men, but of God, which crosseth and reproveth their\nfleshly lusts and affections; so the way of taking up the cross is\nan entire resignation of soul to the discoveries and requirings\nof it: not to consult their worldly pleasure, or carnal ease, or\ninterest, for such are captivated in a moment, but continually to\nwatch against the very appearances of evil, and by the obedience of\nfaith, that is, of true love to, and confidence in God, cheerfully\nto offer up to the death of the cross, that evil part, that Judas\nin themselves, which, not enduring the heat of the siege, and being\nimpatient in the hour of temptation, would, by its near relation to\nthe tempter, more easily betray their souls into his hands.\n\nVI. O this shows to every one's experience how hard it is to be a\ntrue disciple of Jesus! the way is narrow indeed, and the gate very\nstrait, where not a word, no not a thought must slip the watch, or\nescape judgment; such circumspection, such caution, such patience,\nsuch constancy, such holy fear and trembling. This gives an easy\ninterpretation to that hard saying, \"Flesh and blood cannot inherit\nthe kingdom of God;\" (Matt. xxiv. 42; xxv. 13; xxvi. 38, 42;) those\nthat are captivated with fleshly lusts and affections: for they\ncannot bear the cross; and they that cannot endure the cross must\nnever have the crown. To reign, it is necessary first to suffer.\n(Phil. ii. 12; 1 Cor. xv. 50.)\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\n     1. What is the great work of the cross? The answer to this is\n     of great moment.--2. The work of the cross is self-denial.--3.\n     What was the cup and cross of Christ?--4. What is our cup and\n     cross?--5. Our duty is to follow Christ as our captain.--6.\n     Of the distinction in self, a lawful and unlawful self.--7.\n     What the lawful self is.--8. That it is to be denied in some\n     cases by Christ's doctrine and example.--9. By the Apostle's\n     pattern.--10. The danger of preferring lawful self above our\n     duty to God.--11. The reward of self-denial an excitement to\n     it.--12. This doctrine as old as Abraham.--13. His obedience\n     of faith memorable.--14. Job a great instance of self-denial,\n     his contentment.--15. Moses also a mighty example, his neglect\n     of Pharaoh's court.--16. His choice.--17. The reason of it,\n     viz. the recompense of reward.--18. Isaiah no inconsiderable\n     instance, who of a courtier, became a holy prophet.--19. These\n     instances concluded with that of holy Daniel, his patience and\n     integrity, and the success they had upon the king.--20. There\n     might be many mentioned to confirm this blessed doctrine.--21.\n     All must be left for Christ, as men would be saved.--22. The\n     way of God is a way of faith and self-denial.--23. An earnest\n     supplication and exhortation to all, to attend upon these things.\n\n\nBut fourthly, What is the great work and business of the cross\nrespecting man?\n\nAnsw. I. This indeed is of that mighty moment to be truly, plainly,\nand thoroughly answered, that all that went before seems only to\nserve for preface to it; and miscarrying in it to be no less than\na misguidance of the soul about its way to blessedness. I shall\ntherefore pursue the question, with God's help, and the best\nknowledge He hath given me in the experience of several years'\ndiscipleship.\n\nII. The great work and business of the cross of Christ in man\nis self-denial; a word of as much depth in itself as of sore\ncontradiction to the world, little understood but less embraced by\nit, yet it must be borne for all that. The Son of God is gone before\nus, and, by the bitter cup He drank and the baptism He suffered, has\nleft us an example that we should follow in his steps; which made\nhim put that hard question to the wife of Zebedee and her two sons,\nupon her soliciting that one might sit at his right and the other at\nhis left hand in his kingdom, \"Are ye able to drink of the cup that\nI shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism I am baptized\nwith?\" It seems their faith was strong; they answered, \"We are\nable.\" Upon which he replied, \"Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and\nbe baptized with the baptism I am baptized with;\" but their reward\nhe left to his Father. (Matt. xx. 21, 22, 23.)\n\nIII. What was his cup he drank, and baptism he suffered? I answer,\nthey were the denial and offering up of himself by the eternal\nSpirit to the will of God, undergoing the tribulations of his life\nand agonies of his death upon the cross for man's salvation.\n\nIV. What is our cup and cross that we should drink and suffer? They\nare the denial and offering up of ourselves, by the same Spirit, to\ndo or suffer the will of God for his service and glory, which is\nthe true life and obedience of the cross of Jesus; narrow still,\nbut before an unbeaten way. For when there was none to help, not\none to open the seals, to give knowledge, to direct the course\nof poor man's recovery, He came in the greatness of his love and\nstrength; and though clothed with the infirmities of a mortal man,\nbeing within fortified with the almightiness of an immortal God, He\ntravelled through all the straits and difficulties of humanity, and\nfirst, of all others, trod the untrodden path to blessedness.\n\nV. O come! let us follow Him, the most unwearied, the most\nvictorious captain of our salvation; to whom all the great\nAlexanders and mighty C\u00e6sars of the world are less than the poorest\nsoldier of their camps could be to them. True, they were all great\nprinces of their kind, and conquerors too, but on very different\nprinciples. For Christ made himself of no reputation, to save\nmankind; but these plentifully ruined people to augment theirs. They\nvanquished others, not themselves; Christ conquered self, that ever\nvanquished them; of merit therefore the most excellent Prince and\nConqueror. Besides, they advanced their empire by rapine and blood,\nbut He by suffering and persuasion; He never by compulsion, they\nalways by force prevailed. Misery and slavery followed all their\nvictories, his brought greater freedom and felicity to those he\novercame. In all they did they sought to please themselves; in all\nHe did he aimed to please his Father, who is King of kings and Lord\nof lords.\n\nIt is this most perfect pattern of self-denial we must follow, if\never we will come to glory; to do which let us consider self-denial\nin its true distinction and extent.\n\nVI. There is a lawful and unlawful self: and both must be denied\nfor the sake of him, who in submission to the will of God counted\nnothing dear that he might save us. And, though the world be\nscarcely in any part of it at that pass as yet to need that\nlesson of the denial of lawful self, that every day most greedily\nsacrifices to the pleasure of unlawful self; yet to take the whole\nthing before me, and for that it may possibly meet with some that\nare so far advanced in this spiritual warfare as to receive some\nservice from it, I shall at least touch upon it.\n\nVII. The lawful self which we are to deny, is that conveniency,\nease, enjoyment, and plenty, which in themselves are so far from\nbeing evil, that they are the bounty and blessings of God to us, as\nhusband, wife, child, house, land, reputation, liberty, and life\nitself; these are God's favours, which we may enjoy with lawful\npleasure and justly improve as our honest interest. But when God\nrequires them, at what time soever the lender calls for them or\nis pleased to try our affections by our parting with them; I say,\nwhen they are brought in competition with him, they must not be\npreferred, they must be denied. Christ himself descended from the\nglory of his Father, and willingly made himself of no reputation\namong men, that he might make us of some with God; and, from the\nquality of thinking it no robbery to be equal with God, he humbled\nhimself to the poor form of a servant; yea, the ignominious death of\nthe cross. (Phil. ii. 5, 6, 7, 8.)\n\nVIII. It is the doctrine he teaches us in these words, \"He that\nloveth father or mother, son or daughter, more than me, is not\nworthy of me.\" (Matt. x. 37.) Again, \"Whoever he be of you that\nforsaketh not all that he hath, cannot be my disciple.\" (Luke, xiv.\n33.) And he plainly told the young rich man that if he would have\neternal life, he should sell all and follow him; (Mark, x. 21, 22;)\na doctrine sad to him as it is to those that, like him, for all\ntheir high pretences to religion, in truth love their possessions\nmore than Christ. This doctrine of self-denial is the condition\nto eternal happiness, \"He that will come after me, let him deny\nhimself, and take up his cross and follow me.\" (Matt. xvi. 24.)\n\nIX. This made those honest fishermen quit their lawful trades and\nfollow him, when he called them to it, and others that waited for\nthe consolation of Israel to offer up their estates, reputations,\nliberties, and also lives, to the displeasure and fury of their\nkindred and the government they lived under for the spiritual\nadvantage that accrued to them by their faithful adherence to his\nholy doctrine. True, many would have excused their following him in\nthe parable of the feast: some had bought land, some had married\nwives, and others had bought yokes of oxen, and could not come;\n(Luke, xiv. 18, 19, 20;) that is, an immoderate love of the world\nhindered them: their lawful enjoyments, from servants became their\nidols; they worshipped them more than God, and would not quit them\nto come to God. But this is recorded to their reproach; and we may\nherein see the power of self upon the worldly man, and the danger\nthat comes to him by the abuse of lawful things. What, thy wife\ndearer to thee than thy Saviour! and thy land and oxen preferred\nbefore thy soul's salvation! O beware, that thy comforts prove not\nsnares first, and then curses: to overrate them, is to provoke him\nthat gave them to take them away again: come, and follow him that\ngiveth life eternal to the soul.\n\nX. Woe to them that have their hearts in their earthly possessions!\nfor when they are gone, their heaven is gone with them. It is too\nmuch the sin of the greatest part of the world, that they stick\nin the comforts of it. And it is lamentable to behold how their\naffections are bemired and entangled with their conveniencies and\naccommodations in it. The true self-denying man is a pilgrim; but\nthe selfish man is an inhabitant of the world: the one uses it, as\nmen do ships, to transport themselves or tackle in a journey, that\nis, to get home; the other looks no further, whatever he prates,\nthan to be fixed in fulness and ease here, and likes it so well,\nthat if he could, he would not exchange. However, he will not\ntrouble himself to think of the other world, till he is sure he must\nlive no longer in this: but then, alas! it may prove too late; not\nto Abraham, but to Dives he may go; the story is as true as sad.\n\nXI. But on the other hand, it is not for nought that the disciples\nof Jesus deny themselves; and indeed, Christ himself had the eternal\njoy in his eye: \"For the joy that was set before him,\" says the\nauthor to the Hebrews, \"he endured the cross;\" (Heb. xii. 2;) that\nis, he denied himself, and bore the reproaches and death of the\nwicked; and despised the shame, to wit, the dishonour and derision\nof the world. It made him not afraid nor shrink, he contemned it;\nand is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. And to their\nencouragement, and great consolation, when Peter asked him, what\nthey should have that had forsaken all to follow him, he answered\nthem, \"Verily I say unto you, that ye, which have followed me in\nthe regeneration, when the Son of Man shall sit on the throne of\nhis glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the\ntwelve tribes of Israel,\" (Matt. xix. 27-29,) that were then in an\napostacy from the life and power of godliness. This was the lot of\nhis disciples; the more immediate companions of his tribulations,\nand first messengers of his kingdom. But the next that follows is\nto all: and \"every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or\nsisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for\nmy name's sake, shall receive an hundred fold, and shall inherit\neverlasting life.\" It was this recompense of reward, this eternal\ncrown of righteousness, that in every age has raised, in the souls\nof the just, a holy neglect, yea, contempt of the world. To this is\nowing the constancy of the martyrs, as to their blood, the triumph\nof the Truth.\n\nXII. Nor is this a new doctrine; it is as old as Abraham. (Gen.\nxii.) In several most remarkable instances, his life was made up\nof self-denial. First, in quitting his own land, where we may well\nsuppose him settled in the midst of plenty, at least sufficiency:\nand why? Because God called him. Indeed this should be reason\nenough, but such is the world's degeneracy that in fact it is not:\nand the same act, upon the same inducement, in any now, though\npraised in Abraham, would be derided. So apt are people not to\nunderstand what they commend; nay, to despise those actions, when\nthey meet them in the people of their own times, which they pretend\nto admire in their ancestors.\n\nXIII. But he obeyed: the consequence was, that God gave him a mighty\nland. This was the first reward of his obedience. The next was, a\nson in his old age; and which greatened the blessing, after it had\nbeen, in nature, past the time of his wife's bearing of children.\n(Gen. xxii. 2.) Yet God called for his darling, their only child,\nthe joy of their age, the son of a miracle, and he upon whom the\nfulfilling of the promise made to Abraham did depend. For this\nson, I say, God called: a mighty trial: that which, one would have\nthought, might very well have overturned his faith, and stumbled\nhis integrity; at least have put him upon this dispute in himself.\nThis command is unreasonable and cruel; it is the tempter's, it\ncannot be God's. For, is it to be thought that God gave me a son to\nmake a sacrifice of him? that the father should be butcher of his\nonly child? Again, that he should require me to offer up the son of\nhis own promise, by whom his covenant is to be performed; this is\nincredible. I say, thus Abraham might naturally enough have argued,\nto withstand the voice of God, and indulge his great affections\nto his beloved Isaac. But good old Abraham, that knew the voice\nthat had promised him a son, had not forgotten to know it, when it\nrequired him back again; he disputes not, though it looked strange,\nand perhaps with some surprise and horror, as a man. He had learned\nto believe that God, that gave him a child by a miracle, could work\nanother to preserve or restore him. His affections could not balance\nhis duty, much less overcome his faith; for he received him in a way\nthat would let him doubt of nothing that God had promised to him.\n\nTo the voice of this Almightiness he bows, builds an altar, binds\nhis only son upon it, kindles the fire, and stretches forth his hand\nto take the knife: but the angel stopped the stroke: Hold, Abraham,\nthy integrity is proved. What followed? a ram served, and Isaac was\nhis again. This shows how little serves, where all is resigned,\nand how mean a sacrifice contents the Almighty, where the heart is\napproved. So that it is not the sacrifice that recommends the heart,\nbut the heart that gives the sacrifice acceptance.\n\nGod often touches our best comforts, and calls for that which we\nmost love, and are least willing to part with. Not that he always\ntakes it utterly away, but to prove the soul's integrity, to caution\nus from excesses, and that we may remember God, the author of those\nblessings we possess, and live loose to them. I speak my experience;\nthe way to keep our enjoyments is to resign them; and though that\nbe hard, it is sweet to see them returned, as Isaac was to his\nfather Abraham, with more love and blessing than before. O stupid\nworld! O worldly Christians; not only strangers, but enemies to this\nexcellent faith! and whilst so, the rewards of it you can never know.\n\nXIV. But Job presses hard upon Abraham: his self-denial also was\nvery signal. For when the messengers of his afflictions came thick\nupon him, one doleful story after another, till he was left almost\nas naked as when he was born; the first thing he did, he fell to\nthe ground, and worshipped that power, and kissed that hand that\nstripped him; so far from murmuring, that he concludes his losses\nof estate and children with these words: \"Naked came I out of my\nmother's womb, and naked shall I return: the Lord gave and the Lord\nhath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.\" (Job, i. 21.) O\nthe deep faith, patience, and contentment of this excellent man!\none would have thought this repeated news of ruin had been enough\nto have overset his confidence in God; but it did not; that stayed\nhim. But indeed he tells us why; his Redeemer lived; \"I know,\" says\nhe, \"that my Redeemer lives.\" (Job, xix. 25, 26.) And it appeared\nhe did; for he had redeemed him from the world: his heart was not\nin his worldly comforts: his hope lived above the joys of time and\ntroubles of mortality; not tempted by the one, nor shaken by the\nother; but firmly believed, that when after his skin worms should\nhave consumed his body, yet with his eyes he should see his God.\nThus was the heart of Job both submitted to and comforted in the\nwill of God.\n\nXV. Moses is the next great example in sacred story for remarkable\nself-denial, before the times of Christ's appearance in the\nflesh. He had been saved when an infant, by an extraordinary\nprovidence, and it seems, by what followed, for an extraordinary\nservice: Pharaoh's daughter, whose compassion was the means of his\npreservation, when the king decreed the slaughter of the Hebrew\nmales, (Exod. ii. 1, 10,) took him for her son, and gave him the\neducation of her father's court. His own graceful presence and\nextraordinary abilities, joined with her love for him, and interest\nin her father to promote him, must have rendered him, if not capable\nof succession, at least of being chief minister of affairs under\nthat wealthy and powerful prince. For Egypt was then what Athens and\nRome were after, the most famous for learning, art, and glory.\n\nXVI. But Moses, ordained for other work and guided by a higher\nprinciple, no sooner came to years of discretion, than the impiety\nof Egypt, and the oppressions of his brethren there, grew a burden\ntoo heavy for him to bear. And though so wise and good a man could\nnot want those generous and grateful acknowledgments, that became\nthe kindness of the king's daughter to him; yet he had also seen\nthat God that was invisible; (Heb. xi. 24-27;) and did not dare to\nlive in the ease and plenty of Pharaoh's house, whilst his poor\nbrethren were required to make brick without straw. (Exod. v. 7, 16.)\n\nThus the fear of the Almighty taking deep hold of his heart, he\nnobly refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, and\nchose rather a life of affliction, with the most despised and\noppressed Israelites, and to be the companion of their tribulations\nand jeopardies, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;\nesteeming the reproaches of Christ, which he suffered for making\nthat unworldly choice, greater riches than all the treasures of that\nkingdom.\n\nXVII. Nor was he so foolish as they thought him; he had reason on\nhis side; for it is said, he had an eye to the recompense of reward,\nhe did but refuse a lesser benefit for a greater. In this his wisdom\ntranscended that of the Egyptians; for they made the present world\ntheir choice, as uncertain as the weather, and so lost that which\nhas no end. Moses looked deeper, and weighed the enjoyments of this\nlife in the scales of eternity, and found they made no weight there.\nHe governed himself not by the immediate possession, but the nature\nand duration of the reward. His faith corrected his affections, and\ntaught him to sacrifice the pleasure of self, to the hope he had of\na future more excellent recompense.\n\nXVIII. Isaiah[1] was no inconsiderable instance of this blessed\nself-denial; who of a courtier became a prophet, and left the\nworldly interests of the one, for the faith, patience, and\nsufferings of the other. For his choice did not only lose him the\nfavour of men, but their wickedness, enraged at his integrity to\nGod, in his fervent and bold reproofs of them, made a martyr of him\nin the end, for they barbarously sawed him asunder in the reign of\nking Manasseh. Thus died that excellent man, and commonly called the\nEvangelical Prophet.\n\n  [1] Dorotheus in his Lives of the Prophets.\n\nXIX. I shall add, of many, one example more, and that is from\nthe fidelity of Daniel; a holy and wise young man, who when his\nexternal advantages came in competition with his duty to Almighty\nGod, relinquished them all; and instead of being solicitous how to\nsecure himself, as one minding nothing less, he was, to the utmost\nhazard of himself, most careful how to preserve the honour of God,\nby his fidelity to his will. And though at the first it exposed him\nto ruin, yet, as an instance of great encouragement to all that like\nhim will choose to keep a good conscience in an evil time, at last\nit advanced him greatly in the world; and the God of Daniel was made\nfamous and terrible through his perseverance even in the eyes of\nheathen kings.\n\nXX. What shall I say of all the rest, who counted nothing dear that\nthey might do the will of God, abandoned their worldly comforts,\nand exposed their ease and safety, as often as the heavenly vision\ncalled them,[2] to the wrath and malice of degenerate princes and an\napostate church? More especially Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Micah, who\nafter they had denied themselves, in obedience to the divine voice,\nsealed their testimony with their blood.\n\n  [2] Dorotheus in his Lives of the Prophets.\n\nThus was self-denial the practice and glory of the ancients, that\nwere predecessors to the coming of Christ in the flesh: and shall\nwe hope to go to heaven without it now, when our Saviour himself is\nbecome the most excellent example of it? and that not as some would\nfain have it, viz. for us, that we need not; (1 Peter, ii. 21;) but\nfor us, that we might deny ourselves, and so be the true followers\nof his blessed example.\n\nXXI. Whoever therefore thou art that wouldst do the will of\nGod, but faintest in thy desires, from the opposition of worldly\nconsiderations, remember I tell thee, in the name of Christ, that\nhe that prefers father or mother, sister or brother, wife or child,\nhouse or land, reputation, honour, office, liberty, or life, before\nthe testimony of the light of Jesus, in his own conscience, shall be\nrejected of him in the solemn and general inquest upon the world,\nwhen all shall be judged, and receive according to the deeds done,\nnot the profession made, in this life. It was the doctrine of Jesus,\nthat if thy right hand offend thee, thou must cut it off; and if thy\nright eye offend thee, thou must pluck it out: (Matt. v. 29, 30:)\nthat is, if the most dear, the most useful and tender comforts thou\nenjoyest, stand in thy soul's way, and interrupt thy obedience to\nthe voice of God, and thy conformity to his holy will revealed in\nthy soul, thou art engaged, under the penalty of damnation, to part\nwith them.\n\nXXII. The way of God is a way of faith, as dark to sense, as mortal\nto self. It is the children of obedience, who count, with holy Paul,\nall things dross and dung, that they may win Christ, and know and\nwalk in this narrow way. Speculation will not do, nor can refined\nnotions enter; the obedient only eat the good of this land. (Isaiah,\ni. 19.) They that do his will, says the blessed Jesus, shall know\nof my doctrine; (John, vii. 17;) them He will instruct. There is no\nroom for instruction, where lawful self is lord, and not servant.\nFor self cannot receive it; that which should is oppressed by self,\nfearful, and dare not. O! what will my father or mother say? How\nwill my husband use me? or finally, what will the magistrate do\nwith me? For though I have a most powerful persuasion, and clear\nconviction upon my soul, of this or that thing, yet considering how\nunmodish it is, what enemies it has, and how strange and singular I\nshall seem to them, I hope God will pity my weakness: if I sink, I\nam but flesh and blood; it may be hereafter He may better enable me;\nand there is time enough. Thus selfish, fearful man.\n\nBut deliberating is ever worst; for the soul loses in parley: the\nmanifestation brings power with it. Never did God convince people,\nbut, upon submission, he empowered them. He requires nothing without\ngiving ability to perform it: that were mocking, not saving men.\nIt is enough for thee to do thy duty, that God shows thee thy\nduty; provided thou closest with that light and spirit by which he\ngives thee that knowledge. They that want power, are such as do\nnot receive Christ in his convictions upon the soul, and such will\nalways want it; but such as do, they receive power, like those of\nold, to become the children of God, through the pure obedience of\nfaith.\n\nXXIII. Wherefore, let me beseech you, by the love and mercy of God,\nby the life and death of Christ, by the power of his Spirit, and\nthe hope of immortality, that you, whose hearts are established in\nyour temporal comforts, and so lovers of self, more than of these\nheavenly things, would let the time past suffice: that you would\nnot think it enough to be clear of such impieties, as too many are\nfound in, whilst your inordinate love of lawful things has defiled\nyour enjoyment of them, and drawn your hearts from the fear, love,\nobedience, and self-denial of a true disciple of Jesus. Turn about\nthen, and hearken to the still voice in thy conscience; it tells\nthee thy sins, and thy misery in them; it gives a lively discovery\nof the very vanity of the world, and opens to the soul some prospect\nof eternity, and the comforts of the just that are at rest. If thou\nadhere to this, it will divorce thee from sin and self: thou wilt\nsoon find, that the power of its charms exceeds that of wealth,\nhonour, and beauty of the world, and finally will give thee that\ntranquillity which the storms of time can never shipwreck nor\ndisorder. Here all thy enjoyments are blest, though small, yet\ngreat by that presence that is within them.\n\nEven in this world the righteous have the better of it, for they use\nthe world without rebuke, because they do not abuse it. They see and\nbless the hand that feeds, and clothes, and preserves them. And as\nby beholding him in all his works, they do not adore them, but him;\nso the sweetness of his blessings that gives them, is an advantage\nsuch have upon those that see him not. Besides, in their increase,\nthey are not lifted up, nor in their adversities are they cast down:\nand why? Because they are moderated in the one, and comforted in the\nother, by his divine presence.\n\nIn short, heaven is the throne, and the earth but the footstool of\nthat man that hath self under foot. And those that know that station\nwill not easily be moved; such learn to number their days, that they\nmay not be surprised with their dissolution; and to redeem their\ntime, because their days are evil; (Ephes. v. 16;) remembering they\nare stewards, and must deliver up their accounts to an impartial\njudge. Therefore not to self but to him they live, and in him die,\nand are blessed with them that die in the Lord. And thus I conclude\nmy discourse on the right use of lawful self.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\n     1. Of unlawful self; it is two-fold: 1st, in religion;\n     2nd, in morality.--2. Of those that are most formal,\n     superstitious, and pompous in worship.--3. God's rebuke of\n     carnal apprehensions.--4. Christ drew off his disciples from\n     the Jewish exterior worship, and instituted a more spiritual\n     one.--5. Stephen is full and plain in this matter.--6. Paul\n     refers the temple of God twice to man.--7. Of the cross of\n     these worldly worshippers.--8. Flesh and blood make their\n     cross, therefore cannot be crucified by it.--9. They are yokes\n     without restraint.--10. Of the gaudiness of their cross,\n     and their respect to it.--11. A recluse life no true gospel\n     abnegation.--12. Comparison between Christ's self-denial and\n     theirs: his leads to purity in the world, theirs to voluntary\n     imprisonment, that they might not be tempted of the world.\n     The mischief which that example, if followed, would do to the\n     world. It destroys useful society and honest labour. A lazy life\n     the usual refuge of idleness, poverty, and guilty age.--13.\n     Of Christ's cross in this case. The impossibility that such\n     an external application can remove an internal cause.--14. An\n     exhortation to the men of this belief, not to deceive themselves.\n\n\nI. I am now come to unlawful self, which, more or less, is the\nimmediate concern of much the greater part of mankind. This unlawful\nself is two-fold. First, that which relates to religious worship:\nsecondly, that which concerns moral and civil conversation in the\nworld. And they are both of infinite consequence to be considered\nby us. In which I shall be as brief as I may, with ease to my\nconscience, and no injury to the matter.\n\nII. That unlawful self in religion that ought to be mortified by\nthe cross of Christ, is man's invention and performance of worship\nto God as divine, which is not so, either in its institution or\nperformance. In this great error those people have the van of all\nthat attribute to themselves the name of Christians, that are\nmost exterior, pompous, and superstitious in their worship; for\nthey do not only miss exceedingly by a spiritual unpreparedness,\nin the way of their performing worship to God Almighty, who is\nan Eternal Spirit; but the worship itself is composed of what is\nutterly inconsistent with the very form and practice of Christ's\ndoctrine, and the apostolical example. For whereas that was plain\nand spiritual, this is gaudy and worldly: Christ's most inward\nand mental, theirs most outward and corporeal: that suited to the\nnature of God, who is a Spirit, this accommodated to the most\ncarnal part. So that instead of excluding flesh and blood, behold\na worship calculated to gratify them: as if the business were not\nto present God with a worship to please Him, but to make one to\nplease themselves. A worship dressed with such stately buildings\nand imagery, rich furnitures and garments, rare voices and music,\ncostly lamps, wax candles, and perfumes; and all acted with that\nmost pleasing variety to the external senses that art can invent or\ncost procure; as if the world were to turn Jew or Egyptian again;\nor that God was an old man indeed, and Christ a little boy, to be\ntreated with a kind of religious mask: for so they picture him in\ntheir temples, and too many in their minds. And the truth is, such\na worship may very well suit such an idea of God: for when men can\nthink Him such a one as themselves, it is not to be wondered if they\naddress Him in a way that would be the most pleasing from others to\nthemselves.\n\nIII. But what said the Almighty to such a sensual people of old,\nmuch upon the like occasion? \"Thou thoughtest I was such an one as\nthyself, but I will reprove thee, and set thy sins in order before\nthee. Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in\npieces and there be none to deliver.\" But, \"to him that ordereth\nhis conversation aright, will I show the salvation of God.\" (Psalm\nl. 21, 22, 23.) This is the worship acceptable to him, \"to do\njustly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God.\" (Mic. vi. 8.)\nFor He that searcheth the heart, and tries the reins of man, and\nsets his sins in order before him, who is the God of the spirits\nof all flesh, looks not to the external fabric, but internal frame\nof the soul, and inclination of the heart. Nor is it to be soberly\nthought, that He who is clothed with divine honour and majesty;\nwho covers himself with light as with a garment; who stretches out\nthe heavens like a curtain; who layeth the beams of his chambers\nin the deep; who maketh the clouds his chariot, and walks upon the\nwings of the wind: who maketh his angels spirits, his ministers a\nflaming fire: who laid the foundation of the earth, that it should\nnot be moved for ever; can be adequately worshipped by those human\ninventions, the refuge of an apostate people from the primitive\npower of religion and spirituality of Christian worship.\n\nIV. Christ drew off his disciples from the glory and worship of\nthe outward temple, and instituted a more inward and spiritual\nworship, in which He instructed his followers, \"Ye shall neither in\nthis mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem,\" says Christ to the Samaritan\nwoman, \"worship the Father; God is a Spirit, and they that worship\nHim, must worship Him in spirit and in truth.\" (John, iv. 21.) As\nif he had said, for the sake of the weakness of the people, God\ncondescended in old time to limit himself to an outward time, place,\ntemple, and service, in and by which he would be worshipped; but\nthis was during men's ignorance of his omnipresence, and that they\nconsidered not what God is, nor where he is; but I am come to reveal\nhim to as many as receive me; and I tell you that God is a spirit,\nand will be worshipped in Spirit and in truth. People must be\nacquainted with him as a spirit, consider and worship him as such.\nIt is not that bodily worship, or these ceremonial services, in use\namong you now, will serve, or give acceptance with this God that\nis a Spirit: no, you must obey his Spirit that strives with you,\nto gather you out of the evil of the world, that by bowing to the\ninstructions and commands of his Spirit in your own souls, you may\nknow what it is to worship him as a Spirit; then you will understand\nthat it is not going to this mountain, nor to Jerusalem, but to do\nthe will of God, to keep his commandments, and commune with thine\nown heart, and sin not; take up thy cross, meditate in his holy law,\nand follow the example of Him whom the Father hath sent.\n\nV. Wherefore Stephen, that bold and constant martyr of Jesus, told\nthe Jews, when a prisoner at the bar for disputing about the end\nof their beloved temple, and its services, but falsely accused of\nblasphemy; \"Solomon,\" said Stephen, \"built God an house; howbeit\nGod dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet,\nHeaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: what house will\nye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest? Hath\nnot my hand made all these things?\" (Acts, vii. 47-50.) Behold\na total overthrow to all worldly temples, and their ceremonial\nappendages. The martyr follows his blow upon those apostate\nJews, who were of those times, the pompous, ceremonious, worldly\nworshippers: \"Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears,\nye do always resist the Holy Ghost; as did your fathers, so do\nye.\" (Acts, vii. 51.) As if He had told them, no matter for your\noutward temples, rites, and shadowy services, your pretensions to\nsuccession in nature from Abraham; and by religion from Moses. You\nare resisters of the Spirit, gainsayers of its instructions: you\nwill not bow to his counsel, nor are your hearts right towards God:\nyou are the successors of your fathers' iniquity; and though verbal\nadmirers, yet none of the successors of the prophets in faith and\nlife.\n\nBut the prophet Isaiah carries it a little further than is cited\nby Stephen. For after having declared what is not God's house, the\nplace where his honour dwells, immediately follow these words: \"But\nto this man will I look, even to him that is poor, and of a contrite\nspirit, and trembleth at my word.\" (Isaiah, lxvi. 2.) Behold, O\ncarnal and superstitious man, the true worshipper, and the place of\nGod's rest! This is the house and temple of Him whom the heaven of\nheavens cannot contain; a house self cannot build, nor the art or\npower of man prepare or consecrate.\n\nVI. Paul, that great apostle of the Gentiles, twice expressly\nrefers the word temple to man: once in his epistle to the church of\nCorinth; \"Know ye not,\" says he, \"that your body is the temple of\nthe Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God?\" &c. (1 Cor.\nvi. 19,) and not the building of man's hand and heart. Again, he\ntells the same people, in his second epistle, \"For ye are the temple\nof the living God, as God hath said;\" (2 Cor. vi. 16;) and then\ncites God's words by the prophet, \"I will dwell in them, and walk in\nthem; I will be their God, and they shall be my people.\" This is the\nevangelical temple, the Christian church, whose ornaments are not\nthe embroideries and furnitures of worldly art and wealth, but the\ngraces of the Spirit; meekness, love, faith, patience, self-denial,\nand charity. Here it is, that the eternal wisdom, that was with\nGod from everlasting, before the hills were brought forth, or the\nmountains laid, chooses to dwell; \"rejoicing,\" says Wisdom, \"in the\nhabitable part of the earth, and my delights were with the sons of\nmen:\" (Prov. viii. 22, 23, 25, 31;) not in houses built of wood\nand stone. This living house is more glorious than Solomon's dead\nhouse; and of which his was but a figure, as he, the Builder, was of\nChrist, who builds up a holy temple to God. It was promised of old,\nthat the glory of the latter house should transcend the glory of the\nformer; (Hag. ii. 9;) which may be applied to this: not one outward\ntemple or house to excel another in outward lustre; for where is\nthe benefit of that? But the divine glory, the beauty of holiness\nin the gospel house or church, made up of renewed believers, should\nexceed the outward glory of Solomon's temple, which in comparison of\nthe latter days, was but flesh to spirit, fading resemblance to the\neternal substance.\n\nBut for all this, Christians have meeting-places, yet not in Jewish\nor Heathen state, but plain, void of pomp or ceremony, suiting the\nsimplicity of their blessed life and doctrine. For God's presence\nis not with the house, but with them that are in it, who are the\ngospel church, and not the house. O! that such as call themselves\nChristians, knew but a real sanctity in themselves, by the washing\nof God's regenerating grace, instead of that imaginary sanctity\nascribed to places; they would then know what the church is, and\nwhere, in these evangelical days, is the place of God's appearance.\nThis made the prophet David say, \"The king's daughter is all\nglorious within; her clothing is of wrought gold.\" What is the\nglory that is within the true church, and that gold that makes up\nthat inward glory? Tell me, O superstitious man! is it thy stately\ntemples, altars, tables, carpets, tapestries; thy vestments, organs,\nvoices, candles, lamps, censers, plate, and jewels, with the\nlike furniture of thy worldly temples? No such matter; they bear\nno proportion with the divine adornment of the King of Heaven's\ndaughter, the blessed and redeemed church of Christ. Miserable\napostacy that it is! and a wretched supplement in the loss and\nabsence of the apostolic life, the spiritual glory of the primitive\nchurch.\n\nVII. But yet some of these admirers of external pomp and glory\nin worship would be thought lovers of the cross, and to that end\nhave made to themselves many. But alas! what hopes can there be\nof reconciling that to Christianity, that the nearer it comes to\nits resemblance, the further off it is in reality? for their very\ncross and self-denial are most unlawful self: and whilst they fancy\nto worship God thereby, they most dangerously err from the true\ncross of Christ, and that holy abnegation that was of his blessed\nappointment. It is true, they have got a cross, but it seems to be\nin the room of the true one: and so mannerly, that it will do as\nthey will have it that wear it; for instead of mortifying their\nwills by it, they made it, and use it according to them. So that the\ncross is become their ensign, that do nothing but what they list.\nYet by that they would be thought his disciples, who never did his\nown will, but the will of his heavenly Father.\n\nVIII. This is such a cross as flesh and blood can carry, for flesh\nand blood invented it; therefore not the cross of Christ, that is\nto crucify flesh and blood. Thousands of them have no more virtue\nthan a chip: poor empty shadows, not so much as images of the true\none. Some carry them for charms about them, but never repel one evil\nwith them. They sin with them upon their backs; and though they put\nthem in their bosoms, their beloved lusts lie there too, without the\nleast disquiet. They are as dumb as Elijah's mock gods; (1 Kings,\nxviii. 27;) no life nor power in them: and how should they, whose\nmatter is earthly, and whose figure and workmanship are but the\ninvention and labour of worldly artists? Is it possible that such\ncrosses should mend their makers? surely not.\n\nIX. These are yokes without restraint, and crosses that never\ncontradict: a whole cart-load of them would leave a man as\nunmortified as they find him. Men may sooner knock their brains out\nwith them than their sins; and that, I fear, too many of them know\nin their very consciences that use them, indeed adore them: and,\nwhich can only happen to the false cross, are proud of them too,\nsince the true one leaves no pride, where it is truly borne.\n\nX. For as their religion, so their cross is very gaudy and\ntriumphant: but in what? In precious metals and gems, the spoil of\nsuperstition upon the people's pockets. These crosses are made of\nearthly treasure, instead of teaching their hearts that wear them to\ndeny it: and like men, they are respected by their finery. A rich\ncross shall have many gazers and admirers: the mean in this, as\nother things, are more neglected. I could appeal to themselves of\nthis great vanity and superstition. O! how very short is this of the\nblessed cross of Jesus, that takes away the sins of the world!\n\nXI. Nor is a recluse life, the boasted righteousness of some,\nmuch more commendable, or one whit nearer to the nature of the\ntrue cross: for if it be not unlawful as other things are, it is\nunnatural, which true religion teaches not. The Christian convent\nand monastery are within, where the soul is encloistered from sin.\nAnd this religious house the true followers of Christ carry about\nwith them, who exempt not themselves from the conversation of the\nworld, though they keep themselves from the evil of the world in\ntheir conversation. That is a lazy, rusty, unprofitable self-denial,\nburdensome to others to feed their idleness; religious bedlams,\nwhere people are kept lest they should do mischief abroad; patience\nper force; self-denial against their will, rather ignorant than\nvirtuous: and out of the way of temptation, than content in it. No\nthanks if they commit not what they are not tempted to commit. What\nthe eye views not, the heart craves not, as well as rues not.\n\nXII. The cross of Christ is of another nature; it truly overcomes\nthe world, and leads a life of purity in the face of its\nallurements; they that bear it are not thus chained up, for fear\nthey should bite; nor locked up, lest they should be stolen away:\nno, they receive power from Christ their captain, to resist the\nevil, and do that which is good in the sight of God; to despise the\nworld, and love its reproach above its praise; and not only not\nto offend others, but love those that offend them: though not for\noffending them. What a world should we have if every body, for fear\nof transgressing, should mew himself up within four walls! No such\nmatter; the perfection of the Christian life extends to every honest\nlabour or traffic used among men. This severity is not the effect\nof Christ's free spirit, but a voluntary, fleshly humility: mere\ntrammels of their own making and putting on, without prescription\nor reason. In all which it is plain they are their own lawgivers,\nand set their own rule, mulct, and ransom: a constrained harshness,\nout of joint to the rest of the creation; for society is one great\nend of it, and not to be destroyed for fear of evil; but sin that\nspoils it, banished by a steady reproof, and a conspicuous example\nof tried virtue. True godliness does not turn men out of the world,\nbut enables them to live better in it, and excites their endeavours\nto mend it; not to hide their candle under a bushel, but to set it\nupon a table in a candlestick. Besides, it is a selfish invention;\nand that can never be the way of taking up the cross, which the true\ncross is therefore taken up to subject. But again, this humour runs\naway by itself, and leaves the world behind to be lost; Christians\nshould keep the helm, and guide the vessel to its port; not meanly\nsteal out at the stern of the world, and leave those that are in it\nwithout a pilot, to be driven by the fury of evil times, upon the\nrock or sand of ruin. In fine, this sort of life, if taken up by\nyoung people, is commonly to cover idleness, or to pay portions,\nto save the lazy from the pain of punishment, or quality from the\ndisgrace of poverty; one will not work, and the other scorns it;\nif aged, a long life of guilt sometimes flies to superstition for\na refuge, and after having had its own will in other things, would\nfinish it in a wilful religion to make God amends.\n\nXIII. But taking up the cross of Jesus is a more interior exercise:\nit is the circumspection and discipline of the soul in conformity\nto the divine mind therein revealed. Does not the body follow the\nsoul, not the soul the body? Do not such consider, that no outward\ncell can shut up the soul from lust, the mind from an infinity of\nunrighteous imaginations? The thoughts of man's heart are evil, and\nthat continually. Evil comes from within, and not from without: how\nthen can an external application remove an internal cause; or a\nrestraint upon the body, work a confinement of the mind? which is\nmuch less than without doors, for where there is least of action,\nthere is most time to think; and if those thoughts are not guided\nby a higher principle, convents are more mischievous to the world\nthan exchanges. And yet retirement is both an excellent and needful\nthing; crowds and throngs were not much frequented by the ancient\nholy pilgrims.\n\nXIV. But then examine, O man, thy foundation, what it is, and who\nplaced thee there; lest in the end it should appear thou hast put\nan eternal cheat upon thy own soul. I must confess I am jealous of\nthe salvation of my own kind, having found mercy with my heavenly\nFather. I would have none to deceive themselves to perdition,\nespecially about religion, where people are most apt to take all\nfor granted, and lose infinitely by their own flatteries and\nneglect. The inward, steady righteousness of Jesus is another thing\nthan all the contrived devotion of poor superstitious man; and to\nstand approved in the sight of God, excels that bodily exercise in\nreligion, resulting from the invention of men. And the soul that is\nawakened and preserved by his holy power and spirit, lives to Him in\nthe way of his own institution, and worships Him in his own spirit,\nthat is, in the holy sense, life, and leadings of it: which indeed\nis the evangelical worship. Not that I would be thought to slight a\ntrue retirement: for I do not only acknowledge but admire solitude.\nChrist himself was an example of it: He loved and chose to frequent\nmountains, gardens, and sea-sides. It is requisite to the growth of\npiety, and I reverence the virtue that seeks and uses it; wishing\nthere were more of it in the world: but then it should be free, not\nconstrained. What benefit to the mind, to have it for a punishment,\nand not for a pleasure? Nay, I have long thought it an error among\nall sorts, that use not monastic lives, that they have no retreats\nfor the afflicted, the tempted, the solitary, and the devout, where\nthey might undisturbedly wait upon God, pass through their religious\nexercises, and, being thereby strengthened, may, with more power\nover their own spirits, enter into the business of the world again:\nthough the less the better, to be sure. For divine pleasures are\nfound in a free solitude.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\n     1. But men of more refined belief and practice are yet concerned\n     in this unlawful self about religion.--2. It is the rise of\n     the performance of worship God regards.--3. True worship is\n     only from a heart prepared by God's Spirit.--4. The soul of man\n     is dead without the divine breath of life, and so not capable\n     of worshipping the living God.--5. We are not to study what\n     to pray for. How Christians should pray. The aid they have\n     from God.--6. The way of obtaining this preparation: it is by\n     waiting, as David and others did of old, in holy silence, that\n     their wants and supplies are best seen.--7. The whole and the\n     full think they need not this waiting, and so use it not; but\n     the poor in spirit are of another mind, wherefore the Lord\n     hears, and fills them with his good things.--8. If there were\n     not this preparation, the Jewish times would have been more holy\n     and spiritual than the gospel; for even then it was required;\n     much more now.--9. As sin, so formality, cannot worship God:\n     thus David, Isaiah, &c.--10. God's own forms and institutions\n     hateful to Him, unless his own Spirit use them; much more those\n     of man's contriving.--11. God's children ever met God in his\n     way, not their own; and in his way they always found help and\n     comfort. In Jeremiah's time it was the same; his goodness was\n     manifested to his children that waited truly upon him: it was an\n     inward sense and enjoyment of him they thirsted after. Christ\n     charged his disciples also to wait for the Spirit.--12. This\n     doctrine of waiting further opened, and ended with an allusion\n     to the pool of Bethesda; a lively figure of inward waiting and\n     its blessed effects.--13. Four things necessary to worship;\n     the sanctification of the worshipper, and the consecration\n     of the offering, and the thing to be prayed for, and lastly,\n     faith to pray in: and all must be right, that is, of God's\n     giving.--14. The great power of faith in prayer; witness the\n     importunate woman. The wicked and formal ask, and receive not;\n     the reason why. But Jacob and his true offspring, the followers\n     of his faith, prevail.--15. This shows why Christ upbraided\n     his disciples with their little faith. The necessity of faith.\n     Christ works no good on men without it.--16. This faith is\n     not only possible now but necessary.--17. What it is, further\n     unfolded.--18. Who the heirs of this faith are; and what were\n     the noble works of it in the former ages of the just.\n\n\nI. But there be others of a more refined speculation, and reformed\npractice, who dare not use, and less adore, a piece of wood or\nstone, an image of silver and gold; nor yet allow of that Jewish, or\nrather Pagan pomp in worship, practised by others, as if Christ's\nworship were of this world, though his kingdom be of the other,\nbut are doctrinally averse to such superstition, and yet refrain\nnot to bow to their own religious duties, and esteem their formal\nperformance of several parts of worship that go against the grain of\ntheir fleshly ease, and a preciseness therein, no small cross unto\nthem; and that if they abstain from gross and scandalous sins, or if\nthe act be not committed, though the thoughts of it are embraced,\nand that it has a full career in the mind, they hold themselves safe\nenough within the pale of discipleship and walls of Christianity.\nBut this also is too mean a character of the discipline of Christ's\ncross: and those that flatter themselves with such a sort of taking\nit up, will in the end be deceived with a sandy foundation, and a\nmidnight cry. For said Christ, \"But I say unto you, that every idle\nword that men shall speak, they shall give an account thereof in the\nday of judgment.\" (Matt. xii. 36.)\n\nII. For first, it is not performing duties of religion, but the\nrise of the performance that God looks at. Men may, and some do,\ncross their own wills in their own wills: voluntary omission and\ncommission: \"Who has required this at your hands?\" (Isa. i. 12,)\nsaid the Lord of old to the Jews, when they seemed industrious to\nhave served him; but it was in a way of their own contriving or\ninventing, and in their own time and will; not with the soul truly\ntouched and prepared by the divine power of God, but bodily worship\nonly: that, the apostle tells us, profits little. Not keeping to the\nmanner of taking up the cross in worship as well as other things,\nhas been a great cause of the troublesome superstition that is yet\nin the world. For men have no more brought their worship to the\ntest, than their sins: nay less; for they have ignorantly thought\nthe one a sort of excuse for the other; and not that their religious\nperformances should need a cross, or an apology.\n\nIII. But true worship can only come from a heart prepared by the\nLord. (Prov. xvi. 1; Rom viii. 14.) This preparation is by the\nsanctification of the Spirit; by which, if God's children are led\nin the general course of their lives, as Paul teaches, much more in\ntheir worship to their Creator and Redeemer. And whatever prayer be\nmade, or doctrine be uttered, and not from the preparation of the\nHoly Spirit, it is not acceptable with God: nor can it be the true\nevangelical worship, which is in spirit and truth; that is, by the\npreparation and aid of the Spirit. For what is a heap of the most\npathetical words to God Almighty; or the dedication of any place\nor time to him? He is a Spirit, to whom words, places, and times,\nstrictly considered, are improper or inadequate. And though they be\nthe instruments of public worship, they are but bodily and visible,\nand cannot carry our requests any further, much less recommend them\nto the invisible God; by no means; they are for the sake of the\ncongregation: it is the language of the soul God hears, nor can that\nspeak but by the Spirit, or groan aright to Almighty God without the\nassistance of it.\n\nIV. The soul of man, however lively in other things, is dead to God,\ntill He breathe the spirit of life into it: it cannot live to Him,\nmuch less worship Him, without it. Thus God tells us, by Ezekiel,\nwhen in a vision of the restoration of mankind, in the person of\nIsrael, an usual way of speaking among the prophets, and as often\nmistaken, \"I will open your graves,\" saith the Lord, \"and put my\nSpirit in you, and you shall live.\" (Ezek. xxxvii. 12-14.) So,\nthough Christ taught his disciples to pray, they were, in some sort,\ndisciples before he taught them; not worldly men, whose prayers are\nan abomination to God. And his teaching them is not an argument that\nevery body must say that prayer, whether he can say it with the same\nheart, and under the same qualifications, as his poor disciples\nor followers did, or not; as is now too superstitiously and\npresumptuously practised; but rather as they then, so we now, are\nnot to pray our own prayers, but his: that is, such as He enables us\nto make, as He enabled them then.\n\nV. For if we are not to take thought what we shall say when we come\nbefore worldly princes, because it shall then be given us; and that\n\"it is not we that speak, but the Spirit of our heavenly Father\nthat speaketh in us;\" (Matt. x. 19, 20;) much less can our ability\nbe needed, or ought we to study to ourselves forms of speech in our\napproaches to the great Prince of princes, King of kings, and Lord\nof lords. For be it his greatness, we ought not by Christ's command;\nbe it our relation to him as children, we need not; he will help us,\nhe is our Father; that is, if he be so indeed. Thus not only the\nmouth of the body but of the soul is shut, till God opens it; and\nthen he loves to hear the language of it. In which the body ought\nnever to go before the soul: his ear is open to such requests, and\nhis Spirit strongly intercedes for those that offer them.\n\nVI. But it may be asked, how shall this preparation be obtained?\n\nI answer: By waiting patiently, yet watchfully and intently upon\nGod: \"Lord,\" says the Psalmist, \"thou hast heard the desire of the\nhumble; thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear\nto hear:\" (Psalm x. 17:) and, says wisdom, \"The preparation of the\nheart in man is from the Lord.\" (Prov. xvi. 1.) Here it is thou\nmust not think thy own thoughts, nor speak thy own words, which\nindeed is the silence of the holy cross, but be sequestered from\nall the confused imaginations that are apt to throng and press upon\nthe mind in those holy retirements. It is not for thee to think to\novercome the Almighty by the most composed matter, cast into the\naptest phrase; no, no; one groan, one sigh, from a wounded soul, a\nheart touched with true remorse, a sincere and godly sorrow, which\nis the work of God's Spirit, excels and prevails with God. Wherefore\nstand still in thy mind, wait to feel something that is divine, to\nprepare and dispose thee to worship God truly and acceptably. And\nthus taking up the cross, and shutting the doors and windows of the\nsoul against everything that would interrupt this attendance upon\nGod, how pleasant soever the object be in itself, how lawful or\nneedful at another season, the power of the Almighty will break in,\nhis Spirit will work and prepare the heart, that it may offer up\nan acceptable sacrifice. It is he that discovers and presses wants\nupon the soul; and when it cries, it is he alone that supplies them.\nPetitions, not springing from such a sense and preparation, are\nformal and fictitious: they are not true; for men pray in their own\nblind desires, and not in the will of God; and his ear is stopped to\nthem: \"but for the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the\nneedy,\" God hath said, \"I will arise;\" (Psalm xii. 5;) that is, the\npoor in spirit, the needy soul, those that want his assistance, who\nare ready to be overwhelmed, that feel a need, and cry aloud for a\ndeliverer, and that have none on earth to help: none in heaven but\nHim, nor in the earth in comparison of Him: \"He will deliver,\" said\nDavid, \"the needy when he cries, and the poor, and him that has\nno helper.\" (Psalm lxxii. 12, 14.) He shall redeem their soul from\ndeceit and violence, and precious shall their blood be in His sight.\n\"This poor man,\" says he, \"cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved\nhim out of all his troubles.\" (Psalm xxxiv. 6-8.) \"The angel of the\nLord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivers them,\"\nand then invites all to come and taste how good the Lord is; \"yea,\nHe will bless them that fear the Lord, both small and great.\" (Psalm\ncxv. 13.)\n\nVII. But what is that to them that are not hungry? \"They that be\nwhole need not a physician:\" (Matt. ix. 12;) the full have no need\nto sigh, nor the rich to cry for help. Those that are not sensible\nof their inward wants, that have not fears and terrors upon them,\nwho feel no need of God's power to help them, nor of the light of\nhis countenance to comfort them, what have such to do with prayer?\ntheir devotion is but at best, a serious mockery of the Almighty.\nThey know not, they want not, they desire not what they pray for.\nThey pray the will of God may be done, and do constantly their own:\nfor though it be soon said, it is a most terrible thing to them.\nThey ask for grace, and abuse that they have: they pray for the\nSpirit, but resist it in themselves, and scorn at it in others: they\nrequest mercies and goodness of God, and feel no real want of them.\nAnd in this inward insensibility, they are as unable to praise God\nfor what they have, as to pray for what they have not. \"They shall\npraise the Lord,\" says David, \"that seek him: for he satisfieth\nthe longing soul, and filleth the hungry with good things.\" (Psalm\nxxii. 26; cvii. 8.) This also he reserves for the poor and needy,\nand those that fear God. Let the spiritually poor and the needy\npraise thy name: ye that fear the Lord, praise him; and ye the seed\nof Jacob, glorify him. Jacob was a plain man, of an upright heart:\nand they that are so, are his seed. And though (with him) they may\nbe as poor as worms in their own eyes, yet they receive power to\nwrestle with God, and prevail as he did.\n\nVIII. But without the preparation and consecration of this power, no\nman is fit to come before God; else it were matter of less holiness\nand reverence to worship God under the gospel, than it was in the\ntimes of the law, when all sacrifices were sprinkled before offered;\nthe people consecrated that offered them, before they presented\nthemselves before the Lord. (Numb. viii., xix.; 2 Chron. xxix. 36;\nxxx. 16, 17.) If the touching of a dead or unclean beast then made\npeople unfit for temple or sacrifice, yea, society with the clean,\ntill first sprinkled and sanctified, how can we think so meanly of\nthe worship that is instituted by Christ in gospel times, as that\nit should admit of unprepared and unsanctified offerings? Or, allow\nthat those, who either in thoughts, words, or deeds, do daily touch\nthat which is morally unclean, can, without coming to the blood of\nJesus, that sprinkles the conscience from dead works, acceptably\nworship the pure God: it is a downright contradiction to good sense:\nthe unclean cannot acceptably worship that which is holy; the impure\nthat which is perfect. There is a holy intercourse and communion\nbetwixt Christ and his followers; but none at all betwixt Christ and\nBelial; between him and those that disobey his commandments, and\nlive not the life of his blessed cross and self-denial. (2 Cor. vi.\n15, 16.)\n\nIX. But as sin, so formality cannot worship God; no, though\nthe manner were of his own ordination. Which made the prophet,\npersonating one in a great strait, cry out, \"Wherewith shall I come\nbefore the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come\nbefore him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? will\nthe Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands\nof rivers of oil? shall I give my first-born for my transgression,\nthe fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath showed, thee,\nO man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but\nto do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?\"\n(Micah, vi. 6-8.) The royal prophet, sensible of this, calls thus\nalso upon God; \"O Lord, open thou my lips, and my mouth shall show\nforth thy praise.\" (Psalm li. 15-17.) He did not dare open his own\nlips, he knew that could not praise God; and why? \"for thou desirest\nnot sacrifice, else would I give it:\" if my formal offerings\nwould serve, thou shouldst not want them; thou delightest not in\nburnt-offerings. \"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a\nbroken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise:\" and why?\nbecause this is God's work, the effect of his power; and his own\nworks praise him. To the same purpose doth God himself speak by the\nmouth of Isaiah, in opposition to the formalities and lip-worship\nof the degenerate Jews: \"Thus saith the Lord, the heaven is my\nthrone, and the earth is my footstool, where is the house that\nye build to me? and where is the place of my rest? For all these\nthings hath my hand made. But to this man will I look, even to him\nthat is poor, and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.\"\n(Isaiah, lxvi. 1, 2.) O behold the true worshipper! one of God's\npreparing, circumcised in heart and ear, that resists not the Holy\nSpirit, as those lofty professing Jews did. Was this so then, even\nin the time of the law, which was the dispensation of external and\nshadowy performances: and can we now expect acceptance without the\npreparation of the Spirit of the Lord in these gospel times, which\nare the proper times for the effusion of the Spirit? By no means:\nGod is what he was; and none else are his true worshippers, but such\nas worship him in his own spirit: these he tenders as the apple\nof his eye; the rest do but mock him, and he despises them. Hear\nwhat follows to that people, for it is the state and portion of\nChristendom at this day; \"He that killeth an ox, is as if he slew a\nman; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog's neck; he\nthat offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine's blood; he that\nburneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen\ntheir own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations.\"\n(Isaiah, lxvi. 3.) Let none say, we offer not these kinds of\noblations, for that is not the matter; God was not offended with the\nofferings, but offerers. These were the legal forms of sacrifice\nby God appointed; but they not presenting them in that frame of\nspirit, and under that right disposition of soul that was required,\nGod declares his abhorrence, and that with great aggravation; and\nelsewhere, by the same prophet, forbids them to bring any more vain\noblations before him; \"incense,\" saith God, \"is an abomination to\nme: your sabbaths and calling of assemblies I cannot away with; it\nis iniquity, even the solemn meeting.\" And \"when you spread forth\nyour hands, I will hide mine eyes from you; when you make many\nprayers, I will not hear you.\" (Isaiah, i. 13-18.) A most terrible\nrenunciation of their worship; and why? Because their hearts were\npolluted; they loved not the Lord with their whole hearts, but\nbroke his law, and rebelled against his Spirit, and did not that\nwhich was right in his sight. The cause is plain, by the amendment\nHe requires; \"Wash ye,\" says the Lord, \"make you clean, put away\nthe evil of your doings from before mine eyes: cease to do evil,\nlearn to do well: seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the\nfatherless, plead for the widow.\" Upon these terms, and nothing\nshort, He bids them come to Him, and tells them, that \"though their\nsins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; and though they be\nas crimson, they shall be white as wool.\"\n\nSo true is that notable passage of the Psalmist, \"Come and hear, all\nye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul:\nI cried to him with my mouth, and he was extolled with my tongue. If\nI regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. But verily\nGod hath heard me: he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.\nBlessed be God, who hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy\nfrom me.\" (Psalm lxvi. 16, 20.)\n\nX. Much of this kind might be cited, to show the displeasure of God\nagainst even his own forms of worship, when performed without his\nown Spirit, and that necessary preparation of the heart in man,\nthat nothing else can work or give: which above all other penmen of\nsacred writ, is most frequently and emphatically recommended to us\nby the example of the Psalmist, who ever and anon calling to mind\nhis own great slips, and the cause of them, and the way by which\nhe came to be accepted of God, and to obtain strength and comfort\nfrom him, reminds himself to wait upon God. \"Lead me in thy truth,\nand teach me, for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I\nwait all the day long.\" (Psalm xxv. 5.) His soul looked to God for\nsalvation, to be delivered from the snares and evils of the world.\nThis shows an inward exercise, and a spiritual attendance, that\nstood not in external forms, but in inward divine aid.\n\nAnd truly, David had great encouragement so to do; the goodness of\nGod invited him to it and strengthened him in it. For says he, \"I\nwaited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard\nmy cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the\nmiry clay, and set my feet upon a rock.\" (Psalm xl. 1, 2.) That is,\nthe Lord appeared inwardly to console David's soul, that waited for\nhis help, and to deliver it from the temptations and afflictions\nthat were ready to overwhelm it, and gave him security and peace.\nTherefore, he says, \"The Lord hath established my goings;\" that is,\nfixed his mind in righteousness. Before, every step he took bemired\nhim, and he was scarcely able to go without falling: temptation\non all hands; but he waited patiently upon God: his mind retired,\nwatchful, and intent to his law and Spirit; and he felt the Lord\nto incline to him. His needy and sensible cry entered heaven, and\nprevailed; then came deliverance and rescue to David, in God's time,\nnot David's strength to go through his exercises, and surmount all\nhis troubles. For which he tells us, a new song was put into his\nmouth, even praises to his God. (Psalm xl. 3.) But it was of God's\nmaking and putting, and not his own.\n\nAnother time, we have him crying thus: \"As the hart panteth after\nthe water-brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul\nthirsteth for God, for the living God; when shall I come and appear\nbefore God?\" This goes beyond formality, and can be tied to no\nlesson. But we may by this see, that true worship is an inward work;\nthat the soul must be touched and raised in its heavenly desires by\nthe heavenly Spirit, and that the true worship is in God's presence.\nWhen shall I come and appear? Not in the temple, nor with outward\nsacrifices, but before God in his presence. So that souls of true\nworshippers see God, make their appearance before him; and this\nthey wait, they pant, they thirst for. O how is the greater part of\nChristendom degenerated from David's example! No wonder therefore\nthat this good man tells us, \"Truly my soul waiteth upon God;\" and\nthat he gives it in charge to his soul so to do; \"O my soul, wait\nthou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.\" As if he had\nsaid, None else can prepare my heart, or supply my wants; so that my\nexpectation is not from my own voluntary performance, or the bodily\nworship I can give him; they are of no value; they can neither help\nme, nor please him. But I wait upon him for strength and power to\npresent myself so before him, as may be most pleasing to him; for\nhe that prepares the sacrifice will certainly accept it. Wherefore\nin two verses he repeats it thrice; \"I wait for the Lord--My soul\ndoth wait--My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch\nfor the morning.\" Yea, so intently, and with that unweariedness\nof soul, that he says in one place, \"Mine eyes fail while I wait\nfor my God.\" (Psalm lxix. 3.) He was not contented with so many\nprayers, such a set worship, or limited repetition: no; he leaves\nnot till he finds the Lord, that is, the comforts of his presence:\nwhich brings the answer of love and peace to his soul. Nor was this\nhis practice only, as a man more than ordinarily inspired; for he\nspeaks of it as the way of worship, then amongst the true people\nof God, the spiritual Israel, and circumcision in heart, of that\nday: \"Behold,\" says he, \"as the eyes of servants look unto the hand\nof their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her\nmistress, so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God until he have mercy\non us.\" (Psalm cxxiii. 2.) In another place, \"Our soul waiteth for\nthe Lord; he is our help and our shield.\" (Psalm xxxiii. 20.) \"I\nwill wait on thy name, for it is good before thy saints.\" (Psalm\nlii. 9.) It was in request with the truly godly in that day, and the\nway they came to enjoy God, and worship him acceptably. And from his\nown experience of the benefit of waiting upon God, and the saints'\npractice of those times, he recommends it to others: \"Wait upon the\nLord: be of good courage, and he will strengthen thy heart: wait,\nI say, on the Lord.\" (Psalm xxvii. 14.) That is, wait in faith and\npatience, and he will come to save thee. Again, \"Rest in the Lord,\nand wait patiently upon him.\" That is, cast thyself upon him; be\ncontented, and wait for him to help thee in thy wants; thou canst\nnot think how near he is to help those that wait upon him: O try\nand have faith. Yet again, he bids us, \"Wait upon the Lord, and keep\nhis way.\" (Psalm xxxvii. 34.) Behold the reason why so few profit!\nthey are out of his way; and such can never wait rightly upon him.\nGreat reason had David for what he said, who had with so much\ncomfort and advantage met the Lord in his blessed way.\n\nXI. The prophet Isaiah tells us, that though the chastisements of\nthe Lord were sore upon the people for their backslidings, yet in\nthe way of his judgments, in the way of his rebukes and displeasure,\nthey waited for him, and the desire of their soul, that is the great\npoint, was to his name, and the remembrance of him. (Isaiah, xxvi.\n8.) They were contented to be chid and chastised, for they had\nsinned; and the knowledge of him so was very desirable to them. But\nwhat! did he not come at last, and that in mercy too? Yes, he did,\nand they knew him when he came, a doctrine the brutish world knows\nnot, \"This is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us.\"\n(Isaiah, xxv. 9.) O blessed enjoyment! O precious confidence! here\nis a waiting in faith which prevailed. All worship not in faith is\nfruitless to the worshipper, as well as displeasing to God: and\nthis faith is the gift of God, and the nature of it is to purify\nthe heart, and give such as truly believe victory over the world.\nWell, but they go on: \"We have waited for him; we will be glad,\nand rejoice in his salvation.\" The prophet adds, \"Blessed are all\nthey that wait upon God:\" and why? for \"they that wait upon the\nLord shall renew their strength;\" they shall never faint, never be\nweary: (Isaiah, xxx. 18; xl. 31:) the encouragement is great. O hear\nhim once more: \"For since the beginning of the world, men have not\nheard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God!\nbesides thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.\"\n(Isaiah, lxiv. 4.) Behold the inward life and joy of the righteous,\nthe true worshippers; those whose spirits bowed to the appearance\nof God's Spirit in them, leaving and forsaking all it appeared\nagainst, and embracing whatever it led them to. In Jeremiah's time,\nthe true worshippers also waited upon God: (Jer. xiv. 22:) and he\nassures us, that \"The Lord is good to them that wait for them to\nthe soul that seeketh him.\" (Lam. iii. 25.) Hence it is, that the\nprophet Hosea exhorts the church then to turn and wait upon God.\n\"Therefore turn thou to thy God; keep mercy and judgment, and wait\non thy God continually.\" (Hos. xii. 6.) And Micah is very zealous\nand resolute in this good exercise: \"I will look unto the Lord, I\nwill wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.\" (Mic.\nvii. 7.) Thus did the children of the Spirit, that thirsted after an\ninward sense of him. The wicked cannot say so; nor they that pray,\nunless they wait. It is charged upon Israel in the wilderness, as\nthe cause of their disobedience and ingratitude to God, that they\nwaited not for his counsels. We may be sure it is our duty, and\nexpected from us; for God requires it in Zephaniah: \"Therefore wait\nupon me, saith the Lord, until the day that I arise,\" &c. (Zeph.\niii. 8.) O that all who profess the name of God, would wait so, and\nnot offer to arise to worship without him. And they would feel his\nstirrings and arisings in them to help and prepare, and sanctify\nthem. Christ expressly charged his disciples, \"They should not stir\nfrom Jerusalem, but wait till they had received the promise of the\nFather, the baptism of the Holy Ghost,\" (Acts, i. 4, 8,) in order\nto their preparation for the preaching of the glorious gospel of\nChrist to the world. And though that were an extraordinary effusion\nfor an extraordinary work, yet the degree does not change the kind;\non the contrary, if so much waiting and preparation by the Spirit\nwas requisite to fit them to preach to man; some, at least, may be\nneedful to fit us to speak to God.\n\nXII. I will close this great Scripture doctrine of waiting,\nwith that passage in John about the pool of Bethesda: \"There is\nat Jerusalem, by the sheep-market, a pool, which is called in\nthe Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches; in these lay a\ngreat multitude of impotent folks, of blind, halt, and withered,\nwaiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a\ncertain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever\nthen first after the troubling of the water, stepped in, was made\nwhole of whatsoever disease he had.\" (John, v. 2-4.) A most exact\nrepresentation of what is intended by all that has been said upon\nthe subject of waiting. For as there was then an outward and legal,\nso there is now a gospel and spiritual Jerusalem, the church of God;\nconsisting of the faithful. The pool in that old Jerusalem, in some\nsort, represented that fountain, which is now set open in this new\nJerusalem. That pool was for those that were under infirmities of\nbody; this fountain for all that are impotent in soul. There was\nan angel then that moved the water, to render it beneficial; it is\nGod's angel now, the great angel of his presence, that blesseth this\nfountain with success. They that then went in before, and did not\nwatch the angel, and take advantage of his motion, found no benefit\nof their stepping in: those that now wait not the moving of God's\nangel, but by the devotion of their own forming and timing, rush\nbefore God, as the horse into the battle, and hope for success,\nare sure to miscarry in their expectation. Therefore, as then they\nwaited with all patience and attention upon the angel's motion,\nthat wanted and desired to be cured; so do the true worshippers of\nGod now, that need and pray for his presence, which is the life of\ntheir souls, as the sun is to the plants of the field. They have\noften tried the unprofitableness of their own work, and are now\ncome to the sabbath indeed. They dare not put up a device of their\nown, or offer an unsanctified request, much less obtrude bodily\nworship, where the soul is really insensible or unprepared by the\nLord. In the light of Jesus they ever wait to be prepared, retired,\nand recluse from all thoughts that cause the least distraction and\ndiscomposure in the mind, till they see the angel move, and till\ntheir beloved please to awake: nor dare they call him before his\ntime. And they fear to make a devotion in his absence; for they\nknow it is not only unprofitable, but reprovable: \"Who has required\nthis at your hands?\" \"He that believes, makes not haste.\" (Isaiah,\ni. 12; xxviii. 16.) They that worship with their own, can only do\nas the Israelites, turn their earrings into a molten image, and\nbe cursed for their pains. Nor fared they better, \"that gathered\nsticks of old, and kindled a fire, and compassed themselves about\nwith the sparks that they had kindled;\" (Isaiah, l. 11) for God told\nthem, \"they should lie down in sorrow.\" It should not only be of\nno advantage, and do them no good, but incur a judgment from him:\nsorrow and anguish of soul should be their portion. Alas! flesh\nand blood would fain pray, though it cannot wait; and be a saint,\nthough it cannot abide to do or suffer the will of God; with the\ntongue it blesses God, and with the tongue it curses men, made in\nhis similitude. It calls Jesus LORD, but not by the Holy Ghost; and\noften names the name of Jesus, yea, bows the knee to it too; but\ndeparts not from iniquity: this is abominable to God.\n\nXIII. In short, there are four things so necessary to worshipping\nGod aright, and which put its performance beyond man's power, that\nthere seems little more needed than the naming of them. The first\nis, the sanctification of the worshipper. Secondly, the consecration\nof the offering; which has been spoken to before somewhat largely.\nThirdly, what to pray for; which no man knows that prays not by\nthe aid of God's Spirit; and therefore without that Spirit no man\ncan truly pray. This the apostle puts beyond dispute; \"We know\nnot,\" says he, \"what we would pray for, as we ought, but the Spirit\nhelpeth our infirmities.\" (Rom. viii. 26.) Men unacquainted with\nthe work and power of the Holy Spirit, are ignorant of the mind of\nGod; and those, certainly, can never please him with their prayers.\nIt is not enough to know we want; but we should learn whether it be\nnot sent as a blessing, disappointments to the proud, losses to the\ncovetous, and to the negligent stripes; to remove these, were to\nsecure the destruction, not help the salvation of the soul.\n\nThe vile world knows nothing but carnally, after a fleshly manner\nand interpretation; and too many that would be thought enlightened\nare apt to call providences by wrong names, for instance,\nafflictions they style judgments, and trials, more precious than\nthe beloved gold, they call miseries. On the other hand, they call\nthe preferments of the world by the name of honour, and its wealth\nhappiness; when for once that they are so, it is much to be feared\nthey are sent of God a hundred times for judgments, at least trials,\nupon their possessors. Therefore, what to keep, what to reject, what\nto want, is a difficulty God only can resolve the soul. And since\nGod knows better than we what we need, he can better tell us what\nto ask than we can him: which made Christ exhort his disciples to\navoid long and repetitious prayers; (Matt. vi. 7, 8;) telling them\nthat their heavenly Father knew what they needed before they asked:\nand therefore gave them a pattern to pray by; not as some fancy,\nto be a text for human liturgies, which of all services are most\njustly noted and taxed for length and repetition; but expressly to\nreprove and avoid them. But if those wants that are the subject of\nprayer were once agreed upon, though that might be a weighty point,\nyet how to pray is of still greater moment than to pray; it is not\nthe request, but the frame of the petitioner's spirit. The what\nmay be proper, but the how defective. As I said, God needs not to\nbe told of our wants by us, who must tell them to us; yet he will\nbe told them from us, that both we may seek him, and he may come\ndown to us. But when this is done, \"To this man will I look, saith\nthe Lord, even to him that is poor, and of a contrite spirit, and\nthat trembleth at my word:\" (Isaiah, lxvi. 2.) to the sick heart,\nthe wounded soul, the hungry and thirsty, the weary and heavy laden\nones: such sincerely want a helper.\n\nXIV. Nor is this sufficient to complete gospel-worship; the fourth\nrequisite must be had, and that is faith; true faith, precious\nfaith, the faith of God's chosen, that purifies their hearts, that\novercomes the world, and is the victory of the saints. (1 Tim. i.\n5; Acts, xv. 9; Tit. i. 1; 2 Pet. i. 1; 1 John, v. 4.) This is that\nwhich animates prayer and presses it home, like the importunate\nwoman, that would not be denied; to whom Christ, seeming to admire,\nsaid, \"O woman, great is thy faith!\" (Matt. xv. 28.) This is of the\nhighest moment on our part, to give our addresses success with God;\nand yet not in our power neither, for it is the gift of God: from\nhim we must have it; and with one grain of it more work is done,\nmore deliverance is wrought, and more goodness and mercy received,\nthan by all the runnings, willings, and toilings of man, with his\ninventions and bodily exercises: which, duly weighed, will easily\nspell out the meaning, why so much worship should bring so little\nprofit to the world, as we see it does, viz. true faith is lost.\n\"They ask, and receive not; they seek, and find not: they knock, and\nit is not opened unto them:\" (James, iv. 3:) the case is plain;\ntheir requests are not mixed with purifying faith, by which they\nshould prevail, as good Jacob's were, when he wrestled with God and\nprevailed. And the truth is, the generality are yet in their sins,\nfollowing hearts' lusts, and living in worldly pleasure, being\nstrangers to this precious faith. It is the reason rendered by the\ndeep author to the Hebrews, of the unprofitableness of the word\npreached to some in those days; \"Not being,\" says he, \"mixed with\nfaith in them that heard it.\" Can the minister then preach without\nfaith? No: and much less can any man pray to purpose without faith,\nespecially when we are told, that \"the just live by faith.\" For\nworship is the supreme act of man's life; and whatever is necessary\nto inferior acts of religion must not be wanting there.\n\nXV. This may moderate the wonder in any, why Christ so often\nupbraided his disciples with, O ye of little faith! yet tells us,\nthat one grain of it, though as little as that of mustard, one of\nthe least of seeds, if true and right, is able to remove mountains.\nAs if he had said, There is no temptation so powerful that it cannot\novercome: wherefore those that are captivated by temptations, and\nremain unsupplied in their spiritual wants, have not this powerful\nfaith: that is the true cause. So necessary was it of old, that\nChrist did not many mighty works where the people believed not;\nand though his power wrought wonders in other places, faith opened\nthe way: so that it is hard to say, whether that power by faith,\nor faith by that power, wrought the cure. Let us call to mind what\nfamous things a little clay and spittle, one touch of the hem of\nChrist's garment, and a few words out of his mouth, (John, ix. 6;\nLuke, viii. 47, 48,) did by the force of faith in the patients:\n\"Believe ye that I am able to open your eyes?\" (Matt. ix. 28;)\n\"Yea, Lord,\" say the blind, and see. To the ruler, \"only believe;\"\n(Matt. ix. 23;) he did, and his dead daughter recovered life.\nAgain, \"If thou canst believe:\" I do believe; says the father, help\nmy unbelief: and the evil spirit was chased away, and the child\nrecovered. He said to one, \"Go, thy faith hath made thee whole;\"\n(Mark, x. 52; Luke, vii. 48, 50;) and to another, \"Thy faith hath\nsaved thee; thy sins are forgiven thee.\" (Matt. xxi. 21, 22.) And\nto encourage his disciples to believe, that were admiring how soon\nhis sentence was executed upon the fruitless fig-tree, he tells\nthem, \"Verily, if ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do\nthis, which is done to the fig-tree; but also, if ye shall say unto\nthis mountain, Be thou removed, and cast into the sea, it shall be\ndone: and all things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing,\nye shall receive,\" (Matt. xviii. 19; Luke, xviii. 27.) This one\npassage convicts Christendom of gross infidelity; for she prays, and\nreceives not.\n\nXVI. But some may say, It is impossible to receive all that a man\nmay ask. It is not impossible to receive all that a man, that so\nbelieves, can ask. (Mark, ix. 23.) The fruits of faith are not\nimpossible to those that truly believe in the God that makes them\npossible. When Jesus said to the ruler, \"If thou canst believe,\" he\nadds, \"all things are possible to him that believeth.\" (Matt. xix.\n26.) Well, but then some will say, It is impossible to have such\nfaith: for this very faithless generation would excuse their want\nof faith, by making it impossible to have the faith they want. But\nChrist's answer to the infidelity of that age, will best confute\nthe disbelief of this. \"The things that are impossible with men,\nare possible with God.\" (Heb. xi. 6.) It will follow then, that it\nis not impossible with God to give that faith; though it is certain\nthat without it it is impossible to please God: (1 Tim. i. 5; iii.\n9:) for so the author to the Hebrews teaches. And if it be else\nimpossible to please God, it must be so to pray to God without this\nprecious faith.\n\nXVII. But some may say, What is this faith that is so necessary\nto worship, and gives it such acceptance with God and returns\nthat benefit to men? I say, It is a holy resignation to God, and\nconfidence in him, testified by a religious obedience to his holy\nrequirings, which gives sure evidence to the soul of the things\nnot yet seen, and a general sense and taste of the substance of\nthose things that are hoped for; that is, the glory which is to be\nrevealed hereafter. As this faith is the gift of God, so it purifies\nthe hearts of those that receive it. The apostle Paul is witness,\nthat it will not dwell but in a pure conscience: he therefore in one\nplace couples a pure heart and faith unfeigned together: in another,\nfaith and a good conscience. James joins faith with righteousness,\n(James, ii.) and John with victory over the world; (1 John, v. 4;)\n\"This,\" says be, \"is the victory which overcomes the world, even our\nfaith.\" (Rom. iv. 1, 2.)\n\nXVIII. The heirs of this faith are the true children of Abraham,\n(John, xvi. 9, 10,) in that they walk in the steps of Abraham,\naccording to the obedience of faith, which only entitles people to\nbe the children of Abraham. This lives above the world, not only in\nits sin, but righteousness: to this no man comes, but through death\nto self by the cross of Jesus, and an entire dependence by him, upon\nGod.\n\nFamous are the exploits of this divine gift; time would fail to\nrecount them: all sacred story is filled with them. But let it\nsuffice, that by it the holy ancients endured all trials, overcame\nall enemies, prevailed with God, renowned his truth, finished their\ntestimony, and obtained the reward of the faithful, a crown of\nrighteousness, which is the eternal blessedness of the just.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII.\n\n     1. Of pride, the first capital lust; its rise.--2. Its\n     definition and distinction.--3. That an inordinate desire of\n     knowledge in Adam, introduced man's misery.--4. He thereby lost\n     his integrity.--5. Knowledge puffs up.--6. The evil effects of\n     false, and the benefit of true knowledge.--7. Cain's example\n     a proof in the case.--8. The Jews' pride in pretending to be\n     wiser than Moses, God's servant, in setting their post by God's\n     post.--9. The effect of which was the persecution of the true\n     prophets.--10. The divine knowledge of Christ brought peace on\n     earth.--11. Of the blind guides, the priests, and the mischief\n     they have done.--12. The fall of Christians, and the pride they\n     have taken in it, hath exceeded the Jews; under the profession\n     of their new-moulded Christianity, they have murdered the\n     witness of the Lord Jesus.--13. The angels sang peace on earth\n     at the birth of the Lord of meekness and humility: but the pride\n     of the Pharisees withstood and calumniated him.--14. As Adam and\n     the Jews lost themselves by their ambition, so the Christians\n     losing the fear of God, grew creed and worship-makers, with this\n     injunction, Conform or burn.--15. The evil effects of this in\n     Christendom, so called.--16. The way of recovery out of such\n     miserable defection.\n\n\nI. Having thus discharged my conscience against that part of\nunlawful self, that fain would be a Christian, a believer, a\nsaint, whilst a plain stranger to the cross of Christ, and the\nholy exercises of it; and in that briefly discovered what is true\nworship, and the use and business of the holy cross therein, to\nrender its performance pleasing to Almighty God; I shall now, the\nsame Lord assisting me, more largely prosecute that other part of\nunlawful self, which fills the study, care, and conversation of\nthe world, presented to us in these three capital lusts, that is\nto say, pride, avarice, and luxury; from whence all other mischiefs\ndaily flow, as streams from their proper fountains: the mortifying\nof which makes up the other; and indeed a very great part of the\nwork of the true cross; and though last in place, yet first in\nexperience and duty: which done, it introduces in the room of those\nevil habits, the blessed effects of that so much needed reformation,\nto wit, mortification, humility, temperance, love, patience, and\nheavenly-mindedness, with all other graces of the Spirit, becoming\nfollowers of the perfect Jesus, that most heavenly man.\n\nThe care and love of all mankind are either directed to God or\nthemselves. Those that love God above all, are ever humbling self\nto his commands, and only love self in subserviency to him that is\nLord of all. But those who are declined from that love to God, are\nlovers of themselves more than God: for supreme love must centre in\none of these two. To that inordinate self-love, the apostle rightly\njoins proud and high-minded. (2 Tim. iii. 2, 4.) For no sooner had\nthe angels declined their love, duty and reverence to God, than they\ninordinately loved and valued themselves; which made them exceed\ntheir station, and aspire above the order of their creation. This\nwas their pride, and this sad defection their dismal fall; who are\nreserved in chains of darkness unto the judgment of the great day of\nGod.\n\nII. Pride, that pernicious evil, which begins this chapter, did\nalso begin the misery of mankind: a most mischievous quality;\nand so commonly known by its motions and sad effects, that every\nunmortified breast carries its definition in it. However, I will\nsay, in short, that pride is an excess of self-love, joined with an\nundervaluing of others, and a desire of dominion over them: the most\ntroublesome thing in the world. There are four things by which it\nhath made itself best known to mankind, the consequences of which\nhave brought a misery equal to its evil. The first is, an inordinate\npursuit of knowledge; the second, an ambitious craving and seeking\nafter power; the third, an extreme desire of personal respect\nand deference: the last excess is that of worldly furniture and\nornaments. To the just and true witness of the eternal God, placed\nin the souls of all people, I appeal as to the truth of these things.\n\nIII. To the first, it is plain, that an inordinate desire of\nknowledge introduced man's misery, and brought an universal lapse\nfrom the glory of his primitive state. Adam would needs be wiser\nthan God had made him. It did not serve his turn to know his\nCreator, and give him that holy homage his being and innocency\nnaturally engaged and excited him too; nor to have an understanding\nabove all the beasts of the field, the fowls of the air, and\nthe fishes of the sea, joined with a power to rule over all the\nvisible creation of God; but he must be as wise as God too. This\nunwarrantable search, and as foolish as unjust ambition, made him\nunworthy of the blessings he received from God. This drives him out\nof paradise; and instead of being lord of the whole world, Adam\nbecomes the wretchedest vagabond of the earth.\n\nIV. The lamentable consequence of this great defection, has been an\nexchange of innocency for guilt, and a paradise for a wilderness.\nBut, which is yet worse, in this state Adam and Eve had got another\ngod than the only true and living God: and he that enticed them\nto all this mischief, furnished them with a vain knowledge, and\npernicious wisdom: the skill of lies and equivocations, shifts,\nevasions, and excuses. They had lost their plainness and sincerity,\nand from an upright heart, the image in which God had made man,\nhe became a crooked, twining, twisting serpent; the image of that\nunrighteous spirit, to whose temptations he yielded up, with his\nobedience, his paradisaical happiness.\n\nV. So that fallen Adam's knowledge of God stood no more in a daily\nexperience of the love and work of God in his soul, but in a notion\nof what he once did know and experience: which being not the true\nand living wisdom that is from above, but a mere picture, it\ncannot preserve man in purity; but puffs up, makes people proud,\nhigh-minded, and impatient of contradiction. This was the state of\nthe apostate Jews before Christ came; and has been the condition of\napostate Christians ever since he came: their religion standing,\nsome bodily performances excepted, either in what they once knew of\nthe work of God in themselves, and which they have revolted from; or\nin an historical belief, and an imaginary conception and paraphrase\nupon the experiences and prophecies of such holy men and women of\nGod, as in all ages have deserved the style and character of his\ntrue children.\n\nVI. As such a knowledge of God cannot be true, so by experience we\nfind, that it ever brings forth the quite contrary fruits to the\ntrue wisdom. For as this \"is first pure, then peaceable, gentle,\nand easy to be entreated;\" (James, iii. 17;) so the knowledge of\ndegenerated and unmortified men is first impure: for it came by the\ncommission of evil, and is held in an evil and impure conscience\nin them that disobey God's laws, and that daily do those things\nwhich they ought not to do; and for which they stand condemned\nbefore God's judgment-seat in the souls of men: the light of whose\npresence searches the most hidden things of darkness, the most\nsecret thoughts, and concealed inclinations of ungodly men. This\nis the science, falsely so called: and as it is impure, so it is\nunpeaceable, cross, and hard to be entreated; froward, perverse, and\npersecuting; jealous that any should be better than they, and hating\nand abusing those that are.\n\nVII. It was this pride made Cain a murderer: (Gen. iv. 8:) it is\na spiteful quality; full of envy and revenge. What! was not his\nreligion and worship as good as his brother's? He had all the\nexterior parts of worship; he offered as well as Abel; and the\noffering of itself might be as good: but it seems the heart that\noffered it was not. So long ago did God regard the interior worship\nof the soul. Well, what was the consequence of this difference?\nCain's pride stomached it: he could not bear to be outdone by his\nbrother. He grew wrathful, and resolved to vindicate his offering\nby revenging the refusal of it upon his brother's life: and without\nany regard to natural affection, or the low and early condition of\nmankind, he barbarously dyed his hands in his brother's blood.\n\nVIII. The religion of the apostatized Jews did no better; for,\nhaving lost the inward life, power, and spirit of the law, they\nwere puffed up with that knowledge they had: and their pretences to\nAbraham, Moses, and the promises of God, in that frame, served only\nto blow them up into an insufferable pride, arrogancy, and cruelty.\nFor they could not bear true vision when it came to visit them; and\nentertained the messengers of their peace as if they had been wolves\nand tigers.\n\nIX. Yea, it is remarkable, the false prophets, the great engineers\nagainst the true ones, were ever sure to persecute them as false;\nand, by their interest with earthly princes, or the poor seduced\nmultitude, made them the instruments of their malice. Thus it was,\nthat one holy prophet was sawn asunder, another stoned to death,\n&c. So proud and obstinate is false knowledge, and the aspirers\nafter it; which made holy Stephen cry out, \"Ye stiff-necked and\nuncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost:\nas did your fathers, so do ye.\" (Acts, vii. 51.)\n\nX. The true knowledge came with the joy of angels, singing, \"Peace\non earth, and good-will towards men;\" (Luke, ii. 14;) the false\nknowledge entertained the message with calumnies: Christ must needs\nbe an impostor; and that must prove him so, _to wit_, his power\nof working miracles; which was that which proved the contrary.\nThey frequently sought to kill him: which at last they wickedly\naccomplished. But what was the chief motive to it? Why, he cried out\nagainst their hypocrisy, the broad phylacteries, the honour they\nsought of men. To be short, they give the reason themselves in these\nwords: If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: that\nis, he will take away our credit with the people; they will adhere\nto him, and desert us; and so we shall lose our power and reputation\nwith the multitude.\n\nXI. And the truth is, he came to level their honour, to overthrow\ntheir Rabbiship, and by his grace to bring the people to that inward\nknowledge of God, which they, by transgression, were departed from;\nthat so they might see the deceitfulness of their blind guides, who\nby their vain traditions had made void the righteousness of the\nlaw: and who were so far from being the true doctors and lively\nexpounders of it, that in reality they were the children of the\ndevil, who was a proud liar and cruel murderer from the beginning.\n\nXII. Their pride in false knowledge having made them incapable of\nreceiving the simplicity of the gospel, Christ thanks his Father,\nthat he had hid the mysteries of it from the wise and prudent, and\nrevealed them to babes. (Matt. xi. 25.) It was this false wisdom\nswelled the minds of the Athenians to that degree, that they\ndespised the preaching of the apostle Paul as a vain and foolish\nthing. But that apostle who, of all the rest, had an education in\nthe learning of those times, bitterly reflects on that wisdom, so\nmuch valued by Jews and Greeks; \"Where,\" says he, \"is the wise?\nWhere is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not\nGod made foolish the wisdom of this world?\" (1 Cor. i. 20.) And\nhe gives a good reason for it, \"That no flesh should glory in his\npresence.\" (Verse 29.) Which is to say, God will stain the pride\nof man in false knowledge, that he should have nothing on this\noccasion to be proud of: it should be owing only to the revelation\nof the Spirit of God. The apostle goes further, and affirms, \"That\nthe world by wisdom knew not God:\" (verse 21:) that is, it was so\nfar from a help, that as men use it, it was a hindrance to the true\nknowledge of God. And in his first epistle to his beloved Timothy,\nhe concludes thus: \"O Timothy! keep that which is committed to thy\ntrust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of\nscience, falsely so called.\" (Tim. vi. 20.) This was the sense of\napostolical times, when the divine grace gave the true knowledge of\nGod, and was the guide of Christians.\n\nXIII. Well, but what has been the success of those ages that\nfollowed the apostolical? Any whit better than that of the Jewish\ntimes? Not one jot. They have exceeded them; as with their pretences\nto greater knowledge, so in their degeneracy from the true Christian\nlife: for though they had a more excellent pattern than the Jews,\nto whom God spoke by Moses his servant, he speaking to them by his\nbeloved Son, the express image of his substance, the perfection\nof all meekness and humility; and though they seemed addicted to\nnothing more than an adoration of his name, and a veneration for\nthe memory of his blessed disciples and apostles, yet so great was\ntheir defection from the inward power and life of Christianity\nin the soul, that their respect was little more than formal and\nceremonious. For notwithstanding they, like the Jews, were mighty\nzealous in garnishing their sepulchres, and curious in carving their\nimages; not only keeping with pretence what might be the relics of\ntheir persons, but recommending a thousand things as relics, which\nare purely fabulous, and very often ridiculous, and to be sure\naltogether unchristian; yet as to the great and weighty things of\nthe Christian law, viz. love, meekness, and self-denial, they were\ndegenerated. They grew high-minded, proud, boasters, without natural\naffection, curious, and controversial, ever perplexing the church\nwith doubtful questions; filling the people with disputations,\nstrife, and wrangling, drawing them into parties, till at last\nthey fell into blood: as if they had been the worse for being once\nChristians.\n\nO the miserable state of these pretended Christians! that instead of\nChrist's and his apostles' doctrine, of loving enemies, and blessing\nthem that curse them, they should teach the people, under the notion\nof Christian zeal, most inhumanly to butcher one another; and\ninstead of suffering their own blood to be shed for the testimony\nof Jesus, they should shed the blood of the witnesses of Jesus for\nheretics. Thus that subtle serpent, or crafty evil spirit, that\ntempted Adam out of innocency, and the Jews from the law of God,\nhas beguiled the Christians, by lying vanities, to depart from the\nChristian law of holiness, and so they are become slaves to him; for\nhe rules in the hearts of the children of disobedience.\n\nXIV. And it is observable, that as pride, which is ever followed by\nsuperstition and obstinacy, put Adam upon seeking a higher station\nthan God placed him in; and as the Jews, out of the same pride, to\noutdo their pattern, given them of God by Moses upon the mount,\ntaught for doctrines their own traditions, insomuch that those that\nrefused conformity to them, ran the hazard of Crucify, crucify:\nso the nominal Christians, from the same sin of pride, with great\nsuperstition and arrogance, have introduced, instead of a spiritual\nworship and discipline, that which is evidently ceremonious and\nworldly; with such innovations and traditions of men as are the\nfruit of the wisdom that is from below; witness their numerous and\nperplexed councils and creeds, with Conform or burn, at the end of\nthem.\n\nXV. And as this unwarrantable pride set them first at work, to\npervert the spirituality of the Christian worship, making it rather\nto resemble the shadowy religion of the Jews, and the gaudy worship\nof the Egyptians, than the great plainness and simplicity of the\nChristian institution, which is neither to resemble that of the\nmountain, nor the other of Jerusalem; so has the same pride and\narrogancy spurred them on, by all imaginable cruelties to maintain\nthis great Diana of theirs. No meek supplications, nor humble\nremonstrances, of those that kept close to primitive purity in\nworship and doctrine, could prevail with these nominal Christians\nto dispense with the imposition of their unapostolical traditions;\nbut as the ministers and bishops of these degenerate Christians\nleft their painful visitation and care over Christ's flock, and\ngrew ambitious, covetous, and luxurious, resembling rather worldly\npotentates, than the humble-spirited and mortified followers of the\nblessed Jesus; so almost every history tells us, with what pride and\ncruelty, blood and butchery, and that with unusual and exquisite\ntortures, they have persecuted the holy members of Christ out of\nthe world; and that upon such anathemas, as far as they could,\nthey have disappointed them of the blessing of heaven too. These,\ntrue Christians call martyrs; but the clergy, like the persecuting\nJews, have styled them blasphemers and heretics; in which they\nhave fulfilled the prophecy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who did\nnot say, that they should think they do the gods good service to\nkill the Christians, his dear followers, which might refer to the\npersecutions of the idolatrous Gentiles; (John, xvi. 2;) but that\nthey should think they do God good service to kill them: which\nshows, that they should be such as professedly owned the true God,\nas the apostate Christians have all along pretended to do. So that\nthey must be those wolves, that the apostle foretold, should arise\nout of themselves, and worry the flock of Christ, (Acts, xx. 29,)\nafter the great falling away should commence, that was foretold by\nhim, and made necessary, in order to the proving of the faithful,\nand the revelation of the great mystery of iniquity.\n\nI shall conclude this head with this assertion, that it is too\nundeniable a truth, where the clergy have been most in power and\nauthority, and have had the greatest influence upon princes and\nstates, there have been most confusions, wrangles, bloodshed,\nsequestrations, imprisonments, and exiles: to the justifying of\nwhich I call the testimony of the records of all times. How it is in\nour age I leave to the experience of the living; yet there is one\ndemonstration that can hardly fail us; the people are not converted,\nbut debauched, to a degree that time will not allow us an example.\nThe worship of Christendom is visible, ceremonious, and gaudy; the\nclergy, ambitious of worldly preferments, under the pretence of\nspiritual promotion; making the earthly revenues of churchmen much\nthe reason of their function; being almost ever sure to leave the\npresent smaller livings, to solicit and obtain benefices of larger\ntitle and income. So that with their pride and avarice, which good\nold Peter foresaw would be their snares, they have drawn after them\nignorance, misery, and irreligion upon Christendom.\n\nXVI. The way of recovery from this miserable defection is to come\nto a saving knowledge of religion; that is, an experience of the\ndivine work of God in the soul: to obtain which be diligent to obey\nthe grace that appears in thy soul, O man! that brings salvation;\n(Tit. ii. 2, 11, 12, 14;) it turns thee out of the broad way into\nthe narrow way; from thy lusts to thy duty; from sin to holiness;\nfrom Satan to God. Thou must see and abhor self: thou must watch,\nand thou must pray, and thou must fast; thou must not look at thy\ntempter, but at thy preserver; avoid ill company, retire to thy\nsolitudes, and be a chaste pilgrim in this evil world: and thus thou\nwilt arrive at the knowledge of God and Christ, that brings eternal\nlife to the soul: a well-grounded assurance from what a man feels\nand knows within himself: such shall not be moved with evil tidings.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII.\n\n     1. Pride craves power as well as knowledge.--2. The case of\n     Korah, &c. a proof.--3. Absalom's ambition confirms it.--4.\n     Nebuchadnezzar's does the like.--5. The history of Pisistratus,\n     Alexander, C\u00e6sar, &c. shows the same thing.--6. The Turks are\n     a lively proof, who have shed much blood to gratify pride for\n     power.--7. The last ten years in Christendom exceed in proof of\n     this.--8. Ambition rests not in courts, it finds room in private\n     breasts too, and spoils families and societies.--9. Their peace\n     is great that limit their desires by God's grace, and having\n     power, use it to the good of others.\n\n\nI. But let us see the next most common, eminent, and mischievous\neffect of this evil. Pride does extremely crave power, than which\nnot one thing has proved more troublesome and destructive to\nmankind. I need not labour myself much in evidence of this, since\nmost of the wars of nations, depopulation of kingdoms, ruins of\ncities, with the slavery and misery that have followed, both our own\nexperience and unquestionable histories, acquaint us to have been\nthe effect of ambition, which is the lust of pride after power.\n\nII. How specious soever might be the pretences of Korah, Dathan,\nand Abiram, against Moses, it was their emulation of his mighty\npower in the camp of Israel that put them upon conspiracies and\nmutinies. They longed for his authority, and their not having it was\nhis crime: for they had a mind to be the heads and leaders of the\npeople. The consequence of which was a remarkable destruction to\nthemselves and all their unhappy accomplices.\n\nIII. Absalom, too, was for the people's rights against the tyranny\nof his father and his king; (2 Sam. xv.;) at least with this\npretence he palliated his ambition; but his rebellion showed he was\nimpatient for power, and that he resolved to sacrifice his duty as\na son and subject to the importunities of his restless pride; which\nbrought a miserable death to himself and an extraordinary slaughter\nupon his army.\n\nIV. Nebuchadnezzar is a lively instance of the excessive lust of\npride for power. His successes and empire were too heady for him:\nso much too strong for his understanding, that he forgot he did not\nmake himself, or that his power had a superior. He makes an image,\nand all must bow to it, or be burnt. And when Shadrach, Meshach, and\nAbednego refused to comply, \"Who,\" says he, \"is that God that shall\ndeliver you out of my hands?\" (Dan. iii.) And notwithstanding the\nconvictions he had upon him, at the constancy of those excellent\nmen, and Daniel's interpretation of his dreams, it was not long\nbefore the pride of his power had filled his heart, and then his\nmouth, with this haughty question, \"Is not this great Babylon, that\nI have built for the house of the kingdom, by the might of my power,\nand for the honour of my majesty?\" (Dan. iv. 30.) But we are told,\nthat while the words were in his mouth, a voice from heaven rebuked\nthe pride of his spirit, and he was driven from the society of men,\nto graze among the beasts of the field.\n\nV. If we look into the histories of the world, we shall find many\ninstances to prove the mischief of this lust of pride. I will\nmention a few of them for their sakes who have either not read or\nconsidered them.\n\nSolon made Athens free by his excellent constitution of laws; but\nthe ambition of Pisistratus began the ruin of it before his eyes.\nAlexander, not contented with his own kingdom, invaded others, and\nfilled with spoil and slaughter those countries he subdued: and it\nwas not ill said by the man, who, when Alexander accused him of\npiracy, told him to his face that Alexander was the greatest pirate\nin the world. It was the same ambition that made C\u00e6sar turn traitor\nto his masters, and with their own army, put into his hand for\ntheir service, subdue them to his yoke, and usurp the government;\nwhich ended in the expulsion of freedom and virtue together in that\ncommonwealth; for goodness quickly grew to be faction in Rome; and\nthat sobriety and wisdom which ever rendered her senators venerable,\nbecame dangerous to their safety: insomuch that his successors\nhardly left one they did not kill or banish; unless such as turned\nto be flatterers of their unjust acquisition, and the imitators of\ntheir debauched manners.\n\nVI. The Turks are a great proof to the point in hand, who to extend\ntheir dominion, have been the cause of shedding much blood, and\nlaying many stately countries waste.\n\nAnd yet they are to be outdone by apostate Christians; whose\npractice is therefore more condemnable, because they have been\nbetter taught: they have had a master of another doctrine and\nexample. It is true, they call him Lord still, but they let their\nambition reign: they love power more than one another; and to get it\nkill one another; though charged by him not to strike, but to love\nand serve one another. And, which adds to the tragedy, all natural\naffection is sacrificed to the fury of this lust: and therefore\nare stories so often stained with the murder of parents, children,\nuncles, nephews, masters, &c.\n\nVII. If we look abroad into remoter parts of the world, we shall\nrarely hear of wars; but in Christendom rarely of peace. A very\ntrifle is too often made a ground of quarrel here: nor can any\nleague be so sacred or inviolable that arts shall not be used to\nevade and dissolve it to increase dominion. No matter who, nor how\nmany are slain, made widows and orphans, or lose their estates\nand livelihoods; what countries are ruined; what towns and cities\nspoiled: if by all these things the ambitious can but arrive at\ntheir ends! To go no further back than sixty years, that little\nperiod of time will furnish us with many wars begun upon ill\ngrounds, and ended in great desolation. Nay, the last twelve years\nof our time make as pregnant a demonstration as we can furnish\nourselves with from the records of any age. It is too tedious, nor\nis it my business, to be particular: it has been often well observed\nby others, and is almost known to all, I mean the French, Spanish,\nGerman, English, and Dutch wars.\n\nVIII. But ambition does not only dwell in courts and senates: it\nis too natural to every private breast to strain for power. We\ndaily see how much men labour their utmost wit and interest to be\ngreat, to get higher places, or greater titles than they have,\nthat they may look bigger and be more acknowledged; take place\nof their former equals, and so equal those that were once their\nsuperiors: compel friends, and be revenged on enemies. This makes\nChristianity so little loved of worldly men; its kingdom is not\nof this world; and though they may speak it fair, it is the world\nthey love: that without uncharitableness we may truly say, People\nprofess Christianity, but they follow the world. They are not for\nseeking the kingdom of heaven first, and the righteousness thereof,\n(Matt. vi. 33,) and to trust God with the rest; but for securing to\nthemselves the wealth and glory of this world, and adjourning the\ncare of salvation to a sick bed, and the extreme moments of life; if\nyet they believe a life to come.\n\nIX. To conclude this head; great is their peace, who know a limit\nto their ambitious minds; that have learned to be contented with\nthe appointments and bounds of Providence: that are not careful\nto be great; but, being great, are humble and do good. Such keep\ntheir wits with their consciences, and, with an even mind, can at\nall times measure the uneven world, rest fixed in the midst of all\nits uncertainties, and as becomes those who have an interest in a\nbetter, in the good time and will of God, cheerfully leave this;\nwhen the ambitious, conscious of their evil practices, and weighed\ndown to their graves with guilt, must go to a tribunal that they can\nneither awe nor bribe.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX.\n\n     1. The third evil effect of pride is love of honour and respect.\n     Too many are guilty of it.--2. It had like to have cost Mordecai\n     dear. Great mischief has befallen nations on this account.--3.\n     The world is out in the business of true honour, as well as in\n     that of true science.--4. Reasons why the author, and the rest\n     of the people he walks with, use not these fashions.--5. The\n     first is, the sense they had in the hour of their conviction,\n     of the unsuitableness of them to the Christian spirit and\n     practice, and that the root they came from was pride and\n     self-love.--6. Reproach could not move them from that sense and\n     practice accordingly.--7. They do it not to make sects, or for\n     distinction.--8. Nor yet to countenance formality, but passively\n     let drop vain customs, and so are negative to forms.--9. Their\n     behaviour is a test upon the world.--10. And this cross to the\n     world a test upon them.--11. The second reason against them is\n     their emptiness.--12. Honour in Scripture is not so taken as\n     it is in the world. It is used for obedience.--13. It is used\n     for preferments.--14. A digression about folly in a Scripture\n     sense.--15. Honour is used for reputation.--16. Honour is also\n     attributed to functions and capacities, by way of esteem.--17.\n     Honour is taken for help and countenance of inferiors.--18.\n     Honour is used for service and esteem to all states and\n     capacities: honour all men.--19. Yet there is a limitation, in a\n     sense, to the righteous, by the Psalmist; to honour the godly,\n     and contemn the wicked.--20. Little of this honour found in the\n     world's fashions.--21. The third reason against them is, they\n     mock and cheat people of the honour due to them.--22. The author\n     and his friends are for true honour.--23. The fourth reason is,\n     that if the fashions carried true honour in them, the debauched\n     could honour men, which cannot be.--24. The fifth reason is,\n     that then men of spite, hypocrisy, and revenge, could pay\n     honour, which is impossible.--25. The sixth reason is drawn from\n     the antiquity of true honour.--26. The seventh reason is from\n     the rise of the vain honour, and the teachers of it, wherein\n     the clown, upon a comparison, excels the courtier for a man of\n     breeding.--27. The eighth reason against these honours is, that\n     they may be had for money, which true honour cannot be.--28.\n     The ninth and last reason is, because the holy Scripture\n     expressly forbids them to true Christians.--29. As in the case\n     of Mordecai.--30. A passage between a bishop and the author\n     in this matter.--31. Likewise the case of Elihu in Job.--32.\n     Also the doctrine of CHRIST to his disciples.--33. Paul\n     against conforming to the world's fashions.--34. Peter against\n     fashioning ourselves according to the world's lusts.--35. James\n     against respect to persons.--36. Yet Christians are civil and\n     mannerly in a right way.--37. But unlike the world in the nature\n     of it, and motives to it.--38. Testimonies in favour of our\n     dissent and practice.\n\n\nI. The third evil effect of pride, is an excessive desire of\npersonal honour and respect.\n\nPride, therefore loves power, that she might have homage, and that\nevery one may give her honour, and such as are wanting in that,\nexpose themselves to her anger and revenge. And as pride, so this\nevil effect is more or less diffused through corrupt mankind; and\nhas been the occasion of great animosity, and mischief in the world.\n\nII. We have a pregnant instance in holy writ, what malice and\nrevenge proud man is capable of, when not gratified in this\nparticular. It had almost cost Mordecai his neck, and the whole\npeople of the Jews their lives, because he would not bow himself to\nHaman, who was a great favourite to king Ahasuerus. And the practice\nof the world, even in our own age, will tell us, that not striking\na flag or sail, and not saluting certain ports or garrisons, yea,\nless things have given rise to mighty wars between states and\nkingdoms, to the expense of much treasure, but more blood. The like\nhas followed about the precedency of princes and their ambassadors.\nAlso the envy, quarrels, and mischiefs that have happened among\nprivate persons, upon conceit that they have not been respected to\ntheir degree or quality among men, without hat, knee, or title: to\nbe sure, duels and murders not a few. I was once myself in France[3]\nset upon about eleven at night, as I was walking to my lodging, by\na person that waylaid me, with his naked sword in his hand, who\ndemanded satisfaction of me for taking no notice of him, at a time\nwhen he civilly saluted me with his hat; though the truth was, I saw\nhim not when he did it. I will suppose he had killed me, for he made\nseveral passes at me, or I, in my defence, had killed him, when I\ndisarmed him, as the earl of Crawford's servant saw, that was by; I\nask any man of understanding or conscience, if the whole ceremony\nwas worth the life of a man, considering the dignity of the nature,\nand the importance of the life of man, both with respect to God his\nCreator, himself, and the benefit of civil society.\n\n  [3] Which was before I professed the communion I am now of.\n\nIII. But the truth is, the world, under its degeneracy from God, is\nas much out of the way as to true honour and respect, as in other\nthings; for mere shows, and those vain ones, too, are much of the\nhonour and respect that are expressed in the world; that a man may\nsay concerning them, as the apostle speaks of science, that is, they\nare honours and respects falsely so called; having nothing of the\nnature of true honour and respect in them: but as degenerate men,\nloving to be honoured, first devised them, so pride only loves and\nseeks them, and is affronted and angry for want of them. Did men\nknow a true Christian state, and the honour that comes from above,\nwhich JESUS teaches, they would not covet these very vanities, much\nless insist upon them.\n\nIV. And here give me leave to set down the reasons more\nparticularly, why I, and the people with whom I walk in religious\nsociety, have declined, as vain and foolish, several worldly customs\nand fashions of respect, much in request at this time of day:\nand I beseech thee, reader, to lay aside all prejudice and scorn,\nand with the meekness and inquiry of a sober and discreet mind,\nread and weigh what may be here alleged in our defence: and if we\nare mistaken, rather pity and inform, than despise and abuse our\nsimplicity.\n\nV. The first and most pressing motive upon our spirits, to decline\nthe practice of these present customs, pulling off the hat, bowing\nthe body or knee, and giving people gaudy titles and epithets in\nour salutations and addresses, was that savour, sight and sense of\nGod, by his light and Spirit given us, of the Christian world's\napostacy from God, and the cause and effects of that great and\nlamentable defection. In the discovery of which the sense of our\nstate came first before us, and we were made to see him whom we\npierced, and to mourn for it. A day of humiliation overtook us,\nand we fainted to that pleasure and delight we once loved. Now our\nworks went beforehand to judgment, and a thorough search was made,\nand the words of the prophet became well understood by us; \"Who can\nabide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appears?\"\n\"He is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap.\" (Mal. iii.\n2.) And as the apostle said, \"If the righteous scarcely be saved,\nwhere shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?\" (1 Peter, iv. 18.)\n\"Wherefore,\" says the apostle Paul, \"knowing the terror of the Lord,\nwe persuade men:\" (2 Cor. v. 11:) what to do? To come out of the\nnature, spirit, lusts, and customs of this wicked world: remembering\nthat, as Jesus has said, \"For every idle word that man shall speak,\nhe shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.\" (Matt. xii.\n36.)\n\nThis concern of mind and dejection of spirit was visible to our\nneighbours; and we are not ashamed to own, that the terrors of\nthe Lord took such hold upon us, because we had long, under a\nprofession of religion, grieved God's Holy Spirit, that reproved\nus in secret for our disobedience; that as we abhorred to think of\ncontinuing in our old sins, so we feared to use lawful things, lest\nwe should use them unlawfully. Our heaven seemed to melt away, and\nour earth to be removed out of its place; and we were like men, as\nthe apostle said, upon whom the ends of the world were come. God\nknows it was so in this day; the brightness of his coming to our\nsouls discovered, and the breath of his mouth destroyed every plant\nhe had not planted in us. He was a swift witness against every evil\nthought and every unfruitful work; and, blessed be his name, we were\nnot offended in him, or at his righteous judgments. Now it was that\na grand inquest came upon our whole life: every word, thought, and\ndeed was brought to judgment, the root examined, and its tendency\nconsidered. \"The lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the\npride of life,\" (1 John, ii. 16,) were opened to our view; the\nmystery of iniquity in us. And by knowing the evil leaven, and its\ndivers evil effects in ourselves, how it had wrought, and what\nit had done, we came to have a sense and knowledge of the states\nof others: and what we could not, nay, we dare not let live and\ncontinue in ourselves, as being manifested to us to proceed from an\nevil principle in the time of man's degeneracy, we could not comply\nwith in others. Now this I say, and that in the fear and presence\nof the all-seeing, just God, the present honours and respect of the\nworld, among other things, became burdensome to us: we saw they had\nno being in paradise, that they grew in the night-time, and came\nfrom an ill root; and that they only delighted a vain and ill mind,\nand that much pride and folly were in them.\n\nVI. And though we easily foresaw the storms of reproach that would\nfall upon us for our refusing to practise them; yet we were so far\nfrom being shaken in our judgment, that it abundantly confirmed\nour sense of them. For so exalted a thing is man, and so loving of\nhonour and respect, even from his fellow-creatures, that so soon as\nin tenderness of conscience towards God we could not perform them\nas formerly, he became more concerned than for all the rest of our\ndifferences, however material to salvation. So that let the honour\nof God and our own salvation do as it will, it was greater heresy\nand blasphemy to refuse him the homage of the hat, and his usual\ntitles of honour; to deny to pledge his healths, or play with him at\ncards and dice, than any other principle we maintained: for being\nless in his view, it seemed not so much in his way.\n\nVII. And though it be frequently objected that we seek to set up\noutward forms of preciseness, and that is but as a green riband,\nthe badge of the party, the better to be known: I do declare, in\nthe fear of Almighty God, that these are but the imaginations and\nvain constructions of insensible men, that have not had that sense\nwhich the Lord hath given us, of what arises from the right and the\nwrong root in man: and when such censurers of our simplicity shall\nbe inwardly touched and awakened by the mighty power of God, and see\nthings as they are in their proper natures and seeds, they will then\nknow their own burden, and easily acquit us, without the imputation\nof folly or hypocrisy herein.\n\nVIII. To say that we strain at small things, which becomes not\npeople of so fair pretensions to liberty and freedom of spirit: I\nanswer with meekness, truth, and sobriety; first, nothing is small\nthat God makes matter of conscience to do, or leave undone. Next as\ninconsiderable as they are made, by those that object upon us, they\nare much set by; so greatly as for our not giving them to be beaten,\nimprisoned, refused justice, &c. To say nothing of the derision and\nreproach that hath been frequently flung at us on this account.\nSo that if we had wanted a proof of the truth of our inward belief\nand judgment, the very practice of them that opposed it would have\nabundantly confirmed us. But let it suffice to us, that \"Wisdom\nis justified of her children:\" (Matt. xi. 19:) we only passively\nlet fall the practice of what we are taught to believe is vain and\nunchristian: in which we are negative to forms: for we leave off, we\ndo not set up forms.\n\nIX. The world is so set upon the ceremonious parts and outside of\nthings, that it has well beseemed the wisdom of God in all ages to\nbring forth his dispensations with very different appearances to\ntheir settled customs; thereby contradicting human inventions, and\nproving the integrity of his confessors. Nay, it is a test upon the\nworld: it tries what patience, kindness, sobriety, and moderation\nthey have: if the rough and homely outside of truth stumble not\ntheir minds from the reception of it, whose beauty is within: it\nmakes a great discovery upon them. For he who refuses a precious\njewel, because it is presented in a plain box, will never esteem\nit to its value, nor set his heart upon keeping it; therefore I\ncall it a test, because it shows where the hearts and affections of\nthe people stick, after all their great pretence to more excellent\nthings.\n\nX. It is also a mighty trial upon God's people, in that they are\nput upon the discovery of their contradiction to the customs\ngenerally received and esteemed in the world; which exposes them\nto the wonder, scorn, and abuse of the multitude. But there is a\nhidden treasure in it: it inures us to reproach, it teaches us\nto despise the false reputation of the world, and silently to\nundergo the contradiction and scorn of its votaries; and finally\nwith a Christian meekness and patience to overcome their injuries\nand reproaches. Add to this; it weans thee of thy familiars; for\nbeing slighted of them as a ninny, a fool, a frantic, &c. thou\nart delivered from a greater temptation; and that is the power and\ninfluence of their vain conversation. And last of all, it lists thee\nof the company of the blessed, mocked, persecuted JESUS: to fight\nunder his banner against the world, the flesh, and the devil: that\nafter having faithfully suffered with him in a state of humiliation,\nthou mayst reign with him in a state of glorification: who glorifies\nhis poor, despised, constant followers with the glory he had with\nthe Father before the world began. (John, xvii. 5.) This was the\nfirst reason of our declining to practise the before-mentioned\nhonours, respect, &c.\n\nXI. The second reason why we decline and refuse the present use\nof these customs in our addresses and salutations, is from the\nconsideration of their very emptiness and vanity: that there is\nnothing of true honour and respect in them, supposing them not to\nbe evil. And, as religion and worship are degenerated into form and\nceremony, and they not according to primitive practice neither, so\nis honour and respect too; there being little of that in the world\nas well as of the other; and to be sure, in these customs, none that\nis justifiable by Scripture or reason.\n\nXII. In Scripture we find the word honour often and diversely\nused. First for obedience: as when God saith, \"They that honour\nme;\" (1 Sam. ii. 30:) that is, that keep my commandments. \"Honour\nthe king;\" (1 Pet. ii. 17;) that is, obey the king. \"Honour thy\nfather and mother;\" (Exod. xx. 12;) that is, saith the apostle to\nthe Ephesians, \"Obey thy father and thy mother in the Lord, for\nthat is right:\" (Eph. vi. 1, 2:) take heed to their precepts and\nadvice: presupposing always, that rulers and parents command lawful\nthings, else they dishonour themselves to enjoin unlawful things;\nand subjects and children dishonour their superiors and parents, in\ncomplying with their unrighteous commands. Also Christ uses this\nword so, when he says, \"I have not a devil, but I honour my Father,\nand ye dishonour me;\" (John, viii. 49;) that is, I do my Father's\nwill in what I do, but you will not hear me; you reject my counsel,\nand will not obey my voice. It was not refusing hat and knee, nor\nempty trifles: no, it was disobedience; resisting him that God had\nsent, and not believing in him. This was the dishonour he taxed\nthem with; using him as an impostor, that God had ordained for the\nsalvation of the world. And of these dishonourers there are but too\nmany at this day. Christ has a saying to the same effect; \"That all\nmen should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father; and he\nthat honoureth not the Son, honoureth not the Father, which hath\nsent him:\" (John, v. 23:) that is, they that hearken not to Christ,\nand do not worship and obey him, they do not hear, worship, nor\nobey God. As they pretended to believe in God, so they were to have\nbelieved in him; he told them so. This is pregnantly manifested in\nthe case of the centurion, whose faith was so much commended by\nChrist; where, giving Jesus an account of his honourable station, he\ntells him, \"He had soldiers under his authority, and when he said\nto one, Go, he went; to another, Come, he came; and to a third,\nDo this, he did it.\" (Luke, vii. 8.) In this it was he placed the\nhonour of his capacity, and the respect of his soldiers, and not in\nhats and legs: nor are such customs yet in use amongst soldiers,\nbeing effeminate, and unworthy of masculine gravity.\n\nXIII. In the next place, honour is used for preferment to trust\nand eminent employments. So the Psalmist, speaking to God: \"For\nthou hast crowned him with glory and honour:\" again, \"Honour and\nmajesty hast thou laid on him;\" (Psalm viii. 5; xxi. 5;) that is,\nGod hath given Christ power over all his enemies, and exalted him\nto great dominion. Thus the wise man intimates, when he says, \"The\nfear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom, and before honour is\nhumility.\" (Prov. xv. 33.) That is, before advancement or preferment\nis humility. Further, he has this saying, \"As snow in summer, and\nas rain in harvest, so honour is not seemly for a fool:\" (Prov.\nxxvi. 10:) that is, a fool is not capable of the dignity of trust,\nemployment, or preferment: they require virtue, wisdom, integrity,\ndiligence, with which fools are unfurnished. And yet if the respects\nand titles in use amongst us are to go for marks of honour,\nSolomon's proverb will take place, and doubtless doth, upon the\npractice of this age, that yields so much of that honour to a great\nmany of Solomon's fools; who are not only silly men, but wicked too;\nsuch as refuse instruction, and hate the fear of the Lord; (Prov.\nxiii. 18;) which only maketh one of his wise men.\n\nXIV. And as virtue and wisdom are the same, so folly and wickedness.\nThus Shechem's lying with Dinah, Jacob's daughter, is called: (Gen.\nxxxiv. 7:) so is the rebellion and wickedness of the Israelites in\nJoshua. (Josh. vii. 15.) The Psalmist expresses thus: \"My wounds\nstink, because of my foolishness:\" (Psalm xxxviii. 5:) that is, his\nsin. And, \"The Lord will speak peace to his saints, but let them\nnot turn again to folly:\" (Psalm lxxxv. 8:) that is, to evil. \"His\nown iniquities,\" says Solomon, \"shall take the wicked himself, and\nhe shall be holden with the cords of his sins: he shall die without\ninstruction, and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.\"\n(Prov. v. 22, 23.) Christ puts foolishness with blasphemy, pride,\ntheft, murders, adulteries, wickedness, &c. (Mark, vii. 10-12.) I\nwas the more willing to add these passages, to show the difference\nthat there is between the mind of the Holy Ghost, and the notion\nthat those ages had of fools, that deserve not honour, and that\nwhich is generally meant by fools and folly in our time; that we may\nthe better understand the disproportion there is between honour, as\nthen understood by the Holy Ghost, and those that were led thereby;\nand the apprehension of it, and the practice of those latter ages of\nprofessed Christians.\n\nXV. But honour is also taken for reputation, and it is so understood\nwith us: \"A gracious woman,\" says Solomon, \"retaineth honour;\"\n(Prov. xi. 16;) that is, she keeps her credit: and by her virtue,\nmaintains her reputation, of sobriety and chastity. In another\nplace, \"It is an honour for a man to cease from strife:\" (Prov.\nxx. 3:) that is, it makes for his reputation, as a wise and good\nman. Christ uses the word thus, where he says, \"A prophet is not\nwithout honour, save in his own country;\" (Matt. xiii. 57;) that\nis, he has credit, and is valued, save at home. The apostle to the\nThessalonians has a saying to this effect: \"That every one of you\nshould know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour:\"\n(1 Thes. iv. 4:) that is, in chastity and sobriety. In all which\nnothing of the fashions by us declined is otherwise concerned than\nto be totally excluded.\n\nXVI. There is yet another use of the word honour in Scripture, and\nthat is to functions and capacities: as, \"An elder is worthy of\ndouble honour:\" (1 Tim. v. 17:) that is, he deserves double esteem,\nlove, and respect; being holy, merciful, temperate, peaceable,\nhumble, &c., especially one that labours in word and doctrine.\nSo Paul recommends Epaphroditus to the Philippians; \"Receive\nhim therefore in the Lord with all gladness, and hold such in\nreputation:\" (Phil. ii. 29:) as if he had said, Let them be valued\nand regarded by you in what they say and teach. Which is the truest,\nand most natural and convincing way of testifying respect to a man\nof God; as Christ said to his disciples, \"If ye love me ye will keep\nmy sayings.\" Further, the apostle bids us, To honour widows indeed:\nthat is, such women who are of chaste lives and exemplary virtue are\nhonourable.\n\nXVII. The word honour, in the Scripture, is also used from superiors\nto inferiors. Which is plain in the instance of Ahasuerus to\nHaman; \"What shall be done to the man whom the king delighteth\nto honour?\" (Esther, vi. 6.) Why, he mightily advanced him, as\nMordecai afterwards. And more particularly it is said, that \"the\nJews had light, and gladness, and joy, and honour:\" (Esther, viii.\n16:) that is, they escaped the persecution that was like to fall\nupon them, and by the means of Esther and Mordecai, they enjoyed\nnot only peace, but favour and countenance too. In this sense the\napostle Peter advised Christian men \"To honour their wives:\" (1 Pet.\niii. 7:) that is, to love, value, cherish, countenance, and esteem\nthem, for their fidelity and affection to their husbands, for their\ntenderness and care over their children, and for their diligence and\ncircumspection in their families. There is no ceremonious behaviour,\nor gaudy titles requisite to express this honour. Thus God honours\nholy men: \"Them that honour me,\" says the Lord, \"I will honour; and\nthey that despise me shall be lightly esteemed:\" (1 Sam. ii. 30:)\nthat is, I will do good to them, I will love, bless, countenance,\nand prosper them that honour me, that obey me: but they that despise\nme, that resist my Spirit, and break my law, they shall be lightly\nesteemed, little set by or accounted of; they shall not find favour\nwith God, nor righteous men. And so we see it daily among men: if\nthe great visit or concern themselves to aid the poor; we say, that\nsuch a great man did me the honour to come and see, or help me in my\nneed.\n\nXVIII. I shall conclude this with one passage more, and that is a\nvery large, plain, and pertinent one: \"Honour all men, and love\nthe brotherhood:\" (1 Pet. ii. 17:) that is, love is above honour,\nand that is reserved for the brotherhood. But honour, which is\nesteem and regard, that thou owest to all men; and if all, then thy\ninferiors. But why for all men? Because they are the creation of\nGod, and the most noble part of his creation too: they are also thy\nown kind: be natural, and assist them with what thou canst; be ready\nto perform any real respect, and yield them any good or countenance\nthou canst.\n\nXIX. And yet there seems a limitation to the command, Honour all\nmen, in that passage of godly David, \"Who shall abide in thy\ntabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? he in whose eyes a\nvile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the Lord.\"\n(Psalm xv. 1, 4.) Here honour is confined and affixed to godly\npersons; and dishonour made the duty of the righteous to the wicked,\nand a mark of their being righteous, that they dishonour, that is,\nslight or disregard them. To conclude this Scripture inquiry after\nhonour, I shall contract the subject of it under three capacities,\nsuperiors, equals, and inferiors: honour, to superiors is obedience;\nto equals, love; to inferiors, countenance and help: that is honour\nafter God's mind, and the holy people's fashion of old.\n\nXX. But how little of all this is to be seen or had in a poor empty\nhat, bow, cringe, or gaudy, flattering title, let the truth-speaking\nwitness of God in all mankind judge. For I must not appeal to\ncorrupt, proud, and self-speaking man, of the good or evil of those\ncustoms; that as little as he would render them, are loved and\nsought by him, and he is out of humour and angry if he has them not.\n\nThis is our second reason why we refuse to practise the accustomed\nceremonies of honour and respect; because we find no such notion\nor expression of honour and respect, recommended to us by the Holy\nGhost in the Scriptures of truth.\n\nXXI. Our third reason for not using them as testimonies of honour\nand respect is, because there is no discovery of honour or respect\nto be made by them: it is rather eluding and equivocating it;\ncheating people of the honour and respect that is due to them;\ngiving them nothing in the show of something. There is in them no\nobedience to superiors, no love to equals, no help or countenance to\ninferiors.\n\nXXII. We are, we declare to the whole world, for true honour\nand respect; we honour the king, our parents, our masters, our\nmagistrates, our landlords, one another; yea, all men, after God's\nway, used by holy men and women of old time: but we refuse these\ncustoms as vain and deceitful; not answering the end they are used\nfor.\n\nXXIII. But, fourthly, there is yet more to be said: we find that\nvain, loose, and worldly people are the great lovers and practisers\nof them, and most deride our simplicity of behaviour. Now we\nassuredly know, from the sacred testimonies, that those people\ncannot give true honour that live in a dishonourable spirit; they\nunderstand it not; but they can give the hat and knee, and that they\nare very liberal of, nor are any more expert at it. This is to us a\nproof that no true honour can be testified by those customs, which\nvanity and looseness love and use.\n\nXXIV. Next to them I will add hypocrisy, and revenge too. For\nhow little do many care for each other! Nay, what spite, envy,\nanimosity, secret backbiting, and plotting one against another,\nunder the use of these idle respects; till passion, too strong for\ncunning, breaks through hypocrisy into open affront and revenge!\nIt cannot be so with the Scripture honour: to obey, or prefer a\nman, out of spite, is not usually done: and to love, help, serve,\nand countenance a person, in order to deceive and be revenged of\nhim, is a thing never heard of: these admit of no hypocrisy nor\nrevenge. Men do not these things to palliate ill-will, which are\nthe testimonies of quite the contrary. It is absurd to imagine it,\nbecause impossible to be done.\n\nXXV. Our sixth reason is, that honour was from the beginning: but\nhat-respects and most titles are of late: therefore there was true\nhonour before hats or titles; and consequently true honour stands\nnot in them. And that which ever was the way to express true honour\nis the best way still; and this the Scripture teaches better than\ndancing-masters can do.\n\nXXVI. Seventhly, if honour consists in such-like ceremonies, then\nwill it follow, that they are most capable of showing honour who\nperform it most exactly, according to the mode or fashion of the\ntimes; consequently, that man hath not the measure of true honour,\nfrom a just and reasonable principle in himself, but by the means\nand skill of the fantastic dancing-masters of the times: and for\nthis cause it is we see that many give much money to have their\nchildren learn their honours, falsely so called. And what doth\nthis but totally exclude the poor country people; who, though they\nplough, till, sow, reap, go to market, and in all things obey\ntheir justices, landlords, fathers, and masters, with sincerity\nand sobriety, rarely use those ceremonies; but if they do it is so\nawkwardly and meanly, that they are esteemed by a court critic so\nill favoured as only fit to make a jest of and be laughed at: but\nwhat sober man will not deem their obedience beyond the others'\nvanity and hypocrisy? This base notion of honour turns out of\ndoors the true, and sets the false in its place. Let it be further\nconsidered, that the way or fashion of doing it is much more in\nthe design of its performers, as well as view of its spectators,\nthan the respect itself. Whence it is commonly said, He is a man of\ngood mien; or, She is a woman of exact behaviour. And what is this\nbehaviour but fantastic, cramped postures and cringings, unnatural\nto their shape; and, if it were not fashionable, ridiculous to the\nview of all people; and is therefore to the Eastern countries a\nproverb.\n\nXXVII. But yet, eighthly, real honour consists not in a hat, bow,\nor title, because all these things may be had for money, for which\nreason, how many dancing-schools, plays, &c. are there in the land,\nto which youth is generally sent to be educated in these vain\nfashions! Whilst they are ignorant of the honour that is of God, and\ntheir minds are allured to visible things that perish; and instead\nof remembering their Creator, are taken up with toys and fopperies;\nand sometimes so much worse, as to cost themselves a disinheriting,\nand their indiscreet parents grief and misery all their days. (Prov.\niii. 9.) If parents would honour God in the help of his poor with\nthe substance they bestow on such an education, they would find a\nfar better account in the end.\n\nXXVIII. But lastly, we cannot esteem bows, titles, and pulling off\nof hats, to be real honour, because such-like customs have been\nprohibited by God, his Son, and servants in days past. This I shall\nendeavour to show by three or four express authorities.\n\nXXIX. My first example and authority is taken from the story of\nMordecai and Haman; so close to this point, that methinks it should\nat least command silence to the objections frequently advanced\nagainst us. Haman was first minister of state, and favourite to king\nAhasuerus. The text says, That the king set his seat above all the\nprinces that were with him; and all the king's servants bowed and\nreverenced Haman; for the king had so commanded concerning him; but\nMordecai, it seems, bowed not, nor did him reverence. (Esther, iii.\n1, 2.) This at first made ill for Mordecai; a gallows was prepared\nfor him at Haman's command. But the sequel of the story shows that\nHaman proved his own invention, and ended his pride with his life\nupon it. Well now, speaking as the world speaks, and looking upon\nMordecai without the knowledge of the success; was not Mordecai a\nvery clown, at least a silly, morose, and humorous man, to run such\na hazard for a trifle? What hurt had it done him to have bowed to\nand honoured one the king honoured? Did he not despise the king, in\ndisregarding Haman? Nay, had not the king commanded that respect;\nand are not we to honour and obey the king? One would have thought\nhe might have bowed for the king's sake, whatever he had in his\nheart, and yet have come off well enough; for that he bowed not\nmerely to Haman, but to the king's authority; besides, it was but an\ninnocent ceremony. But it seems Mordecai was too plain and stout,\nand not fine and subtle enough to avoid the displeasure of Haman.\n\nHowbeit, he was an excellent man: he feared God, and wrought\nrighteousness. And in this very thing also he pleased God, and\neven the king too, at last, that had most cause to be angry with\nhim: for he advanced him to Haman's dignity; and if it could be\nto greater honour. It is true, sad news first came; no less than\ndestruction to Mordecai, and the whole people of the Jews besides,\nfor his sake: but Mordecai's integrity and humiliation, his fasting,\nand strong cries to God prevailed, and the people were saved, and\npoor condemned Mordecai comes, after all, to be exalted above the\nprinces, whether in this or any other respect. They that endure\nfaithful in that which they are convinced God requires of them,\nthough against the grain and humour of the world and themselves\ntoo, they shall find a blessed recompense in the end. My brethren,\nremember the cup of cold water: \"We shall reap if we faint not.\" And\ncall to mind, that our Captain bowed not to him that told him, \"If\nthou wilt fall down and worship me, I will give thee all the glory\nof the world:\" shall we bow then? O no! Let us follow our blessed\nLeader.\n\nXXX. But before I leave this section, it is fit I add, that in\nconference with a late bishop, and none of the least eminent, upon\nthis subject and instance, I remember he sought to evade it thus:\n\"Mordecai,\" says he, \"did not refuse to bow, as it was a testimony\nof respect to the king's favourite; but he, being a figure and\ntype of Christ, refused, because Haman was of the uncircumcision,\nand ought to bow to him rather.\" To which I replied, That allowing\nMordecai to be a figure of Christ, and the Jews of God's people or\nchurch; and that as the Jews were saved by Mordecai, so the church\nis saved by Christ; this makes for me; for then, by that reason, the\nspiritual circumcision, or people of Christ, are not to receive and\nbow to the fashions and customs of the spiritual uncircumcision, who\nare the children of the world; of which such as were condemnable\nso long ago in the time of the type and figure, can by no means be\njustifiably received or practised in the time of the antitype or\nsubstance itself. On the contrary, this shows expressly, we are\nfaithfully to decline such worldly customs, and not to fashion\nourselves according to the conversation of earthly-minded people;\nbut be renewed and changed in our ways, and keep close to our\nMordecai; who having not bowed, we must not bow, that are his people\nand followers. And whatever be our sufferings or reproaches, they\nwill have an end: Mordecai, our captain, that appears for his people\nthroughout all the provinces, in the king's gate, will deliver us at\nlast; and, for his sake, we shall be favoured and loved of the king\nhimself too. So powerful is faithful Mordecai at last. Therefore let\nus all look to Jesus, our Mordecai, the Israel indeed; He that has\npower with God, and would not bow in the hour of temptation, but has\nmightily prevailed; and therefore is a Prince for ever, and \"of his\ngovernment there shall be no end.\" (Isa. ix. 7.)\n\nXXXI. The next Scripture instance I urge against these customs, is a\npassage in Job, thus expressed: \"Let me not, I pray you, accept any\nman's person; neither let me give flattering titles unto man, for I\nknow not to give flattering titles; in so doing, my Maker would soon\ntake me away.\" (Job, xxxii. 21, 22.) The question that will arise\nupon the allegation of this Scripture is this, viz. What titles are\nflattering? The answer is as obvious, namely, Such as are empty and\nfictitious, and make him more than he is: as to call a man what he\nis not, to please him; or to exalt him beyond his true name, office,\nor desert, to gain upon his affections; who, it may be, lusteth to\nhonour and respect: such as these,--most excellent, most sacred,\nyour grace, your lordship, most dread majesty, right honourable,\nright worshipful, may it please your majesty, your grace, your\nlordship, your honour, your worship, and the like unnecessary titles\nand attributes, calculated only to please and tickle poor, proud,\nvain, yet mortal man. Likewise to call man what he is not, as my\nlord, my master, &c., and wise, just, or good, when he is neither,\nonly to please him, or show him respect.\n\nIt was familiar thus to do among the Jews, under their degeneracy;\nwherefore one came to Christ, and said, \"Good master, what shall I\ndo to have eternal life?\" (Luke, xviii. 18.) It was a salutation or\naddress of respect in those times. It is familiar now: good my lord,\ngood sir, good master, do this, or do that. But what was Christ's\nanswer? how did he take it? \"Why callest thou me good?\" says Christ;\n\"there is none good, save one, that is God.\" (Verse 19.) He rejected\nit that had more right to keep it than all mankind: and why? Because\nthere was one greater than he; and that he saw the man addressed it\nto his manhood, after the way of the times, and not to his divinity\nwhich dwelt within it: therefore Christ refuses it, showing and\ninstructing us that we should not give such epithets and titles\ncommonly to men; for good being due alone to God and godliness, it\ncan only be said in flattery to fallen man, and therefore sinful to\nbe so said.\n\nThis plain and exact life well became Him, that was on purpose\nmanifested to return and restore man from his lamentable degeneracy,\nto the innocency and purity of his first creation; who has taught\nus to be careful how we use and give attributes unto man by that\nmost severe saying, \"That every idle word that man shall speak, he\nshall give an account thereof in the day of judgment.\" (Matt. xii.\n3, 6.) And that which should warn all men of the latitude they take\nherein, and sufficiently justifies our tenderness is this, That man\ncan scarcely commit greater injury and offence against Almighty God,\nthan to ascribe any of his attributes unto man, the creature of his\nword, and the work of his hands. He is a jealous God of his honour,\nand will not give his glory unto another. Besides, it is so near\nthe sin of the aspiring fallen angels, that affected to be greater\nand better than they were made and stated by the great Lord of all,\nand to entitle man to a station above his make and orb, looks so\nlike idolatry (the unpardonable sin under the law) that it is hard\nto think how men and women professing Christianity, and seriously\nreflecting upon their vanity and evil in these things, can continue\nin them, much less plead for them; and least of all reproach and\nderide those that through tenderness of conscience cannot use and\ngive them. It seems that Elihu did not dare to do it; but put such\nweight upon the matter as to give this for one reason for his\nforbearance, to wit, lest my Maker should soon take me away: that\nis, for fear God should strike me dead, I dare not give man titles\nthat are above him, or titles merely to please him. I may not, by\nany means, gratify that spirit which lusteth after such things. God\nis to be exalted, and man abased. God is jealous of man's being\nset higher than his station: he will have him keep his place, know\nhis original, and remember the rock from whence he came: that what\nhe has is borrowed; not his own but his Maker's, who brought him\nforth and sustained him; which man is very apt to forget: and lest I\nshould be accessory to it by flattering titles, instead of telling\nhim truly and plainly what he is, and using them as he ought to be\ntreated, and thereby provoke my Maker to displeasure, and he in his\nanger and jealousy should take me soon away, or bring sudden death\nand an untimely end upon me, I dare not use, I dare not give such\ntitles unto men.\n\nXXXII. But if we had not this to allege from the Old Testament\nwritings, it should and ought to suffice with Christians, that\nthese customs are severely censured by the great Lord and Master\nof their religion; who is so far from putting people upon giving\nhonour one to another, that he will not indulge them in it, whatever\nbe the customs of the country they live in: for he charges it upon\nthe Jews as a mark of their apostasy; \"How can ye believe which\nreceive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh\nfrom God only?\" where their infidelity concerning Christ is made\nthe effect of seeking worldly, and not heavenly honour only. And\nthe thing is not hard to apprehend, if we consider that self-love\nand desire of honour from men is inconsistent with the love and\nhumility of Christ. They sought the good opinion and respect of the\nworld; how then was it possible they should leave all and follow\nhim, whose kingdom is not of this world; and that came in a way so\ncross to the mind and humour of it? And that this was the meaning\nof our Lord Jesus is plain: for he tells us what that honour was\nthey gave and received, which he condemned them for, and of which\nhe bid the disciples of his humility and cross beware. His words\nare these, and he speaks them not of the rabble but of the doctors,\nthe great men, the men of honour among the Jews: \"They love,\" says\nhe, \"the uppermost rooms at feasts,\" (Matt. xxiii. 6,) \"that is,\nplaces of greatest rank and respect; and greetings,\" (Mark, xii.\n38,) that is, salutations of respect, such as pulling off the hat,\nand bowing the body are in our age, in the market-places, viz. in\nthe places of note and concourse, the public walks and exchanges of\nthe country. And lastly, \"they love,\" says Christ, \"to be called of\nmen, Rabbi, Rabbi:\" one of the most eminent titles among the Jews. A\nword comprehending an excellency equal to many titles: it may stand\nfor your grace, your lordship, right reverend father, &c. It is\nupon these men of breeding and quality that he pronounces his woes,\nmaking these practices some of the evil marks by which to know them,\nas well as some of the motives of his threatenings against them. But\nhe leaves it not here: he pursues this very point of honour above\nall the rest in his caution to his disciples; to whom he gave in\ncharge thus: \"But be not ye called Rabbi; for one is your Master,\neven Christ, and all ye are brethren.\" (Matt. xviii. 8, 10-12.)\n\"Neither be ye called Masters; but he that is greatest amongst you\nshall be your servant: and whoever shall exalt himself shall be\nabased.\" Plain it is that these passages carry a severe rebuke, both\nto worldly honour in general, and to those members and expressions\nof it in particular, which, as near as the language of Scripture and\ncustoms of that age will permit, do distinctly reach and allude to\nthose of our own time; for the declining of which we have suffered\nso much scorn and abuse, both in our persons and estates; God\nforgive the unreasonable authors of it!\n\nXXXIII. The apostle Paul has a saying of great weight and fervency,\nin his epistle to the Romans, very agreeable to this doctrine of\nChrist; it is this: \"I beseech you therefore brethren, by the\nmercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice,\nholy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service; and be\nnot conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing\nof your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, that acceptable,\nand perfect will of God.\" (Rom. xii. 1, 2.) He wrote to a people,\nin the midst of the ensnaring pomp and glory of the world. Rome was\nthe seat of C\u00e6sar, and the empire; the mistress of invention. Her\nfashions, as those of France now, were as laws to the world, at\nleast at Rome: whence it is proverbial, _Cum fueris Rom\u00e6, Romano\nvivito more_. \"When thou art at Rome, thou must do as Rome does.\"\nBut the apostle is of another mind; he warns the Christians of\nthat city, that they be not conformed; that is, that they do not\nfollow the vain fashions and customs of this world, but leave them.\nThe emphasis lies upon this, as well as upon conformed; and it\nimports, that this world, which they were not to conform to, was the\ncorrupt and degenerate condition of mankind in that age. Wherefore\nthe apostle proceeds to exhort those believers, and that by the\nmercies of God, the most powerful and winning of all arguments, that\nthey would be transformed; that is, changed from the way of life\ncustomary among the Romans; and prove what is that acceptable will\nof God. As if he had said, Examine what you do and practise; see if\nit be right, and that it please God; call every thought, word, and\naction to judgment; (John, iii. 21;) try whether they are wrought in\nGod or not; that so you may prove or know, what is that good, and\nacceptable, and perfect will of God.\n\nXXXIV. The next scripture authority we appeal to, in our\nvindication, is a passage of the apostle Peter, in his first\nepistle written to the believing strangers throughout the countries\nof Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia; which were the\nchurches of Christ Jesus in those parts of the world, gathered by\nhis power and spirit: it is this; \"Gird up the loins of your minds;\nbe sober and hope to the end, for the grace that is to be brought\nunto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children,\nnot fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your\nignorance.\" (1 Pet. i. 13, 14.) That is, be not found in the vain\nfashions and customs of the world, unto which you conformed in\nyour former ignorance; but as you have believed in a more plain\nand excellent way, so be sober and fervent, and hope to the end:\ndo not give out; let them mock on; bear ye the contradiction of\nsinners constantly, as obedient children, that you may receive the\nkindness of God, at the revelation of Jesus Christ. And therefore\ndoes the apostle call them strangers, a figurative speech, people\nestranged from the customs of the world, of new faith and manners;\nand so unknown of the world: and if such strangers, then not to be\nfashioned or conformed to their pleasing respects and honours, whom\nthey were estranged from: because the strangeness lay in leaving\nthat which was customary and familiar to them before. The following\nwords, verse 17, prove he used the word strangers in a spiritual\nsense; \"Pass the time of your sojourning here in fear;\" that is,\npass the time of your being as strangers on earth in fear; not after\nthe fashions of the world. A word in the next chapter, further\nexplains his sense, where he tells the believers, that they are a\npeculiar people; to wit, a distinct, a singular and separate people\nfrom the rest of the world: not any longer to fashion themselves\naccording to their customs. But I do not know how that could be, if\nthey were to live in communion with the world, in its respects and\nhonours; for that is not to be a peculiar or separate people from\nthem, but to be like them, because conformable to them.\n\nXXXV. I shall conclude my scripture testimonies against the\nforegoing respects, with that memorable and close passage of the\napostle James against respect of persons in general after the\nworld's fashion: \"My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus\nChrist, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons: for if there\ncome unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel:\nand there come in also a poor man in vile raiment, and ye have\nrespect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him,\nSit thou here in a good place, (or well and seemly, as the word\nis;) and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my\nfootstool; are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become\njudges of evil thoughts?\" (James, ii. 1-4.) That is, they knew they\ndid amiss: \"If ye fulfil the royal law, according to the scripture,\nThou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well; but if ye\nhave respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the\nlaw as transgressors.\" (James, ii. 8, 9.) This is so full there\nseems nothing left for me to add, or others to object. We are not\nto respect persons, that is the first thing: and the next thing\nis, if we do we commit sin, and break the law; At our own peril be\nit. And yet perhaps some will say, that by this we overthrow all\ndistinction amongst men, under their divers qualities, and introduce\na reciprocal and relational respect in the room of it: but if it be\nso, I cannot help it, the apostle James must answer for it, who has\ngiven us this doctrine for Christian and apostolical. And yet one\ngreater than he told his disciples, of whom James was one, \"Ye know\nthat the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, &c.\nBut it shall not be so among you; but whosoever will be chief among\nyou, let him be your servant.\" (Mat. xx. 25-27.) That is, he that\naffects rule, and seeks to be uppermost, shall be esteemed least\namong you. And to say true on the whole matter, whether we regard\nthose early times of the world, that were antecedent to the coming\nof Christ or soon after, there was yet a greater simplicity than\nin the times in which we are fallen. For those early times of the\nworld, as bad as they were in other things, were great strangers to\nthe frequency of these follies: nay, they hardly used some of them,\nat least very rarely. For if we read the Scriptures, such a thing\nas my lord Adam, though lord of the world, is not to be found: nor\nmy lord Noah neither, the second lord of the earth: nor yet my lord\nAbraham, the father of the faithful; nor my lord Isaac; nor my lord\nJacob; but much less is my lord Paul, &c. to be found in the Bible:\nand less your holiness, or your grace. Nay, among the Gentiles, the\npeople wore their own names with more simplicity, and used not the\nceremony of speech that is now practised among Christians, nor yet\nanything like it. My lord Solon, my lord Phocion, my lord Plato,\nmy lord Aristotle, my lord Scipio, my lord Fabius, my lord Cato,\nmy lord Cicero, are not to be read in any of the Greek or Latin\nstories, and yet they were some of the sages and heroes of those\ngreat empires. No, their own names were enough to distinguish them\nfrom other men, and their virtue and employments in the public\nservice were their titles of honour. Nor has this vanity yet crept\nfar into the Latin writers, where it is familiar for authors to cite\nthe most learned and the most noble, without any addition to their\nnames, unless worthy or learned: and if their works give it them, we\nmake no conscience to deny it them. For instance; the Fathers they\nonly cite thus: Polycarpus, Ignatius, Iren\u00e6us, Cyprian, Tertullian,\nOrigen, Arnobius, Lactantius, Chrysostom, Jerom, &c. More modern\nwriters; Damascen, Rabanus, Paschasius, Theophylact, Bernard, &c.\nAnd of the last age, Luther, Melancthon, Calvin, Beza, Zuinglius,\nMarlorat, Vossius, Grotius, Dalleus, Amyralldus, &c. And of our own\ncountry, Gildas, Beda, Alcuinus, Horn, Bracton, Grosteed, Littleton,\nCranmer, Ridley, Jewel, Whitaker, Seldon, &c. And yet I presume this\nwill not be thought uncivil or rude. Why then is our simplicity (and\nso honestly grounded too, as conscience against pride in man, that\nso evilly and perniciously loves and seeks worship and greatness) so\nmuch despised and abused, and that by professed Christians too, who\ntake themselves to be the followers of Him, that has forbidden these\nfoolish customs, as plainly as any other impiety condemned in his\ndoctrine? I earnestly beg the lovers, users, and expecters of these\nceremonies, to let this I have written have some consideration and\nweight with them.\n\nXXXVI. However, Christians are not so ill-bred as the world think;\nfor they show respect too: but the difference between them lies in\nthe nature of the respect they perform, and the reasons of it. The\nworld's respect is an empty ceremony, no soul nor substance in it:\nthe Christian's is a solid thing, whether by obedience to superiors,\nlove to equals, or help and countenance to inferiors. Next, their\nreasons and motives to honour and respect, are as wide one from\nthe other: for fine apparel, empty titles, or large revenues are\nthe world's motives, being things her children worship: but the\nChristian's motives are the sense of his duty in God's sight; first\nto parents and magistrates; and then to inferior relations: and\nlastly to all people, according to their virtue, wisdom, and piety;\nwhich is far from respect to the mere persons of men, or having\ntheir persons in admiration for reward: much less on such mean and\nbase motives as wealth and sumptuous raiment.\n\nXXXVII. We shall easily grant, our honour, as our religion, is more\nhidden; and that neither are so discernible by worldly men, nor\ngrateful to them. Our plainness is odd, uncouth, and goes mightily\nagainst the grain; but so does Christianity too, and that for the\nsame reasons. But had not the Heathen spirit prevailed too long\nunder a Christian profession, it would not be so hard to discern the\nright from the wrong. O that Christians would look upon themselves\nwith the glass of righteousness; that which tells true, and gives\nthem an exact knowledge of themselves! And then let them examine,\nwhat in them, and about them, agrees with Christ's doctrine and\nlife; and they may soon resolve, whether they are real Christians,\nor but Heathens christened with the name of Christians.\n\n\nSOME TESTIMONIES FROM ANCIENT AND MODERN WRITERS IN FAVOUR OF OUR\nBEHAVIOUR.\n\nXXXVIII. Marlorat, out of Luther and Calvin, upon that remarkable\npassage I just now urged from the apostle James, gives us the sense\nthose primitive reformers had of respect to persons in these words,\nviz. 'To respect persons here, is to have regard to the habit and\ngarb: the apostle signifies, that such respecting of persons is so\ncontrary to true faith, that they are altogether inconsistent: but\nif the pomp, and other worldly regards prevail, and weaken what is\nof Christ, it is a sign of a decaying faith. Yea, so great is the\nglory and splendour of Christ in a pious soul, that all the glories\nof the world have no charms, no beauty, in comparison of that, unto\none so righteously inclined. The apostle maketh such respecting of\npersons, to be repugnant to the light within them, insomuch as they\nwho follow these practices, are condemned from within themselves.\nSo that sanctity ought to be the reason or motive of all outward\nrespect; and that none is to be honoured, upon any account but\nholiness.' Thus much Marlorat. But if this be true doctrine, we are\nmuch in the right in refusing conformity to the vain respects of\nworldly men.\n\nXXXIX. But I shall add to these, the admonition of a learned ancient\nwriter, who lived about 1200 years since, of great esteem, namely\nJerom, who writing to a noble matron, Celantia, directing her how to\nlive in the midst of her prosperity and honours, amongst many other\nreligious instructions, speaks thus: 'Heed not thy nobility, nor let\nthat be a reason for thee to take place of any; esteem not those of\na meaner extraction to be thy inferiors; for our religion admits of\nno respect of persons, nor doth it induce us to repute men, from\nany external condition, but from their inward frame and disposition\nof mind: it is hereby that we pronounce men noble or base. With\nGod, not to serve sin is to be free; and to excel in virtue is to\nbe noble. God has chosen the mean and contemptible of this world,\nwhereby to humble the great ones. Besides, it is a folly for any\nto boast his gentility, since all are equally esteemed by God. The\nransom of the poor and rich cost Christ an equal expense of blood.\nNor is it material in what state a man is born; the new creature\nhath no distinction. But if we will forget how we all descended from\none Father; we ought at least perpetually to remember that we have\nbut one Saviour.'\n\nXL. But since I am engaged against these fond and fruitless customs,\nthe proper effects and delights of vain and proud minds, let me\nyet add one memorable passage more, as it is related by the famous\nCasaubon, in his discourse of Use and Custom, where he briefly\nreports, what passed between Sulpitius Severus and Paulinus, bishop\nof Nola, (but such an one as gave all to redeem captives; whilst\nothers of that function, that they may show who is their master, are\nmaking many both beggars and captives, by countenancing the plunder\nand imprisonment of Christians, for pure conscience to God); he\nbrings it in thus: 'He is not counted a civil man now, of late years\namongst us, who thinks it much, or refuseth to subscribe himself\nservant, though it be to his equal or inferior.' Yet Sulpitius\nSeverus was once sharply chid by Paulinus for subscribing himself\nhis servant, in a letter of his, saying, 'Take heed hereafter,\nhow thou being from a servant called into liberty, dost subscribe\nthyself servant unto one who is thy brother and fellow-servant; for\nit is a sinful flattery, not a testimony of humility, to pay those\nhonours to a man, and a sinner, which are due to the one Lord, and\none Master, and one God.' By this we may see the sense of some of\nthe more apostolical bishops, about the civilities and fashions\nso much reputed with people that call themselves Christians and\nbishops, and who would be thought their successors. It was then a\nsin, it is now an accomplishment: it was then a flattery, it is now\nrespect: it was then fit to be severely reproved; and now, alas!\nit is to deserve severe reproof not to use it. O monstrous vanity!\nHow much, how deeply, have those who are called Christians revolted\nfrom the plainness of the primitive days, and practice of holy men\nand women in former ages! How are they become degenerated into the\nloose, proud, and wanton customs of the world, which knows not God;\nto whom use hath made these things, condemned by scripture, reason,\nand example, almost natural! And so insensible are they of both\ntheir cause and bad effects, that they not only continue to practise\nthem, but plead for them, and unchristianly make a very mock of\nthose who cannot imitate them. But I shall proceed to what remains\nyet further to be said in our defence, for declining another custom,\nwhich helps to make us so much the stumbling-block of this light,\nvain, and inconsiderate age.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X.\n\n     1. Another piece of nonconformity to the world, which is our\n     simple and plain speech, thou for you.--2. Justified from the\n     use of words and numbers, singular and plural.--3. It was,\n     and is the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin speech, in schools and\n     universities.--4. It is the language of all nations.--5. The\n     original of the present customs defends our disuse of it.--6.\n     If custom should prevail, in a sense it would be on our\n     side.--7. It cannot be uncivil or improper, for God himself,\n     the fathers, prophets, Christ, and his apostles used it.--8. An\n     instance given in the case of Peter, in the palace of the high\n     priest.--9. It is the practice of men to God in their prayers:\n     the pride of man to expect better to himself.--10. Testimonies\n     of several writers in vindication of us.--11. The Author's\n     convictions; and his exhortation to his reader.\n\n\nI. There is another piece of our nonconformity to the world, that\nrenders us very clownish to the breeding of it, and that is, _thou_\nfor _you_, and that without difference or respect to persons: a\nthing that to some looks so rude it cannot well go down without\nderision or wrath. But as we have the same original reason for\ndeclining this, as the foregoing customs, so I shall add, what to me\nlooks reasonable in our defence; though it is very probable height\nof mind, in some of those that blame us, will very hardly allow them\nto believe that the word reasonable is reconcileable with so silly a\npractice as this is esteemed.\n\nII. Words of themselves are but as so many marks set and employed\nfor necessary and intelligible mediums, or means, whereby men may\nunderstandingly express their minds and conceptions to each other:\nfrom whence comes conversation. Now, though the world be divided\ninto many nations, each of which, for the most part, has a peculiar\nlanguage, speech, or dialect, yet have they ever concurred in the\nsame numbers and persons, as much of the ground of right speech.\nFor instance; _I love_, _thou lovest_, _he loveth_, are of singular\nnumber, importing but one whether in the first, second, or third\nperson: also _we love_, _ye love_, _they love_, are of the plural\nnumber, because in each is implied more than one. Which undeniable\ngrammatical rule, might be enough to satisfy any, that have not\nforgotten their accidence, that we are not beside reason in our\npractice. For if _thou lovest_, be singular, and _you love_, be\nplural; and if _thou lovest_, signifies but one; and _you love_,\nmany; is it not as proper to say, _thou lovest_, to ten men, as to\nsay, _you love_, to _one_ man? Or, why not, _I love_, for _we love_;\nand _we love_, instead of _I love_? Doubtless it is the same, though\nmost improper, and in speech ridiculous.\n\nIII. Our next reason is; if it be improper or uncivil speech, as\ntermed by this vain age, how comes it that the Hebrew, Greek, and\nRoman authors, used in schools and universities, have no other? Why\nshould they not be a rule in that, as well as other things? And why,\nI pray then, are we so ridiculous for being thus far grammatical? Is\nit reasonable that children should be whipped at school for putting\nyou for thou, as having made false Latin; and yet that we must be,\nthough not whipped, reproached, and often abused, when we use the\ncontrary propriety of speech?\n\nIV. But in the third place, it is neither improper nor uncivil,\nbut much otherwise; because it is used in all languages, speeches,\nand dialects, and that through all ages. This is very plain: as\nfor example, it was God's language when he first spake to Adam,\nviz. Hebrew: also it is the Assyrian, Chaldean, Grecian and Latin\nspeech. And now among the Turks, Tartars, Muscovites, Indians,\nPersians, Italians, Spaniards, French, Dutch, Germans, Polonians,\nSwedes, Danes, Irish, Scotch, Welsh, as well as English there is\na distinction preserved, and the word _thou_ is not lost in the\nword which goes for _you_. And though some of the modern tongues\nhave done as we do, yet upon the same error. But by this it is\nplain, that _thou_ is no upstart, nor yet improper, but the only\nproper word to be used in all languages to a single person;\nbecause otherwise all sentences, speeches, and discourses may be\nvery ambiguous, uncertain, and equivocal. If a jury pronounce a\nverdict or a judge a sentence, three being at the bar, upon three\noccasions, very differently culpable, and should say, You are here\nguilty and to die; or innocent, and discharged: who knows who is\nguilty or innocent? May be but one, perhaps two; or it may be, all\nthree: therefore our indictments run in the singular number, as\nHold up thy hand: thou art indicted by the name of, &c., for that\nthou, not having the fear of God, &c. And it holds the same in\nall conversation. Nor can this be avoided but by many unnecessary\ncircumlocutions. And as the preventing of such length and obscurity\nwas doubtless the first reason for the distinction, so cannot that\nbe justly disused till the reason be first removed; which can never\nbe whilst two are in the world.\n\nV. But this is not all; it was first ascribed in way of flattery to\nproud popes and emperors, imitating the heathens' vain homage to\ntheir gods; thereby ascribing a plural honour to a single person:\nas if one pope had been made up of many gods, and one emperor of\nmany men; for which reason, _you_ only to be used to many, became\nfirst spoken to one. It seems the word _thou_ looked like too lean\nand thin a respect; and therefore, some bigger than they should\nbe, would have a style suitable to their own ambition: a ground\nwe cannot build our practice on; for what began it only loves it\nstill. But supposing _you_ to be proper to a prince, it will not\nfollow it is to a common person. For his edict runs, _We will and\nrequire_, because, perhaps, in conjunction with his council: and\ntherefore _you_ to a private person is an abuse of the word. But as\npride first gave it birth, so hath she only promoted it. Monsieur,\nsir, and madam, were originally names given to none but the king,\nhis brother, and their wives, both in France and England; yet now\nthe ploughman in France is called monsieur, and his wife madame: and\nmen of ordinary trades in England, sir, and their wives, dame; which\nis the legal title of a lady, or else mistress, which is the same\nwith madame in French. So prevalent hath pride and flattery been in\nall ages, the one to give and the other to receive respects, as they\nterm it.\n\nVI. But some will tell us, custom should rule us; and that is\nagainst us. But it is easily answered, and more truly, that though\nin things reasonable or indifferent, custom is obliging or harmless,\nyet in things unreasonable or unlawful, she has no authority. For\ncustom can no more change numbers than genders, nor yoke _one_\nand _you_ together, than make a man into a woman, or one into a\nthousand. But if custom be to conclude us, it is for us; for as\ncustom is nothing more than ancient usage, I appeal to the practice\nof mankind, from the beginning of the world, through all nations,\nagainst the novelty of this confusion, viz. _you_ to one person. Let\ncustom, which is ancient practice and fact, issue this question.\nMistake me not: I know words are nothing, but as men give them a\nvalue or force by use; but then, if you will discharge _thou_, and\nthat _you_ must succeed in its place, let us have a distinguishing\nword instead of _you_ to be used in speech to many: but to use the\nsame word for one and many, when there are two, and that only to\nplease a proud and haughty humour in man, is not reasonable in our\nsense: which we hope is Christian, though not modish.\n\nVII. But if _thou_ to a single person be improper or uncivil, God\nhimself, all the holy fathers and prophets, Christ Jesus, and his\napostles, the primitive saints, all languages throughout the world,\nand our own law proceedings are guilty; which, with submission, were\ngreat presumption to imagine. Besides, we all know it is familiar\nwith most of our authors to preface their discourses to the reader\nin the same language of thee and thou: as, Reader, thou art desired,\n&c. Or, Reader, this is written to inform thee of the occasion,\n&c. And it cannot be denied, that the most famous poems, dedicated\nto love or majesty, are written in this style. Read of each in\nChaucer, Spenser, Waller, Cowley, Dryden, &c. Why then should it be\nso homely, ill-bred, and insufferable in us? This, I conceive, can\nnever be answered.\n\nVIII. I doubt not at all that something altogether as singular\nattended the speech of Christ and his disciples: for I remember it\nwas urged upon Peter in the high priest's palace, as a proof of his\nbelonging to Jesus, when he denied his Lord: \"Surely,\" said they,\n\"thou art also one of them: for thy speech bewrayeth thee.\" (Matt.\nxxvi. 73.) They had guessed by his looks but just before that he had\nbeen with Jesus; but when they discoursed with him, his language put\nthem all out of doubt: surely then he was one of them, and he had\nbeen with Jesus. Something it was he had learned in his company that\nwas odd and observable; to be sure, not of the world's behaviour.\nWithout question, the garb, gait, and speech of his followers\ndiffered, as well as his doctrine, from the world; for it was a part\nof his doctrine it should be so. It is easy to believe they were\nmore plain, grave, and precise, which is more credible from the way\nwhich poor, confident, fearful Peter took to disguise the business;\nfor he fell to cursing and swearing--a sad shift. But he thought\nthat the likeliest way to remove the suspicion, that was most unlike\nChrist. And the policy took; for it silenced their objections, and\nPeter was as orthodox as they. But though they found him not out,\nthe cock's crow did; which made Peter remember his dear suffering\nLord's words: and he went forth, and wept bitterly; that he had\ndenied his Master, who was then delivered up to die for him.\n\nIX. But our last reason is of most weight with me, and because\n_argumentum ad hominem_, it is most heavy with our despisers, which\nis this: it should not therefore be urged upon us, because it is a\nmost extravagant piece of pride in a mortal man to require or expect\nfrom his fellow-creature a more civil speech or grateful language,\nthan he is wont to give to the immortal God and his Creator in all\nhis worship to him. Art thou, O man, greater than he that made thee?\nCanst thou approach the God of thy breath and great Judge of thy\nlife with _thou_ and _thee_, and when thou risest off thy knees,\nscorn a Christian for giving to thee, poor mushroom of the earth,\nno better language than thou hast given to God but just before? An\narrogancy not to be easily equalled! But again, it has either too\nmuch or too little respect; if too much, do not reproach and be\nangry, but gravely and humbly refuse it; if too little, why dost\nthou show to God no more? O whither is man gone! To what a pitch\ndoes he soar! He would be used more civilly by us than he uses God;\nwhich is to have us make more than a God of him: but he shall want\nworshippers of us, as well as he wants the divinity in himself\nthat deserves to be worshipped. Certain we are, that the Spirit\nof God seeks not these respects, much less pleads for them, or\nwould be wroth with any that conscientiously refuse to give them.\nBut that this vain generation is guilty of using them, to gratify\na vain mind, is too palpable. What capping, what cringing, what\nscraping, what vain, unmeant words, most hyperbolical expressions,\ncompliments, gross flatteries, and plain lies, under the name of\ncivilities, are men and women guilty of in conversation! Ah! my\nfriends! whence fetch you these examples? What part of all the\nwritings of the holy men of God warrants these things? But, to\ncome nearer to your own profession, is Christ your example herein,\nwhose name you pretend to bear; or those saints of old that lived\nin desolate places, of whom the world was not worthy: (Heb. xi.\n38:) or do you think you follow the practice of those Christians\nthat, in obedience to their Master's life and doctrine, forsook the\nrespect of persons, and relinquished the fashions, honour, and glory\nof this transitory world; whose qualifications lay not in external\ngestures, respects, and compliments, but in a meek and quiet spirit,\n(1 Pet. iii. 4,) adorned with temperance, virtue, modesty, gravity,\npatience, and brotherly kindness; which were the tokens of true\nhonour, and only badges of respect and nobility in those Christian\ntimes? O no. But is it not to expose ourselves both to your contempt\nand fury, that we imitate them, and not you? And tell us, pray, are\nnot romances, plays, masks, gaming, fiddlers, &c. the entertainments\nthat most delight you? Had you the spirit of Christianity indeed,\ncould you consume your most precious little time in so many\nunnecessary visits, games, and pastimes; in your vain compliments,\ncourtships, feigned stories, flatteries, and fruitless novelties,\nand what not; invented and used to your diversion, to make you easy\nin your forgetfulness of God: which never was the Christian way of\nliving, but entertainment of the heathens that knew not God? Oh!\nwere you truly touched with a sense of your sins, and in any measure\nborn again; did you take up the cross of Jesus and live under it,\nthese, which so much please your wanton and sensual nature, would\nfind no place with you. This is not seeking the things that are\nabove, (Col. iii. 1,) to have the heart thus set on things that are\nbelow; nor working out your own salvation with fear and trembling,\nto spend your days in vanity. This is not crying with Elihu, \"I\nknow not to give flattering titles to men; for in so doing my Maker\nwould soon take me away.\" This is not to deny self, and lay up a\nmore hidden and enduring substance, an eternal inheritance in the\nheavens, that will not pass away. Well, my friends, whatever you\nthink, your plea of custom will find no place at God's tribunal:\nthe light of Christ in your own hearts will overrule it; and this\nSpirit, against which we testify, shall then appear to be what we\nsay it is. Say not I am serious about slight things; but beware you\nof levity in serious things.\n\nX. Before I close, I shall add a few testimonies from men of\ngeneral credit, in favour of our nonconformity to the world in this\nparticular.\n\nLuther, the great reformer, whose sayings were oracles with the\nage he lived in, and of no less reputation now, with many that\nobject against us, was so far from condemning our plain speech,\nthat in his Ludus, he sports himself with _you_ to a single person\nas an incongruous and ridiculous speech, viz. _Magister, vos estis\niratus?_ Master, are you angry? As absurd with him in Latin, as My\nmasters, art thou angry? is in English. Erasmus, a learned man,\nand an exact critic in speech, than whom I know not any we may so\nproperly refer the grammar of the matter to, not only derides it,\nbut bestows a whole discourse upon rendering it absurd: plainly\nmanifesting that it is impossible to preserve numbers if _you_, the\nonly word for more than one, be used to express _one_: as also, that\nthe original of this corruption was the corruption of flattery.\nLipsius affirms of the ancient Romans, \"That the manner of greeting\nnow in vogue was not in use amongst them.\" To conclude: Howel,\nin his History of France, gives us an ingenious account of its\noriginal; where he not only assures us, \"That anciently the peasants\nthou'd their kings, but that pride and flattery first put inferiors\nupon paying a plural respect to the single person of every superior,\nand superiors upon receiving it.\" And though we had not the practice\nof God and man so undeniably to justify our plain and homely speech,\nyet, since we are persuaded that its original was from pride and\nflattery, we cannot in conscience use it. And however we may be\ncensured as singular by those loose and airy minds, that through\nthe continual love of earthly pleasures, consider not the true rise\nand tendency of words and things; yet to us whom God has convinced\nby his light and Spirit in our hearts of the folly and evil of such\ncourses, and brought into a spiritual discerning of the nature and\nground of the world's fashions, they appear to be fruits of pride\nand flattery; and we dare not continue in such vain compliances to\nearthly minds, lest we offend God, and burden our consciences. But\nhaving been sincerely affected with the reproofs of instruction,\nand our hearts being brought into a watchful subjection to the\nrighteous law of JESUS, so as to bring our deeds to the light,\n(John, iii. 19-21,) to see in whom they are wrought, if in God or\nnot; we cannot, we dare not conform ourselves to the fashions of the\nworld that pass away; knowing assuredly, that \"for every idle word\nthat men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of\njudgment.\" (Matt. xii. 36.)\n\nXI. Wherefore, reader, whether thou art a night-walking Nicodemus,\nor a scoffing scribe; one that would visit the blessed Messiah,\nbut in the dark customs of the world, that thou mightest pass as\nundiscerned, for fear of bearing his reproachful cross; or else\na favourer of Haman's pride, and countest these testimonies but\na foolish singularity; I must say, Divine love enjoins me to be\na messenger of truth to thee, and a faithful witness against the\nevil of this degenerate world, as in other, so in these things; in\nwhich the spirit of vanity and lust hath got so great a head, and\nlived so long uncontrolled, that it hath impudence enough to term\nits darkness light, and to call its evil offspring by the names\ndue to a better nature, the more easily to deceive people into the\npractice of them. And truly, so very blind and insensible are most\nof what spirit they are, and ignorant of the meek and self-denying\nlife of holy Jesus, whose name they profess; that to call each other\nRabbi, that is, master; to bow to men, which I call worship; and\nto greet with flattering titles, and to do their fellow-creatures\nhomage; to scorn that language to themselves that they give to God,\nand to spend their time and estate to gratify their wanton minds;\nthe customs of the Gentiles, that knew not God, pass with them for\ncivility, good-breeding, decency, recreation, accomplishments, &c.\nO that man would consider, since there are but two spirits, one\ngood, the other evil, which of them it is that inclines the world\nto these things; and whether it be Nicodemus or Mordecai in thee,\nthat doth befriend these despised Christians, which makes thee\nashamed to disown that openly in conversation with the world, which\nthe true light hath made vanity and sin to thee in secret! Or if\nthou art a despiser, tell me, I pray thee, what dost thou think thy\nmockery, anger, or contempt dost most resemble, proud Haman, or\ngood Mordecai? My friend, know that no man hath more delighted in,\nor been prodigal of those vanities called civilities than myself;\nand could I have covered my conscience under the fashions of the\nworld, truly I had found a shelter from showers of reproach that\nhave fallen very often and thick upon me; but had I, with Joseph,\nconformed to Egypt's customs, I had sinned against my God and lost\nmy peace. But I would not have thee think it is a mere _thou_ or\n_title_ simply or nakedly in themselves we boggle at, or that we\nwould beget or set up any form inconsistent with sincerity or true\ncivility: there is but too much of that; but the esteem and value\nthe vain minds of men do put upon them, that ought to be crossed and\nstripped of their delights, constrains us to testify so steadily\nagainst them. And this know, from the sense God's Holy Spirit hath\nbegotten in us, that that which requires these customs, and begets\nfear to leave them, and pleads for them, and is displeased, if not\nused and paid, is the spirit of pride and flattery in the ground;\nthough frequency, use, or generosity may have abated its strength in\nsome: and this being discovered by the light that now shines from\nheaven in the hearts of the despised Christians I have communion\nwith, necessitates them to this testimony; and myself, as one of\nthem and for them, in a reproof of the unfaithful, who would walk\nundiscerned, though convinced to the contrary; and for an allay to\nthe proud despisers, who scorn us as a people guilty of affectation\nand singularity. For the eternal God, who is great amongst us,\nand on his way in the earth to make his power known, will root up\nevery plant that his right hand hath not planted. Wherefore let me\nbeseech thee, reader, to consider the foregoing reasons, which were\nmostly given me from the Lord, in that time, when my condescension\nto these fashions would have been purchased at almost any rate;\nbut the certain sense I had of their contrariety to the meek and\nself-denying life of holy JESUS, required of me my disuse of them,\nand faithful testimony against them. I speak the truth in Christ;\nI lie not: I would not have brought myself under censure and\ndisdain for them, could I, with peace of conscience, have kept my\nbelief under a worldly behaviour. It was extremely irksome to me\nto decline, and expose myself; but having an assured and repeated\nsense of the original of these vain customs, that they rise from\npride, self-love, and flattery, I dared not gratify that mind in\nmyself or others. And for this reason it is, that I am earnest with\nmy readers to be cautious how they reprove us on this occasion;\nand do once more entreat them that they would seriously weigh in\nthemselves, whether it be the spirit of the world or of the Father,\nthat is so angry with our honest, plain, and harmless _thou_ and\n_thee_: that so every plant that God our heavenly Father hath not\nplanted in the sons and daughters of men may be rooted up.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI.\n\n     1. Pride leads people to an excessive value of their\n     persons.--2. It is plain, from the racket that is made about\n     blood and families: also in the case of shape and beauty.--3.\n     Blood no nobility, but virtue.--4. Virtue no upstart: antiquity\n     no nobility without it, else age and blood would bar virtue in\n     the present age.--5. God teaches the true sense of nobility,\n     who made of one blood all nations; there is the original of\n     all blood.--6. These men of blood, out of their feathers, look\n     like other men.--7. This is not said to reject, but humble\n     the gentleman: the advantages of that condition above others.\n     An exhortation to recover their lost economy in families,\n     out of interest and credit.--8. But the author has a higher\n     motive; the gospel, and the excellencies of it, which they\n     profess.--9. The pride of persons respecting shape and beauty:\n     the washes, patches, paintings, dresses, &c. This excess would\n     keep the poor: the mischiefs that attend it.--10. But pride\n     in the old and homely yet more hateful: that it is usual. The\n     madness of it. Counsel to the beautiful to get their souls like\n     their bodies; and to the homely to supply want of that in the\n     adornment of their lasting part, their souls, with holiness.\n     Nothing homely with God but sin. The blessedness of those that\n     wear Christ's yoke and cross, and are crucified to the world.\n\n\nI. But pride stops not here; she excites people to an excessive\nvalue and care of their persons: they must have great and punctual\nattendance, stately furniture, rich and exact apparel. All which\nhelp to make up that pride of life that John tells us is not of\nthe Father, but of the world. (1 John, ii. 16.) A sin God charged\nupon the haughty daughters of Zion, (Isaiah, iii.) and on the proud\nprince and people of Tyrus. (Ezek. xxvii. xxviii.) Read these\nchapters, and measure this age by their sins, and what is coming on\nthese nations by their judgments. But at the present I shall only\ntouch upon the first, viz. the excessive value people have of their\npersons; leaving the rest to be considered under the last head of\nthis discourse, which is luxury, where they may be not improperly\nplaced.\n\nII. That people are generally proud of their persons is too visible\nand troublesome; especially if they have any pretence either to\nblood or beauty; the one has raised many quarrels among men, and the\nother among women, and men too often for their sakes and at their\nexcitements. But to the first: What a pother has this noble blood\nmade in the world:--antiquity of name or family, whose father, or\nmother, great grandfather, or great grandmother was best descended\nor allied:--what stock or what clan they came of:--what coat of\narms they gave:--which had, of right, the precedence! But methinks\nnothing of man's folly has less show of reason to palliate it.\n\nIII. For, first, what matter is it of whom any one is descended,\nthat is not of ill fame: since it is his own virtue that must raise,\nor vice depress him? An ancestor's character is no excuse to a man's\nill actions, but an aggravation of his degeneracy: and since virtue\ncomes not by generation, I neither am the better nor the worse for\nmy forefather; to be sure, not in God's account, nor should it be in\nman's. Nobody would endure injuries the easier, or reject favours\nthe more, for coming by the hand of a man well or ill descended. I\nconfess it were greater honour to have had no blots, and with an\nhereditary estate, to have had a lineal descent or worth; but that\nwas never found: no; not in the most blessed of families upon earth,\nI mean Abraham's. To be descended of wealth and titles, fills no\nman's head with brains or heart with truth: those qualities come\nfrom a higher cause. It is vanity then and most condemnable pride\nfor a man of bulk and character to despise another of less size\nin the world and of meaner alliance for want of them: because the\nlatter may have the merit, where the former has only the effects\nof it in an ancestor: and though the one be great by means of a\nforefather, the other is so too, but it is by his own: then, pray,\nwhich is the braver man of the two?\n\nIV. O, says the person proud of blood, It was never a good world\nsince we have had so many upstart gentlemen! But what should others\nhave said of that man's ancestor, when he started first up into\nthe knowledge of the world? For he, and all men and families, aye,\nand all states and kingdoms too, have had their upstarts, that is,\ntheir beginnings. This is being like the true church, because old,\nnot because good: for families to be noble by being old, and not by\nbeing virtuous. No such matter: it must be age in virtue, or else\nvirtue before age; for otherwise a man should be noble by the means\nof his predecessor, and yet the predecessor less noble than he,\nbecause he was the acquirer: which is a paradox that will puzzle\nall their heraldry to explain. Strange! that they should be more\nnoble than their ancestor that got their nobility for them! But if\nthis be absurd, as it is, then the upstart is the noble man: the\nman that got it by his virtue; and those are only entitled to his\nhonour that are imitators of his virtue: the rest may bear his name\nfrom his blood, but that is all. If virtue then give nobility, which\nheathens themselves agree, then families are no longer truly noble\nthan they are virtuous. And if virtue go not by blood, but by the\nqualifications of the descendants, it follows blood is excluded:\nelse blood would bar virtue; and no man that wanted the one, should\nbe allowed the benefit of the other: which were to stint and bound\nnobility for want of antiquity, and make virtue useless.\n\nNo, let blood and name go together; but pray let nobility and virtue\nkeep company, for they are nearest of kin. It is thus profited by\nGod himself, that best knows how to apportion things with an equal\nand just hand. He neither likes nor dislikes by descent; nor does He\nregard what people were, but are. He remembers not the righteousness\nof any man that leaves his righteousness; (Ezek. xviii.;) much less\nany unrighteous man for the righteousness of his ancestor.\n\nV. But if these men of blood please to think themselves concerned\nto believe and reverence God in his holy Scriptures, they may learn\nthat \"in the beginning He made of one blood all nations of men\nto dwell upon all the earth;\" (Acts, xvii. 26;) and that we all\ndescended from one father and mother. A more certain original than\nthe best of us can assign. From thence go down to Noah, who was the\nsecond planter of the human race, and we are upon some certainty for\nour forefathers. What violence has reaped or virtue merited since,\nand how far we that are alive are concerned in either, will be hard\nfor us to determine but a very few ages off us.\n\nVI. But, methinks it should suffice to say, our own eyes see that\nmen of blood, out of their gear and trappings, without their\nfeathers and finery, have no more marks of honour by nature stamped\nupon them, than their inferior neighbours. Nay, themselves being\njudges, they will frankly tell us, they feel all those passions in\ntheir blood, that make them like other men, if not further from the\nvirtue that truly dignifies. The lamentable ignorance and debauchery\nthat now rages among too many of our greater sort of folks, is too\nclear and casting an evidence in the point: and pray tell me of what\nblood are they come?\n\nVII. Howbeit, when I have said all this, I intend not, by debasing\none false quality, to make insolent another that is not true. I\nwould not be thought to set the churl on the present gentleman's\nshoulder; by no means: his rudeness will not mend the matter. But\nwhat I have written is to give aim to all where true nobility\ndwells, that every one may arrive at it by the ways of virtue\nand goodness. But for all this, I must allow a great advantage\nto the gentleman, and therefore prefer his station: just as the\napostle Paul, who after he had humbled the Jews, that insulted the\nChristians with their laws and rites, gave them the advantage over\nall other nations in statutes and judgments. I must grant that the\ncondition of our great men is much to be preferred to the ranks of\nour inferior people. For, first, they have more power to do good;\nand if their hearts be equal to their ability, they are blessings\nto the people of any country. Secondly, the eyes of the people\nare usually directed to them; and if they will be kind, just, and\nhopeful, they shall have their affections and services. Thirdly,\nthey are not under equal straits with the inferior sort; and\nconsequently they have more help, leisure, and occasion to polish\ntheir passions and tempers with books and conversation. Fourthly,\nthey have more time to observe the actions of other nations: to\ntravel and view the laws, customs, and interests of other countries,\nand bring home whatsoever is worthy or imitable. And so an easier\nway is open for great men to get honour; and such as love true\nreputation will embrace the best means to it. But because it too\noften happens that great men do but little mind to give God the\nglory of their prosperity, and to live answerable to his mercies;\nbut on the contrary, live without God in the world, fulfilling the\nlusts thereof, his hand is often seen, either in impoverishing or\nextinguishing them, and raising up men of more virtue and humility\nto their estates and dignity. However, I must allow that among\npeople of this rank there have been some of them of more than\nordinary virtue, whose examples have given light to their families.\nAnd it has been something natural for some of their descendants\nto endeavour to keep up the credit of their houses in proportion\nto the merit of their founder. And to say true, if there be any\nadvantage in such descent, it is not from blood but education:\nfor blood has no intelligence in it, and is often spurious and\nuncertain; but education has a mighty influence and strong bias upon\nthe affections and actions of men. In this the ancient nobles and\ngentry of this kingdom did excel: and it were much to be wished that\nour great people would set about to recover the ancient economy of\ntheir houses, the strict and virtuous discipline of their ancestors,\nwhen men were honoured for their achievements, and when nothing more\nexposed a man to shame, than being born to a nobility that he had\nnot a virtue to support.\n\nVIII. O, but I have a higher motive! The glorious gospel of Jesus\nChrist, which having taught this northern isle, and all ranks\nprofessing to believe in it, let me prevail upon you to seek the\nhonour that it has brought from heaven, to all the true disciples of\nit, who are indeed the followers of God's Lamb, that takes away the\nsin of the world. (John, i. 29.) Receive with meekness his gracious\nword into your hearts, that subdues the world's lusts, and leads\nin the holy way to blessedness. Here are charms no carnal eye hath\nseen, nor ear heard, nor heart perceived, but they are revealed to\nsuch humble converts by his spirit. Remember you are but creatures,\nand that you must die, and after all be judged.\n\nIX. But personal pride ends not in nobility of blood; it leads\nfolks to a fond value of their persons, be they noble or ignoble;\nespecially if they have any pretence to shape or beauty. It is\nadmirable to see, how much it is possible for some to be taken with\nthemselves, as if nothing else deserved their regard, or the good\nopinion of others. It would abate their folly, if they could find in\ntheir hearts to spare but half the time to think of God and their\nlatter end, which they most prodigally spend in washing, perfuming,\npainting, patching, attiring, and dressing. In these things they are\nprecise, and very artificial; and for cost they spare not. But that\nwhich aggravates the evil is, the pride of one might comfortably\nsupply the need of ten. Gross impiety that it is, that a nation's\npride should not be spared to a nation's poor! But what is this\nfor at last? Only to be admired, to have reverence, draw love, and\ncommand the eyes and affections of beholders. And so fantastic are\nthey in it, as hardly to be pleased too. Nothing is good, or fine,\nor fashionable enough for them: the sun itself, the blessing of\nheaven, and comfort of the earth, must not shine upon them, lest it\ntan them; nor the wind blow, for fear it should disorder them. O\nimpious nicety! Yet while they value themselves above all else, they\nmake themselves the vassals of their own pride; worshipping their\nshape, feature, or complexion, whichsoever is their excellency.\nThe end of all which, is but too often to excite unlawful love,\nwhich I call lust, and draw one another into as miserable as evil\ncircumstances: in single persons it is of ill consequence; for if it\ndoes not awaken unchaste desires, it lays no foundation for solid\nand lasting union: the want of which helps to make so many unhappy\nmarriages in the world: but in married people the sin is aggravated;\nfor they have none of right to please, but one another; and to\naffect the gaiety and vanity of youth, is an ill sign of loving and\nliving well at home: it looks rather like dressing for a market.\nIt has sad effects in families: discontents, partings, duels,\npoisonings, and other infamous murders. No age can better tell us\nthe sad effects of this sort of pride than this we live in; as,\nhow excessively wanton, so how fatal it has been to the sobriety,\nvirtue, peace, and health of families in this kingdom.\n\nX. But I must needs say, that of all creatures, this sort of\npride does least become the old and homely, if I may call the\nill-favoured and deformed so; for the old are proud only of what\nthey had, which shows, to their reproach, their pride has outlived\ntheir beauty, and, when they should be repenting, they are making\nwork for repentance. But the homely are yet worse, they are proud\nof what they never had, nor ever can have: nay, their persons seem\nas if they were given for a perpetual humiliation to their minds;\nand to be proud of them is loving pride for pride's sake, and to be\nproud, without a temptation to be proud. And yet in my whole life I\nhave observed nothing more doting on itself: a strange infatuation\nand enchantment of pride! What! Not to see right with their eyes,\nbecause of the partiality of their minds? This self-love is blind\nindeed. But to add expense to the vanity, and to be costly upon that\nwhich cannot be mended, one would think they should be downright\nmad; especially if they consider, that they look the homelier for\nthe things that are thought handsome, and do but thereby draw their\ndeformity more into notice, by that which does so little become them.\n\nBut in such persons' follies we have a specimen of man; what a\ncreature he is in his lapse from his primitive image. All this,\nas Jesus said of sin of old, comes from within; (Mat. xv. 11-20;)\nthat is the disregard that men and women have to the word of their\nCreator in their hearts; (Deut. xxx. 14; Rom. x. 8;) which shows\npride and teaches humility, and self-abasement, and directs the mind\nto the true object of honour and worship; and that with an awe and\nreverence suitable to his sovereignty and majesty. Poor mortals! But\nliving dirt! Made of what they tread on: who, with all their pride,\ncannot secure themselves from the spoil of sickness, much less from\nthe stroke of death! O! did people consider the inconstancy of all\nvisible things, the cross and adverse occurrences of man's life, the\ncertainty of his departure, and eternal judgment, it is to be hoped\nthey would bring their deeds to Christ's light in their hearts,\n(John, iii. 20, 21,) and they would see if they were wrought in God,\nor not, as the beloved disciple tells us from his dear Master's\nmouth. Art thou shapely, comely, beautiful--the exact draught of\na human creature? Admire that Power that made thee so. Live an\nharmonious life to the curious make and frame of thy creation; and\nlet the beauty of thy body teach thee to beautify thy mind with\nholiness, the ornament of the beloved of God. Art thou homely or\ndeformed; magnify that goodness that did not make thee a beast; and\nwith the grace that is given unto thee, for it has appeared unto\nall, learn to adorn thy soul with enduring beauty. Remember the\nKing of heaven's daughter, the church, of which true Christians are\nmembers, is all glorious within. And if thy soul excel, thy body\nwill only set off the lustre of thy mind. Nothing is homely in God's\nsight but sin; and that man and woman that commune with their own\nhearts, and sin not; who, in the light of holy Jesus, watch over the\nmovings and inclinations of their own souls, and that suppress every\nevil in its conception, they love the yoke and cross of Christ, and\nare daily by it crucified to the world, but live to God in that life\nwhich outlives the fading satisfactions of it.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII.\n\n     1. The character of a proud man: a glutton upon himself: is\n     proud of his pedigree.--2. He is insolent and quarrelsome,\n     but cowardly, yet cruel.--3. An ill child, subject, and\n     servant.--4. Inhospitable.--5. No friend to any.--6. Dangerous\n     and mischievous in power.--7. Of all things, pride bad in\n     ministers.--8. They claim prerogative above others.--9. And call\n     themselves the clergy: their lordliness and avarice.--10. Death\n     swallows all.--11. The way to escape these evils.\n\n\nI. To conclude this great head of pride, let us briefly see, upon\nthe whole matter, what is the character of a proud man in himself,\nand in divers relations and capacities. A proud man then is a kind\nof glutton upon himself; for he is never satisfied with loving and\nadmiring himself; whilst nothing else, with him, is worthy either\nof love or care: if good enough to be the servant of his will, it\nis as much as he can find in his heart to allow: as if he had been\nonly made for himself, or rather that he had made himself. For as\nhe despises man, because he cannot abide an equal, so he does not\nlove God, because he would not have a superior: he cannot bear to\nowe his being to another, lest he should thereby acknowledge one\nabove himself. He is one that is mighty big with the honour of his\nancestors, but not of the virtue that brought them to it; much less\nwill he trouble himself to imitate them. He can tell you of his\npedigree, his antiquity, what estate, what matches; but forgets that\nthey are gone, and that he must die too.\n\nII. But how troublesome a companion is a proud man! Ever positive\nand controlling; and if you yield not, insolent and quarrelsome: yet\nat the upshot of the matter, cowardly: but if strongest, cruel. He\nfeels no more of other men's miseries than if he were not a man, or\nit were a sin to be sensible. For not feeling himself interested, he\nlooks no further; he will not disquiet his thoughts with other men's\ninfelicities; it shall content him to believe they are just: and he\nhad rather churlishly upbraid them as the cause, than be ready to\ncommiserate or relieve them. So that compassion and charity are with\nhim as useless as humility and meekness are hateful.\n\nIII. A proud man makes an ill child, servant, and subject; he\ncontemns his parents, master, and prince; he will not be subject. He\nthinks himself too wise, or too old, to be directed; as if it were a\nslavish thing to obey; and that none were free that may not do what\nthey please; which turns duty out of doors and degrades authority.\nOn the other hand, if he be a husband, or father, or master, there\nis scarcely any enduring: he is so insufferably curious and testy\nthat it is an affliction to live with him; for hardly can any hand\ncarry it even enough to please him. Some peccadillo about his\nclothes, his diet, his lodging, or attendance quite disorders him:\nbut especially if he fancies any want of the state and respect he\nlooks for. Thus pride destroys the nature of relations: on the\none side, learns to contemn duty; and on the other side, it turns\nlove into fear, and makes the wife a servant, and the children and\nservants slaves.\n\nIV. But the proud man makes an ill neighbour too; for he is an enemy\nto hospitality: he despises to receive kindness, because he would\nnot show any, nor be thought to need it. Besides, it looks too equal\nand familiar for his haughty humour. Emulation and detraction are\nhis element; for he is jealous of attributing any praise to others,\nwhere just; lest that should cloud and lessen him, to whom it never\ncould be due: he is the man that fears, what he should wish, to wit,\nthat others should do well. But that is not all; he maliciously\nmiscalls their acts of virtue, which his corruptions will not let\nhim imitate, that they may get no credit by them. If he wants any\noccasion of doing mischief, he can make one: either they use him\nill, or have some design upon him; the other day they paid him not\nthe cap and knee; the distance and respect he thinks his quality,\nparts, or merits do require. A small thing serves a proud man to\npick a quarrel; of all creatures the most jealous, sullen, spiteful\nand revengeful: he can no more forgive an injury, than forbear to do\none.\n\nV. Nor is this all: a proud man can never be a friend to anybody.\nFor besides that his ambition may always be bribed by honour and\npreferment to betray that relation, he is unconversable; he must not\nbe catechised and counselled, much less reproved or contradicted:\nno, he is too covetous of himself to spare another man a share,\nand much too high, stiff, and touchy: he will not away with those\nfreedoms that a real friendship requires. To say true, he contemns\nthe character; it is much too familiar and humble for him: his\nmighty soul would know nothing besides himself and vassals to stock\nthe world. He values other men, as we do cattle, for their service\nonly; and, if he could, would use them so; but as it happens, the\nnumber and force are unequal.\n\nVI. But a proud man in power is very mischievous; for his pride is\nthe more dangerous by his greatness, since from ambition in private\nmen, it becomes tyranny in him: it would reign alone; nay live so,\nrather than have competitors: _Aut C\u00e6sar, aut nullus_. Reason must\nnot check it, nor rules of law limit it; and either it can do no\nwrong, or it is sedition to complain of the wrong that it does. The\nmen of this temper would have nothing thought amiss they do; at\nleast, they count it dangerous to allow it to be so, though so it\nbe; for that would imply they had erred, which it is always matter\nof state to deny: no, they will rather choose to perish obstinately,\nthan by acknowledging, yield away the reputation of better judging\nto inferiors, though it were their prudence to do so. And indeed, it\nis all the satisfaction that proud great men make to the world for\nthe miseries they often bring upon it, that, first or last, upon a\ndivision, they leave their real interest to follow some one excess\nof humour, and are almost ever destroyed by it. This is the end\npride gives proud men, and the ruin it brings upon them, after it\nhas punished others by them.\n\nVII. But above all things, pride is intolerable in men pretending\nto religion; and of them in ministers; for they are names of the\ngreatest contradiction. I speak without respect or anger, to persons\nor parties; for I only touch upon the bad of all. What shall pride\ndo with religion, that rebukes it? Or ambition with ministers, whose\nvery office is humility? And yet there are but too many of them,\nthat, besides an equal guilt with others in the fleshly pride of the\nworld, are even proud of that name and office, which ought always\nto remind them of self-denial. Yea, they use it as the beggars do\nthe name of God and Christ, only to get by it: placing to their own\naccount the advantages of that reverend profession, and thereby\nmaking their function but a political handle to raise themselves\nto the great preferments of the world. But O then! how can such be\nhis ministers, that said, \"My kingdom is not of this world\"? (John,\nxviii. 36.) Who, of mankind, more self-conceited than these men? If\ncontradicted, as arrogant and angry, as if it were their calling to\nbe so. Counsel one of them, he scorns you: reprove him, and he is\nalmost ready to excommunicate you: 'I am a minister and an elder:'\nflying thither to secure himself from the reach of just censure,\nwhich indeed exposes him but the more to it: and therefore his fault\ncannot be the less, by how much it is worse in a minister to do ill,\nand spurn at reproof, than an ordinary man.\n\nVIII. O, but he pleads an exemption by his office: what! Shall he\nbreed up chickens to pick out his own eyes! Be rebuked or instructed\nby a layman or parishioner! A man of less age, learning, or ability!\nNo such matter: he would have us believe that his ministerial\nprerogative has placed him out of the reach of popular impeachment.\nHe is not subject to vulgar judgments. Even questions about\nreligion are schism: believe as he says: it is not for you to pry\nso curiously into the mysteries of religion: never good day since\nlaymen meddle so much with the minister's office. Not considering,\npoor man, that the contrary is most true: not many good days since\nministers meddled so much in laymen's business. Though perhaps there\nis little reason for this distinction, besides spiritual gifts, and\nthe improvement of them by a diligent use of them for the good of\nothers.\n\nSuch good sayings as these, Be ready to teach: answer with meekness:\nlet every man speak as of the gift of God that is in him: if\nanything be revealed to him that sits by, let the first hold his\npeace: be not lords over God's heritage, but meek and lowly; washing\nthe feet of the people, (1 Cor. xiv. 30,) as Jesus did those of his\npoor disciples;--are unreasonable and antiquated instructions with\nsome clergy, and it is little less than heresy to remind them of\nthese things: a mark of great disaffection to the church in their\nopinion. For by this time their pride has made them the church, and\nthe people but the porch at best; a cipher that signifies nothing,\nunless they clap their figure before it: forgetting, that if they\nwere as good as they should be, they could be but ministers,\nstewards, and under-shepherds; that is, servants to the church,\nfamily, flock, and heritage of God: and not that they are that\nchurch, family, flock, and heritage, which they are only servants\nunto. Remember the words of Christ, \"Let him that would be greatest\nbe your servant.\" (Mat. xx. 26.)\n\nIX. There is but one place to be found in the Holy Scripture, where\nthe word _Clerus_, can properly be applied to the church, and they\nhave got it to themselves; from whence they call themselves the\nclergy, that is, the inheritance or heritage of God. Whereas Peter\nexhorts the ministers of the gospel, \"Not to be lords over God's\nheritage, nor to feed them for filthy lucre.\" (1 Peter, v. 2,\n3.) Peter belike, foresaw pride and avarice to be the ministers'\ntemptations; and indeed they have often proved their fall: and to\nsay true, they could hardly fall by worse. Nor is there any excuse\nto be made for them in these two respects, which is not worse than\ntheir sin. For if they have not been lords over God's heritage, it\nis because they have made themselves that heritage, and disinherited\nthe people: so that now they may be the people's lords, with a\n_salvo_ to good old Peter's exhortation.\n\nAnd for the other sin of avarice, they can only avoid it, and speak\ntruth thus; that never feeding the flock, they cannot be said to\nfeed it for lucre: that is, they get the people's money for nothing.\nAn example of which is given us, by the complaint of God himself,\nfrom the practice of the proud, covetous, false prophets of old,\nthat the people gave their money for that which was not bread, and\ntheir labour for that which did not profit them: (Isaiah, lv. 2:)\nAnd why? Because then the priest had no vision; and too many now\ndespise it.\n\nX. But alas! when all is done, what folly, as well as irreligion, is\nthere in pride! It cannot add one cubit to any man's stature: what\ncrosses can it hinder? What disappointments help, or harm frustrate?\nIt delivers not from the common stroke; sickness disfigures, pain\nmisshapes, and death ends the proud man's fabric. Six feet of cold\nearth bounds his big thoughts; and his person, that was too good\nfor any place, must at last lodge within the streight limits of so\nlittle and so dark a cave: and he who thought nothing well enough\nfor him, is quickly the entertainment of the lowest of all animals,\neven worms themselves. Thus pride and pomp come to the common end;\nbut with this difference, less pity from the living, and more pain\nto the dying. The proud man's antiquity cannot secure him from\ndeath, nor his heraldry from judgment. Titles of honour vanish at\nthis extremity; and no power or wealth, no distance or respect, can\nrescue or insure them. As the tree falls, it lies; and as death\nleaves men, judgment finds them.\n\nXI. O! what can prevent this ill conclusion? And what can remedy\nthis woeful declension from ancient meekness, humility, and piety,\nand that godly life and power which were so conspicuous in the\nauthority of the preachings and examples of the living, of the first\nand purest ages of Christianity? Truly, nothing but an inward and\nsincere examination, by the testimony of the holy light and spirit\nof JESUS, of the condition of their souls and minds towards Christ,\nand a better inquiry into the matter and examples of holy record.\nIt was his complaint of old, \"that light is come into the world,\nand men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were\nevil.\" (John, iii. 19.) If thou wouldst be a child of God, and a\nbeliever in Christ, thou must be a child of Light. O man, thou must\nbring thy deeds to it and examine them by that holy lamp in thy\nsoul, which is the candle of the Lord, that shows thee thy pride and\narrogancy, and reproves thy delight in the vain fashions of this\nworld. Religion is a denial of self; yea, of self-religion too.\nIt is a firm tie or bond upon the soul to holiness, whose end is\nhappiness; for by it men come to see the Lord. The pure in heart,\nsays JESUS, see God: (Matt. v. 8:) he that once comes to bear\nChrist's yoke, is not carried away by the devil's allurements; he\nfinds excelling joys in his watchfulness and obedience. If men loved\nthe cross of Christ, his precepts and doctrine, they would cross\ntheir own wills, which lead them to break Christ's holy will, and\nlose their own souls, in doing the devil's. Had Adam minded that\nholy light in Paradise more than the serpent's bait; and stayed his\nmind upon his Creator, the rewarder of fidelity, he had seen the\nsnare of the enemy, and resisted him. O do not delight in that which\nis forbidden! Look not upon it, if thou wouldst not be captivated by\nit. Bring not the guilt of sins of knowledge upon thy own soul. Did\nChrist submit his will to his Father's, and for the joy that was set\nbefore him, endure the cross and despise the shame (Heb. xii. 2) of\na new and untrodden way to glory? Thou also must submit thy will to\nChrist's holy law and light in thy heart, and for the reward He sets\nbefore thee, to wit, eternal life, endure his cross, and despise the\nshame of it. All desire to rejoice with Him, but few will suffer\nwith Him, or for Him. Many are the companions of his table; not many\nof his abstinence. The loaves they follow, but the cup of his agony\nthey leave: it is too bitter, they like not to drink thereof. And\ndivers will magnify his miracles, that are offended at the ignominy\nof his cross. But O man, as He, for thy salvation, so thou, for the\nlove of Him, must humble thyself, (Phil. ii. 7,) and be contented to\nbe of no reputation, that thou mayest follow Him, not in a carnal,\nformal way, of vain man's tradition and prescription, but as the\nHoly Ghost, by the apostle, doth express it, in a new and living\nway, (Heb. x. 19, 20,) which Jesus had consecrated, that brings all\nthat walk in it to the eternal rest of God: whereunto He himself is\nentered, who is the holy and only blessed Redeemer.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII.\n\n     1. Avarice, the second capital lust, its definition and\n     distinction.--2. It consists in a desire of unlawful things.--3.\n     As in David's case about Uriah's wife.--4. Also Ahab's about\n     Naboth's vineyard.--5. Next, in unlawful desires of lawful\n     things.--6. Covetousness is a mark of false prophets.--7.\n     A reproach to religion.--8. An enemy to government.--9.\n     Treacherous.--10. Oppressive.--11. Judas an example.--12.\n     So Simon Magus.--13. Lastly, in unprofitable hoarding\n     of money.--14. The covetous man a common evil.--15. His\n     hypocrisy.--16. Gold his god.--17. He is sparing, to death.--18.\n     Is reproved by Christ and his followers.--19. Ananias' and\n     Sapphira's sin and judgment.--20. William Tindall's discourse\n     on that subject referred unto.--21. Peter Charron's testimony\n     against it.--22. Abraham Cowley's witty and sharp satire upon it.\n\n\nI. I am come to the second part of this discourse, which is avarice,\nor covetousness, an epidemic and a raging distemper in the world,\nattended with all the mischiefs that can make men miserable in\nthemselves, and in society; so near akin to the foregoing evil,\npride, that they are seldom apart: Liberality being almost as\nhateful to the proud, as to the covetous, I shall define it thus:\nCovetousness is the love of money or riches; (Ephes. v. 3, 5;)\nwhich, as the apostle hath it, \"is the root of all evil.\" (1 Tim.\nvi. 9, 10.) It branches itself into these three parts: first,\ndesiring of unlawful things; secondly, unlawfully desiring of lawful\nthings; and lastly, hoarding up, or unprofitably withholding the\nbenefit of them from the relief of private persons, or the public.\nI shall first deliver the sense of Scripture, and what examples are\ntherein afforded against this impiety: and next, my own reasons,\nwith some authorities from authors of credit. By which it will\nappear, that the working of the love of riches out of the hearts\nof people, is as much the business of the cross of Christ, as the\nrooting out of any one sin that man is fallen into.\n\nII. And first, of desiring, or coveting of unlawful things: it is\nexpressly forbidden by God himself, in the law He delivered to\nMoses upon Mount Sinai, for a rule to his people the Jews to walk\nby: \"Thou shalt not covet,\" said God, \"thy neighbour's house: thou\nshalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his man-servant, nor his\nmaid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy\nneighbour's.\" (Exodus, xx.) This God confirmed by thundering and\nlightnings, and other sensible solemnities, to strike the people\nwith more awe in receiving and keeping of it, and to make the breach\nof these moral precepts more terrible to them. Micah complains in\nhis time, \"They covet fields, and take them by violence;\" (Mic. ii.\n2;) but their end was misery. Therefore was it said of old, \"Woe to\nthem that covet an evil covetousness:\" this is to our point. We have\nmany remarkable instances of this in Scripture; two of which I will\nbriefly report.\n\nIII. David, though otherwise a good man, by unwatchfulness is taken;\nthe beauty of Uriah's wife was too hard for him, being disarmed,\nand off from his spiritual watch. There was no dissuasive would do;\nUriah must be put upon a desperate service, where it was great odds\nif he survived it. This was to hasten the unlawful satisfaction\nof his desires, by a way that looked not like direct murder. The\ncontrivance took; Uriah is killed, and his wife is quickly David's.\nThis interpreted David's covetousness. But went it off so? No, his\npleasure soon turned to anguish and bitterness of spirit: his soul\nwas overwhelmed with sorrow: the waves went over his head: (Psalm\nli. lxxvii. xlii. 7:) he was consumed within him: he was stuck\nin the mire and clay; he cried, he wept: yea, his eyes were as a\nfountain of tears. (Ibid. lxix. 2, 14.) Guiltiness was upon him,\nand he must be purged; his sins washed white as snow, that were as\nred as crimson, or he is undone for ever. His repentance prevailed:\nbehold, what work this part of covetousness makes! What evil! What\nsorrow! O that the people of this covetousness would let the sense\nof David's sorrow sink deep into their souls, that they might come\nto David's salvation! Restore me, saith that good man: it seems he\nonce knew a better state: yes, and this may teach the better sort to\nfear, and stand in awe too, lest they sin and fall. For David was\ntaken at a disadvantage; he was off his watch, and gone from the\ncross; the law was not his lamp and light, at that instant; he was a\nwanderer from his safety, his strong tower, and so surprised: then\nand there it was the enemy met him, and vanquished him.\n\nIV. The second instance is that of Naboth's vineyard: (1 Kings,\nxxi.:) it was coveted by Ahab and Jezebel: that, which led them to\nsuch an unlawful desire, found means to accomplish it. Naboth must\ndie, for he would not sell it. To do it they accuse the innocent man\nof blasphemy, and find two knights of the post, sons of Belial, to\nevidence against him. Thus, in the name of God, and in show of pure\nzeal to his glory, Naboth must die; and accordingly was stoned to\ndeath. The news of which coming to Jezebel, she bid Ahab arise and\ntake possession, for Naboth was dead. But God followed both of them\nwith his fierce vengeance. \"In the place where the dogs licked the\nblood of Naboth,\" said Elijah, in the name of the Lord, \"shall dogs\nlick thy blood, even thine; and I will bring evil upon thee, and\ntake away thy posterity;\" and of Jezebel, his wife and partner in\nhis covetousness and murder, he adds, \"The dogs shall eat her flesh\nby the walls of Jezreel.\" Here is the infamy and punishment due to\nthis part of covetousness. Let this deter those that desire unlawful\nthings, the rights of others: for God that is just, will certainly\nrepay such with interest in the end. But perhaps these are few;\neither that they do not, or dare not show it, because the law will\nbite if they do. But the next part hath company enough, that will\nyet exclaim against the iniquity of this part of covetousness; and\nby their seeming abhorrence of it, would excuse themselves of all\nguilt in the rest: let us consider that.\n\nV. The next, and most common part of covetousness is the unlawful\ndesire of lawful things; especially of riches. Money is lawful, but\nthe love of it is the root of all evil. So riches are lawful, but\nthey that pursue them, fall into divers temptations, snares, and\nlusts; He calls them uncertain, to show their folly and danger,\nthat set their hearts upon them. Covetousness is hateful to God;\nhe hath denounced great judgments upon those that are guilty of\nit. God charged it on Israel of old, as one of the reasons of his\njudgments; \"For the iniquity of his covetousness,\" saith God, \"was\nI wroth and smote him.\" (Isai. lvii. 17.) In another place, \"Every\none is given to covetousness, and from the prophet to the priest,\nevery one dealeth falsely;\" (Jer. vi. 13;) \"therefore will I give\ntheir wives unto others, and their fields to them that shall inherit\nthem.\" (Ibid. viii. 10.) In another place God complained thus: \"But\nthine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness.\" (Chap.\nxxii. 17.) By Ezekiel, God renews and repeats his complaint against\ntheir covetousness: \"And they come to thee as the people cometh, and\nsit before thee as my people: they hear thy words, but will not do\nthem; with their mouths they show much love, but their heart goeth\nafter their covetousness.\" (Ezek. xxxiii. 31.) Therefore God, in\nthe choice of magistrates, made it part of their qualification, to\nhate covetousness; foreseeing the mischief that would follow to\nthat society or government where covetous men were in power; that\nself would bias them, and they would seek their own ends at the\ncost of the public. David desired, that his heart might not incline\nto covetousness, but to the testimonies of his God. (Psalm cxix.\n36.) And the wise man expressly tells us, that \"he that hateth\ncovetousness shall prolong his days:\" (Prov. xxviii. 16:) making a\ncurse to follow it. And it is by Luke charged upon the Pharisees as\na mark of their wickedness: and Christ, in that evangelist, bids\nhis followers \"Take heed and beware of covetousness:\" (Luke, xii.\n15:) and he giveth a reason for it that carrieth a most excellent\ninstruction in it; for, saith he, \"a man's life consisteth not in\nthe abundance of the things which he possesseth:\" (Mark, vii. 21,\n22:) but he goeth further; he joins covetousness with adultery,\nmurder, and blasphemy. No wonder then if the apostle Paul is\nso liberal in his censure of this evil: he placeth it with all\nunrighteousness, to the Romans; to the Ephesians he writeth the\nlike, adding, \"Let not covetousness be so much as named among you:\"\n(Rom. i. 29; Eph. v. 3:) and bids the Colossians mortify their\nmembers; (Col. iii. 5;) and names several sins, as fornication,\nuncleanness, and such like, but ends with covetousness: which, saith\nhe, is idolatry. And we know there is not a greater offence against\nGod: nay, this very apostle calls \"the love of money the root of\nall evil;\" \"which,\" said he, \"whilst some have coveted after, they\nhave erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many\nsorrows. For they that will be rich, fall into temptation, and a\nsnare, and many foolish and hurtful lusts. O man of God,\" saith he\nto his beloved friend Timothy, \"flee these things, and follow after\nrighteousness, faith, patience, and meekness,\" (1 Tim. vi. 9-11.)\n\nVI. Peter was of the same mind; for he maketh covetousness to be\none of the great marks of the false prophets and teachers that\nshould arise among Christians, and by that they might know them,\n\"who,\" saith he, \"through covetousness shall with feigned words\nmake merchandise of you.\" (2 Peter, ii. 3.) To conclude, therefore,\nthe author to the Hebrews, at the end of his epistle, leaves this,\nwith other things, not without great zeal and weight upon them:\n\"Let,\" says he, \"your conversation be without covetousness;\" (Heb.\nxiii. 5;) he rests not in this generality, but goes on, \"and be\ncontent with such things as ye have; for God hath said, I will\nnever leave thee nor forsake thee.\" What then? Must we conclude\nthat those who are not content, but seek to be rich, have forsaken\nGod? The conclusion seems hard; but yet it is natural; for such,\nit is plain, are not content with what they have; they would have\nmore: they covet to be rich, if they may: they live not with that\ndependence and regard to Providence to which they are exhorted, nor\nis godliness, with content, great gain to them.\n\nVII. And truly it is a reproach to a man, especially to a religious\nman, that he knows not when he hath enough; when to leave off; when\nto be satisfied: that notwithstanding God sends him one plentiful\nseason of grain after another, he is so far from making that the\ncause of withdrawing from the traffic of the world, that he makes\nit a reason for launching further into it; as if the more he hath,\nthe more he may. He therefore reneweth his appetite, bestirs himself\nmore than ever, that he may have a share in the scramble, while\nanything is to be got: this is as if cumber, not retirement; and\ngain, not content, were the duty and comfort of a Christian. O that\nthis thing were better considered! for by not being so observable\nnor obnoxious to the law, as other vices are, there is more danger\nfor want of that check. It is plain that most people strive not for\nsubstance, but for wealth. Some there be that love it strongly, and\nspend it liberally when they have got it. Though this be sinful, yet\nmore commendable than to love money for money's sake; that is one\nof the basest passions the mind of man can be captivated with; a\nperfect lust; and a greater, and more soul-defiling one there is not\nin the whole catalogue of concupiscence. Which considered, should\nquicken people into a serious examination, how far this temptation\nof love of money hath entered them; and the rather because the\nsteps it maketh into the mind, are almost insensible, which renders\nthe danger greater. Thousands think themselves unconcerned in the\ncaution, that yet are perfectly guilty of the evil. Now can it be\notherwise, when those that have, from a low condition, acquired\nthousands, labour yet to advance, yea, double and treble those\nthousands; and that with the same care and contrivance by which they\ngot them? Is this to live comfortably, or to be rich? Do we not\nsee how early they rise; how late they go to bed? How full of the\nchange, the shop, the warehouse, the custom-house; of bills, bonds,\ncharter-parties, &c. they are? Running up and down, as if it were\nto save the life of a condemned innocent. An insatiable lust, and\ntherein ungrateful to God, as well as hurtful to men, who giveth\nit to them to use, and not to love: that is, the abuse. And if\nthis care, contrivance, and industry, and that continually, be not\nfrom the love of money in those that have ten times more than they\nbegan with, and much more than they spend or need, I know not what\ntestimony man can give of his love for anything.\n\nVIII. To conclude: It is an enemy to government in magistrates; for\nit tends to corruption. Wherefore those that God ordained were such\nas feared Him and hated covetousness. Next, it hurts society: for\nold traders keep the young ones poor: and the great reason why some\nhave too little, and so are forced to drudge like slaves to feed\ntheir families, and keep their chin above the water, is, because the\nrich hold fast and press to be richer, and covet more, which dries\nup the little streams of profit from smaller folks. There should be\na standard, both as to the value and time of traffic; and then the\ntrade of the master to be shared among his servants that deserve it.\nThis were both to help the young to get their livelihood, and to\ngive the old time to think of leaving this world well, in which they\nhave been so busy, that they might obtain a share in the other, of\nwhich they have been so careless.\n\nIX. There is yet another mischief to government; for covetousness\nleads men to abuse and defraud it, by concealing or falsifying the\ngoods they deal in: as bringing in forbidden goods by stealth: or\nlawful goods, so as to avoid the payment of dues, or owning the\ngoods of enemies for gain; or that they are not well made, or full\nof measure; with abundance of that sort of deceit.\n\nX. But covetousness has caused destructive feuds in families; for\nestates falling into the hands of those whose avarice has put them\nupon drawing greater profit to themselves than was consistent\nwith justice, has given birth to much trouble, and caused great\noppression; it too often falling out, that such executors have kept\nthe right owners out of possession with the money they should pay\nthem.\n\nXI. But this is not all; for covetousness betrays friendship; a\nbribe cannot be better placed to do an ill thing, or undo a man.\nNay, it is too often a murderer both of soul and body; of the soul,\nbecause it kills that life it should have in God: where money\nmasters the mind, it extinguishes all love to better things: of the\nbody, for it will kill for money, by assassinations, poisons, false\nwitness, &c. I shall end this head on covetousness, with the sin\nand doom of two covetous men, Judas, and Simon the sorcerer.\n\nJudas's religion fell in thorny ground: love of money choked him.\nPride and anger in the Jews endeavoured to murder Christ; but till\ncovetousness set her hand to effect it, they were all at a loss.\nThey found Judas had the bag, and probably loved money; they would\ntry him, and did. The price was set, and Judas betrays his Master,\nhis Lord, into the hands of his most cruel adversaries. But to do\nhim right he returned the money, and to be revenged on himself, was\nhis own hangman. A wicked act, a wicked end. Come on, you covetous:\nwhat say you now to brother Judas? was he not an ill man? did he\nnot very wickedly? Yes, yes: would you have done so? No, no: by\nno means. Very well; but so said those wicked Jews of stoning the\nprophets, and that yet crucified the beloved Son of God; He that\ncame to save them, and would have done it, if they had received\nHim, and not rejected the day of their visitation. Rub your eyes\nwell, for the dust is got into them; and carefully read in your\nown consciences, and see if, out of love to money, you have not\nbetrayed the Just One in yourselves, and so are brethren with\nJudas in iniquity. I speak for God against an idol; bear with me.\nHave you not resisted, yea, quenched the good Spirit of Christ in\nyour pursuit after your beloved wealth? Examine yourselves, try\nyourselves; know ye not your own selves: if Christ dwell not, if He\nrule not, and be not above all beloved in you, ye are reprobates: in\nan undone condition! (2 Cor. xiii. 5.)\n\nXII. The other covetous man is Simon the sorcerer, a believer too:\nbut his faith could not go deep enough for covetousness. (Acts,\nviii. 9-24.) He would have driven a bargain with Peter: so much\nmoney for so much Holy Ghost; that he might sell it again, and make\na good trade of it; corruptly measuring Peter by himself, as if\nhe had only a better knack of cozening the people than himself,\nwho had set up in Samaria for the great power of God, before the\npower of God in Philip and Peter undeceived the people. But what\nwas Peter's answer and judgment? \"Thy money,\" says he, \"perish\nwith thee; thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: thou art\nin the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.\" A dismal\nsentence. Besides, covetousness tends to luxury, and rises often out\nof it: for from having much, they spend much, and so become poor by\nluxury: such are covetous to get, to spend more, which temperance\nwould prevent. For if men would not, or could not, by good laws well\nexecuted, and a better education, be so lavish in their tables,\nhouses, furniture, apparel, and gaming, there would be no such\ntemptation to covet earnestly after what they could not spend: for\nthere is but here and there a miser that loves money for money's\nsake.\n\nXIII. Which leads to the last and basest part of covetousness,\nwhich is yet the most sordid, to wit, hoarding up, or keeping money\nunprofitably, both to others and themselves too. This is Solomon's\nmiser, that makes himself rich, and hath nothing: (Prov. xiii.\n7:) a great sin in the sight of God. He complained of such as had\nstored up the labours of the poor in their houses; he calls it\ntheir spoils, and it is a grinding of the poor, because they see\nit not again. But he blesseth those that consider the poor, and\ncommandeth every one, to open freely to his brother that is in need;\n(Psalm xli. 1; Deut. xv. 7, 8;) not only he that is spiritually,\nbut naturally so; and not to withhold his gift from the poor. The\napostle chargeth Timothy, in the sight of God, and before Jesus\nChrist, that \"he fail not to charge them that are rich in this\nworld, that they trust not in their uncertain riches, but in the\nliving God, who giveth liberally; and that they do good with\nthem, that they may be rich in good works.\" (1 Tim. vi. 17, 18.)\nRiches are apt to corrupt; and that which keeps them sweet and best\nis charity: he that uses them not gets them not for the end for\nwhich they are given, but loves them for themselves, and not their\nservice. The miser is poor in his wealth: he wants for fear of\nspending; and increases his fear with his hope, which is his gain;\nand so tortures himself with his pleasure; the most like to the\nman that hid his talent in a napkin, of all others, for this man's\ntalents are hid in his bags out of sight, in vaults, under boards,\nbehind wainscots: else upon bonds and mortgages, growing but as\nunderground; for it is good to none.\n\nXIV. The covetous man hates all useful arts and sciences as vain,\nlest they should cost him something the learning: wherefore\ningenuity has no more place in his mind than in his pocket. He lets\nhouses fall, to prevent the charge of repairs: and for his spare\ndiet, plain clothes, and mean furniture, he would place them to the\naccount of moderation. O monster of a man! that can take up the\ncross for covetousness, and not for Christ.\n\nXV. But he pretends negatively to some religion too; for he always\nrails at prodigality, the better to cover his avarice. If you would\nbestow a box of spikenard on a good man's head; to save money, and\nto seem righteous, he tells you of the poor: but if the poor come,\nhe excuses his want of charity with the unworthiness of the object,\nor the causes of his poverty, or that he can bestow his money upon\nthose that deserve it better; who rarely opens his purse till\nquarter-day for fear of losing it.\n\nXVI. But he is more miserable than the poorest; for he enjoys not\nwhat he yet fears to lose; they fear not what they do not enjoy.\nThus is he poor by overvaluing his wealth: but he is wretched that\nhungers with money in a cook's shop: yet having made a god of his\ngold, who knows, but he thinks it unnatural to eat what he worships?\n\nXVII. But, which aggravates this sin, I have myself once known some,\nthat to get money have wearied themselves into the grave; and to\nbe true to their principle, when sick would not spare a fee to a\ndoctor, to help the poor slave to live; and so died to save charges:\na constancy that canonizes them martyrs for money.\n\nXVIII. But now let us see what instances the Scripture will give us\nin reproof of the sordid hoarders and hiders of money. A good-like\nyoung man came to Christ, and inquired the way to eternal life:\nChrist told him, he knew the commandments: he replied, he had kept\nthem from his youth: it seems he was no loose person, and indeed\nsuch are usually not so, to save charges. And \"yet lackest thou one\nthing,\" saith Christ; \"sell all, distribute it to the poor, and thou\nshalt have treasure in heaven, and come and follow Me.\" It seems\nChrist pinched him in the sore place; He hit the mark, and struck\nhim to the heart: who knew his heart; by this He tried how well he\nhad kept the commandment, \"To love God above all.\" It was said, the\nyoung man was very sorrowful, and went his way; and the reason which\nis given is, that he was very rich. The tides met, money and eternal\nlife: contrary desires: but which prevailed? Alas! his riches. But\nwhat said Christ to this? How hardly shall they that have riches\nenter into the kingdom of God! He adds, \"It is easier for a camel to\ngo through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom\nof heaven:\" that is, such a rich man, to wit, a covetous rich man,\nto whom it is hard to do good with what he has: it is more than a\nmiracle: O who then would be rich and covetous! It was upon these\nrich men that Christ pronounced his woe, saying, \"Woe unto you that\nare rich, for ye have received your consolation here.\" What! none\nin the heavens? No, unless you become willing to be poor men, can\nresign all, live loose to the world, have it at arm's end, yea,\nunder foot; a servant, and not a master.\n\nXIX. The other instance is a very dismal one too: it is that of\nAnanias and Sapphira. In the beginning of the apostolical times, it\nwas customary for those who received the word of life, to bring what\nsubstance they had and lay it at the apostles' feet: of these Joses,\nsurnamed Barnabas, was exemplary. Among the rest, Ananias and his\nwife Sapphira, confessing to the truth, sold their possession, but\ncovetously reserved some of the purchase-money from the common purse\nto themselves, and brought a part for the whole, and laid it at the\napostles' feet. But Peter, a plain and bold man, in the majesty of\nthe Spirit, said, \"Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to\nlie to the Holy Ghost; and to keep back part of the price of the\nland? Whilst it remained, was it not thine own? And after it was\nsold, was it not in thine own power? Why hast thou conceived this\nthing in thine heart? Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.\"\n(Acts, v. 3, 4.) But what followed this covetousness and hypocrisy\nof Ananias? Why, \"Ananias hearing these words, fell down, and gave\nup the ghost.\" The like befel his wife, being privy to the deceit\ntheir avarice had led them to. And it is said, that \"great fear came\nupon all the church, and those that heard of these things:\" and\nalso should on those that now read them. For if this judgment was\nshown and recorded that we should beware of the like evils, what\nwill become of those who, under the profession of Christianity, a\nreligion that teaches men to live loose from the world, and to yield\nup all to the will and service of Christ and his kingdom, not only\nretain a part, but all; and cannot part with the least thing for\nChrist's sake? I beseech God to incline the hearts of my readers to\nweigh these things. This had not befallen Ananias and Sapphira,\nif they had acted as in God's presence, and with that entire love,\ntruth, and sincerity that became them. O that people would use the\nlight that Christ has given them, to search and see how far they are\nunder the power of this iniquity! For would they but watch against\nthe love of the world, and be less in bondage to the things that\nare seen, which are temporal, they would begin to set their hearts\non things above, that are of an eternal nature. Their life would be\nhid with Christ in God, out of the reach of all the uncertainties of\ntime, and troubles, and changes of mortality. Nay, if people would\nbut consider how hardly riches are got, how uncertainly they are\nkept, the envy they bring; that they can neither make a man wise,\nnor cure diseases, nor add to life, much less give peace in death;\nno, nor hardly yield any solid benefit above food or raiment, (which\nmay be had without them,) and that if there be any good use for\nthem, it is to relieve others in distress; being but stewards of the\nplentiful providences of God, and consequently accountable for our\nstewardship; if, I say, these considerations had any room in our\nminds, we should not thus post to get, nor care to hide and keep\nsuch a mean and impotent thing. O that the cross of Christ, which\nis the Spirit and power of God in man, might have more place in the\nsoul, that it might crucify us more and more to the world, and the\nworld to us; that, like the days of paradise, the earth might again\nbe the footstool, and the treasure of the earth a servant, and not\na god to man!--Many have written against this vice; three I will\nmention.\n\nXX. William Tindall, that worthy apostle of the English reformation,\nhas an entire discourse, to which I refer the reader, entitled, \"The\nParable of the Wicked Mammon.\" The next is--\n\nXXI. Peter Charron, a famous Frenchman, and in particular for the\nbook he wrote of wisdom, hath a chapter against covetousness;\npart of which take as followeth: \"To love and affect riches is\ncovetousness: not only the love and affection, but also every\nover-curious care and industry about riches. The desire of goods,\nand the pleasure we take in possessing them, are grounded only upon\nopinion: the immoderate desire to get riches is a gangrene in our\nsoul, which with a venomous heat consumeth our natural affections,\nto the end it might fill us with virulent humours. So soon as it\nis lodged in our hearts, all honest and natural affection, which\nwe owe either to our parents, our friends, or ourselves, vanisheth\naway: all the rest, in respect of our profit, seemeth nothing;\nyea, we forget in the end, and condemn ourselves, our bodies, our\nminds, for this transitory trash; and as our proverb is, We sell our\nhorse to get us hay. Covetousness is the vile and base passion of\nvulgar fools, who account riches the principal good of a man, and\nfear poverty as the greatest evil; and not contenting themselves\nwith necessary means, which are forbidden no man, weigh that which\nis good in a goldsmith's balance; when nature hath taught us to\nmeasure it by the ell of necessity. For, what greater folly can\nthere be than to adore that which nature itself hath put under our\nfeet, and hidden in the earth, as unworthy to be seen; yea, rather\nto be contemned, and trampled under foot? This is that which the\nsin of man hath only torn out of the entrails of the earth, and\nbrought unto light to kill himself. We dig out the earth, and bring\nto light those things for which we would fight: we are not ashamed\nto esteem those things most highly which are in the lowest parts of\nthe earth. Nature seemeth even in the first birth of gold, after a\nsort, to have presaged the misery of those that are in love with it;\nfor it hath so ordered the matter, that in those countries where it\ngroweth there groweth with it neither grass nor plant, nor other\nthing that is worth anything: as giving us to understand thereby,\nthat in those minds where the desire of this metal groweth, there\ncannot remain so much as a spark of true honour and virtue. For\nwhat thing can be more base than for a man to degrade, and to make\nhimself a servant and a slave to that which should be subject unto\nhim? Riches serve wise men, but command a fool: for a covetous man\nserveth his riches, and not they him: and he is said to have goods\nas he hath a fever, which holdeth and tyrannizeth over a man, not he\nover it. What thing more vile, than to love that which is not good,\nneither can make a good man? Yea is common, and in the possession\nof the most wicked in the world; which many times perverts good\nmanners, but never amends them: without which, so many wise men\nhave made themselves happy; and by which so many wicked men have\ncome to a wicked end. To be brief; what thing more miserable, than\nto bind the living to the dead, as Mezentius did, to the end their\ndeath might be languishing, and the more cruel; to tie the spirit\nunto the excrement and scum of the earth; to pierce through his\nown soul with a thousand torments, which this amorous passion of\nriches brings with it; and to entangle himself with the ties and\ncords of this malignant thing, as the Scripture calls them, which\ndoth likewise term them thorns and thieves, which steal away the\nheart of man, snares of the devil, idolatry, and the root of all\nevil? And truly he that shall see the catalogue of those envies and\nmolestations which riches engender into the heart of man, as their\nproper thunderbolt and lightning, they would be more hated than they\nare now loved. Poverty wants many things, but covetousness all: a\ncovetous man is good to none, but worse to himself.\" Thus much of\nCharron, a wise and great man. My next testimony is yielded by an\nauthor not unlikely to take with some sort of people for his wit;\nmay they equally value his morality, and the judgment of his riper\ntime.\n\nXXII. Abraham Cowley, a witty and ingenious man, yieldeth us the\nother testimony: of avarice he writeth thus: \"There are two sorts\nof avarice, the one is but a bastard-kind, and that is a rapacious\nappetite of gain; not for its own sake, but for the pleasure of\nrefunding it immediately through all the channels of pride and\nluxury. The other is the true kind, and properly so called, which\nis a restless and insatiable desire of riches, not for any further\nend or use, but only to hoard and preserve, and perpetually increase\nthem. The covetous man of the first kind, is like a greedy ostrich,\nwhich devoureth any metal, but it is with an intent to feed upon\nit, and in effect, it maketh a shift to digest and excern it. The\nsecond is like the foolish chough, which loveth to steal money,\nonly to hide it. The first doth much harm to mankind, and a little\ngood to some few: the second doth good to none; no, not to himself.\nThe first can make no excuse to God or angels, or rational men, for\nhis actions: the second can give no reason or colour, not to the\ndevil himself, for what he doth: he is a slave to mammon without\nwages. The first maketh a shift to be beloved, aye, and envied too,\nby some people: the second is the universal object of hatred and\ncontempt. There is no vice hath been so pelted with good sentences,\nand especially by the poets, who have pursued it with satires\nand fables, and allegories and allusions, and moved, as we say,\nevery stone to fling at it; among which I do not remember a finer\ncorrection than that which was given it by one line of Ovid's:\n\n                            \"Multa\n    Luxuri\u00e6 desunt, omnia avariti\u00e6.\"\n\nWhich is,\n\n    \"Much is wanting to luxury, all to avarice.\"\n\nTo which saying I have a mind to add one member, and render it\nthus: poverty wants some, luxury many, avarice all things. Somebody\nsaith of a virtuous and wise man that having nothing, he hath all.\nThis is just his antipode, who having all things, yet hath nothing.\n\n    And O! what man's condition can be worse\n    Than his, whom plenty starves, and blessings curse?\n    The beggars but a common fate deplore,\n    The rich poor man's emphatically poor.\n\n\"I wonder how it cometh to pass, that there hath never been any law\nmade against him: against him do I say? I mean for him. As there are\npublic provisions made for all other madmen, it is very reasonable\nthat the king should appoint some persons to manage his estate,\nduring his life, for his heirs commonly need not that care, and\nout of it to make it their business to see that he should not want\nalimony befitting their condition; which he could never get out of\nhis own cruel fingers. We relieve idle vagrants and counterfeit\nbeggars, but have no care at all of these really poor men, who are,\nmethinks, to be respectfully treated, in regard of their quality.\nI might be endless against them, but I am almost choked with the\nsuperabundance of the matter. Too much plenty impoverisheth me, as\nit doth them.\" Thus much against avarice, that moth of the soul, and\ncanker of the mind.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIV.\n\n     1. Luxury, what it is, and the mischief of it to mankind.\n     An enemy to the cross of Christ.--2. Of luxury in diet, how\n     unlike Christ, and contrary to Scripture.--3. The mischief it\n     does to the bodies, as well as the minds of people.--4. Of\n     luxury in the excess of apparel, and of recreations; that sin\n     brought the first coat: people not to be proud of the badge\n     of their misery.--5. The recreations of the times, enemies\n     to virtue: they rise from degeneracy.--6. The end of clothes\n     allowable; the abuse reprehended.--7. The chief recreation of\n     good men of old was to serve God, and do good to mankind, and\n     follow honest vocations, not vain sports and pastimes.--8. The\n     Heathen knew and did better things. The sobriety of infidels\n     above Christians.--9. Luxury condemned in the case of the rich\n     man.--10. The doctrine of the Scripture positively against a\n     voluptuous life.\n\n\nI. I am now come to the other extreme, and that is luxury, which is\nan excessive indulgence of self, in ease and pleasure. This is the\nlast great impiety struck at in this discourse of the holy cross of\nChrist, which indeed is much the subject of its mortifying virtue\nand power. A disease as epidemical, as killing: it creeps into all\nstations and ranks of men: the poorest often exceeding their ability\nto indulge their appetite; and the rich frequently wallowing in\nthose things that please the lusts of their eye and flesh, and the\npride of life: as regardless of the severe discipline of JESUS,\nwhom they call Saviour, as if luxury, and not the cross, were the\nordained way to heaven. What shall we eat, what shall we drink,\nand what shall we put on? once the care of luxurious heathens, is\nnow the practice of, and which is worse, the study of pretended\nChristians. But let such be ashamed, and repent; remembering that\nJesus did not reproach the Gentiles for those things, to indulge\nhis followers in them. They that will have Christ to be theirs,\nmust be sure to be his; to be like-minded, to live in temperance\nand moderation, as knowing the Lord is at hand. Sumptuous apparel,\nrich unguents, delicate washes, stately furniture, costly cookery,\nand such diversions as balls, masques, music-meetings, plays,\nromances, &c., which are the delight and entertainment of the times,\nbelong not to the holy path that Jesus and his true disciples and\nfollowers trod to glory. No, \"Through many tribulations,\" says none\nof the least of them, \"must we enter the kingdom of God.\" (Acts,\nxiv. 22.) I do earnestly beseech the gay and luxurious, into whose\nhands this discourse shall be directed, to consider well the reasons\nand examples here advanced against their way of living; if happily\nthey may come to see how remote it is from true Christianity, and\nhow dangerous to their eternal peace. God Almighty, by his grace,\nsoften their hearts to instruction, and shed abroad his tender love\nin their souls, that they may be overcome to repentance, and to the\nlove of the holy way of the cross of Jesus, the blessed Redeemer\nof men. For they cannot think that He can benefit them, while they\nrefuse to lay down their sins for the love of Him that laid down\nhis life for the love of them. Or that He will give them a place in\nheaven, that refuse Him any in their hearts on earth. But let us\nexamine luxury in all its parts.\n\nII. Luxury has many parts; the first that is forbidden by the\nself-denying Jesus, is gluttony, \"Take no thought, saying, What\nshall we eat, or what shall we drink?--for after these things do the\nGentiles seek:\" (Mat. vi. 31, 32:) as if He had said, The Heathen,\nsuch as live without the true God, whose care is to please their\nappetite, more than to seek God and his kingdom: you must not do\nso, but \"seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness,\nand all these things shall be added unto you.\" (Mat. vi. 33.) That\nwhich is convenient for you will follow: let everything have its\ntime and order.\n\nThis carries a serious reprehension to the luxurious eater and\ndrinker, who is taken up with an excessive care of his palate, what\nshall he eat, and what shall he drink: who being often at a loss\nwhat to have next, therefore has an officer to invent, and a cook to\ndress, disguise, and drown the species, that it may cheat the eye,\nlook new and strange; and all to excite an appetite, or raise an\nadmiration. To be sure there is great variety, and that curious and\ncostly; the sauce, it may be, dearer than the meat; and so full is\nhe fed, that without it he can scarce find out a stomach; which is\nto force a hunger, rather than to satisfy it.--And as he eats, so\nhe drinks: rarely for thirst, but pleasure: to please his palate.\nFor that purpose he will have divers sorts, and he must taste them\nall: one, however good, is dull and tiresome; variety is more\ndelightful than the best; and therefore the whole world is little\nenough to fill his cellar. But were he temperate in his proportions,\nhis variety might be imputed rather to curiosity than luxury.\nBut what the temperate man uses as a cordial, he drinks by full\ndraughts, till inflamed by excess, he is fitted to be an instrument\nof mischief, if not to other persons, yet always to himself, whom\nperhaps at last he knows not: for such brutality are some come to,\nthey will sip themselves out of their own knowledge. This is the\nlust of the flesh, that is not of the Father, but of the world; for\nupon this comes in the music and dance, and mirth, and the laughter,\nwhich is madness; (Eccl. ii. 2;) that the noise of one pleasure may\ndrown the iniquity of another, lest his own heart should deal too\nplainly with him. Thus the luxurious live: they forget God, they\nregard not the afflicted. O that the sons and daughters of men\nwould consider their wantonness and their iniquity in these things!\nHow ill do they requite the goodness of God in the use and abuse of\nthe plenty He yields them! How cruel are they to his creatures, how\nlavish of their lives and virtue, how thankless for them: forgetting\nthe Giver, and abusing his gifts, and despising counsel, and casting\ninstruction behind them! They lose tenderness and forget duty, being\nswallowed up of voluptuousness, adding one excess to another. God\nrebuked this sin in the Jews, by the prophet Amos: \"Ye that put far\naway the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near; that\nlie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches,\nand eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the stall;\nthat chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves\ninstruments of music, like David; that drink wine in bowls, and\nanoint themselves with the chief ointments; but they are not grieved\nfor the affliction of Joseph.\" (Amos, vi. 3-6.) These, it seems,\nwere the vices of the degenerate Jews, under all their pretence to\nreligion; and are they not of Christians at this day? Yea they are,\nand these are the great parts of luxury struck at in this discourse.\nRemember the rich man, with all his sumptuous fare, went to hell:\nand the apostle pronounces heavy woes upon those \"whose god is their\nbelly: for such glory in their shame.\" (Phil. iii. 19.)\n\nChrist places these things to the courts of worldly kings, not his\nkingdom: making them unseemly in his followers: his feast therefore,\nto the multitude, which was his miracle, was plain and simple;\nenough, but without curiosity or art of cookery: and it went down\nwell, for they were hungry; the best and fittest time to eat. And\nthe apostle, in his directions to his much-beloved Timothy, debases\nthe lovers of worldly fulness; advising him to godliness and content\nas the chiefest gain: adding, \"and having food and raiment, let us\ntherewith be content.\" (1 Tim. vi. 6, 8.) Behold the abstemious,\nand most contented life of those pilgrims, the sons of heaven,\nand immortal offspring of the great power of God; they were in\nfasts and perils often, and ate what was set before them; and in\nall conditions learned to be contented. O blessed men! O blessed\nspirits! Let my soul dwell with yours for ever.\n\nIII. But the diseases which luxury begets and nourishes, make it an\nenemy to mankind: for besides the mischief it brings to the souls\nof people, it undermines health, and shortens the life of man, in\nthat it gives but ill nourishment and so leaves and feeds corrupt\nhumours, whereby the body becomes rank and foul, lazy and scorbutic;\nunfit for exercise, and more for honest labour. The spirits being\nthus loaded with ill flesh, and the mind effeminated, a man is made\ninactive, and so useless in civil society; for idleness follows\nluxury, as well as diseases. These are the burdens of the world,\ndevourers of good things, self-lovers, and so forgetters of God: but\nwhich is sad, and yet just, the end of those that forget God, is to\nbe turned into hell. (Psalm ix. 19.)\n\nIV. But there is another part of luxury that has great place with\nvain man and woman, and that is the gorgeousness of apparel, one\nof the most foolish, because most costly, empty, and unprofitable\nexcesses people can well be guilty of.\n\nV. Nor is it otherwise with recreations, as they call them; for\nthese are nearly related. Man was made a noble, rational, grave\ncreature; his pleasure stood in his duty, and his duty in obeying\nGod: which is to love, fear, adore, and serve Him; and in using the\ncreation with true temperance and godly moderation; as knowing well\nthat the Lord, his judge, was at hand, the inspector and rewarder of\nhis works. In short, his happiness was in his communion with God;\nhis error was to leave that conversation, and let his eyes wander\nabroad to gaze on transitory things. If the recreations of the age\nwere as pleasant and necessary as they are said and made to be,\nunhappy then would Adam and Eve have been, that never knew them. But\nhad they never fallen, and the world been tainted by their folly and\nill example, perhaps man had never known the necessity or use of\nmany of these things. Sin gave them birth, as it did the other; they\nwere afraid of the presence of the Lord, which was the joy of their\ninnocency, when they had sinned; and then their minds wandered,\nsought other pleasures, and began to forget God; as He complained\nafterwards by the prophet Amos, \"They put far away the evil day:\nthey eat the fat of the flock: they drink wine in bowls: they anoint\nthemselves with the chief perfumes: they stretch themselves upon\nbeds of ivory: they chant to the sound of the viol, and invent upon\nthemselves instruments of music, like David,\" (Amos, vi. 3-6,)\nnot heeding or remembering the afflictions and captivity of poor\nJoseph: him they wickedly sold, innocency was quite banished, and\nshame soon began to grow a custom, till they were grown shameless\nin the imitation. And truly, it is now no less a shame to approach\nprimitive innocence by modest plainness, than it was matter of\nshame to Adam that he lost it, and became forced to tack fig-leaves\nfor a covering. Wherefore in vain do men and women deck themselves\nwith specious pretences to religion, and flatter their miserable\nsouls with the fair titles of Christian, innocent, good, virtuous,\nand the like, whilst such vanities and follies reign. Wherefore to\nyou all, from the eternal God, I am bound to declare, you mock Him\nthat will not be mocked, and deceive yourselves; (Gal. vi. 7;) such\nintemperance must be denied, and you must know yourselves changed,\nand more nearly approached to primitive purity, before you can be\nentitled to what you do now but usurp; for none but those who are\nled by the Spirit of God are the children of God, (Rom. viii. 14;\nGal. v. 23,) which guides into all temperance and meekness.\n\nVI. But the Christian world, as it would be called, is justly\nreprovable, because the very end of the first institution of apparel\nis grossly perverted. The utmost service that clothes originally\nwere designed for, when sin had stripped them of their native\ninnocence, was, as hath been said, to cover them; therefore plain\nand modest: next, to fence out cold; therefore substantial: lastly,\nto declare sexes; therefore distinguishing. So that then necessity\nprovoked to clothing, now, pride and vain curiosity; in former times\nsome benefit obliged, but now, wantonness and pleasure: then they\nminded them for covering, but now, that is the least part; their\ngreedy eyes must be provided with gaudy superfluities: as if they\nmade their clothes for trimming, to be seen rather than worn; only\nfor the sake of other curiosities that must be tacked upon them,\nalthough they neither fence from cold, nor distinguish sexes; but\nsignally display their wanton, fantastic, full-fed minds, that have\nthem.\n\nVII. Then the recreations were to serve God, be just, follow their\nvocations, mind their flocks, do good, exercise their bodies in such\na manner as was suitable to gravity, temperance, and virtue; but\nnow that word is extended to almost every folly; so much are men\ndegenerated from Adam in his disobedience; so much more confident\nand artificial are they grown in all impieties: yea, their minds,\nthrough custom, are become so very insensible of the inconveniency\nthat attends the like follies, that what was once mere necessity,\nis now the delight, pleasure, and recreation of age. How ignoble\nis it, how ignominious and unworthy of a reasonable creature! Man,\nwho is endued with understanding, fit to contemplate immortality,\nand made a companion (if not superior) to angels, that he should\nmind a little dust, a few shameful rags; inventions of mere pride\nand luxury; toys so apish and fantastic, entertainments so dull and\nearthly, that a rattle, a baby, a hobby-horse, a top, are by no\nmeans so foolish in a simple child, not unworthy of his thoughts, as\nare such inventions of the care and pleasure of men! It is a mark of\ngreat stupidity that such vanities should exercise the noble mind of\nman, and image of the great Creator of heaven and earth.\n\nVIII. Of this many among the very Heathens of old had so clear a\nprospect that they detested all such vanity, looking upon curiosity\nin apparel, and that variety of recreations, now in vogue and esteem\nwith false Christians, to be destructive of good manners, in that\nit more easily stole away the minds of people from sobriety to\nwantonness, idleness, effeminacy, and made them only companions\nfor the beast that perishes: witness those famous men, Anaxagoras,\nSocrates, Plato, Aristides, Cato, Seneca, Epictetus, &c., who\nplaced true honour and satisfaction in nothing below virtue and\nimmortality. Nay, such are the remains of innocence among some Moors\nand Indians in our times, that if a Christian (though he must be\nan odd one) fling out a filthy word, it is customary with them, by\nway of moral, to bring him water to purge his mouth. How much do\nthe like virtues and reasonable instances accuse people, professing\nChristianity, of gross folly and intemperance! O that men and\nwomen had the fear of God before their eyes; and that they were so\ncharitable to themselves, as to remember whence they came, what they\nare doing, and to what they must return: that so more noble, more\nvirtuous, more rational and heavenly things might be the matters of\ntheir pleasure and entertainment; that they would be once persuaded\nto believe how inconsistent the folly, vanity, and conversation\nthey are mostly exercised in, really are with the true nobility of\na reasonable soul; and let that just principle, which taught the\nHeathens, teach them; lest it be found more tolerable for Heathens\nthan such Christians, in the day of account. For if their shorter\nnotions, and more imperfect sense of things could yet discover so\nmuch vanity; if their degree of light condemned it, and they, in\nobedience thereunto, disused it, doth it not behove Christians much\nmore?\n\nIX. Again these things, which have been hitherto condemned, have\nnever been the conversation or practice of the holy men and women of\nold times, whom the Scriptures recommend for holy examples, worthy\nof imitation. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were plain men, and princes,\nas graziers are, over their families and flocks. They were not\nsolicitous for the vanities so much lived in by the people of this\ngeneration, for they pleased God by faith. The first forsook his\nfather's house, kindred, and country; a true type or figure of that\nself-denial all must know, that would have Abraham to their father.\nThey must not think to live in those pleasures, fashions, and\ncustoms they are called to leave; no, but part with all hopes of the\ngreat recompense of reward, and that better country which is eternal\nin the heavens. (Heb. xi. 26, 15; Rom. v. 1.) The prophets were\ngenerally poor; one a shepherd, another a herdsman, &c. They often\ncried out unto the full-fed wanton Israelites to repent, to fear and\ndread the living God, to forsake the sins and vanities they lived\nin; but they never imitated them. John the Baptist, the messenger\nof the Lord, preached his embassy to the world in a coat of\ncamel's-hair, a rough and homely garment. (Matt. iii. 4.) Nor can it\nbe conceived that Jesus Christ himself was much better apparelled,\nwho, according to the flesh, was of poor descent, and in life, of\ngreat plainness; insomuch that it was usual in a way of derision to\nsay, \"Is not this Jesus, the carpenter, the son of Mary?\" (Matt.\nxiii. 55; Mark, vi. 3.) And this Jesus tells his followers, \"That\nas for soft raiment, gorgeous apparel and delicacies, they were for\nking's courts:\" (Luke, vii. 25:) implying, that He and his followers\nwere not to seek after those things; but seems thereby to express\nthe great difference that was betwixt the lovers of the fashions and\ncustoms of the world, and those whom He had chosen out of it. And He\ndid not only come in that mean and despicable manner himself, that\nHe might stain the pride of all flesh, but therein became exemplary\nto his followers, what a self-denying life they must lead, if they\nwould be his true disciples. Nay, He further leaves it with them in\na parable, to the end that it might make the deeper impression, and\nthat they might see how inconsistent a pompous, worldly-pleasing\nlife is with the kingdom He came to establish and call men to the\npossession of: and that is the remarkable story of Dives, who is\nrepresented first, as a rich man; (Luke, xvi. 19. &c.;) next as a\nvoluptuous man, in his rich apparel, his many dishes, and his pack\nof dogs; and lastly, as an uncharitable man, or one who was more\nconcerned to please the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and\nthe pride of life, and fare sumptuously every day, than to take\ncompassion of poor Lazarus at his gate: no, his dogs were more\npitiful and kind than he. But what was the doom of this jolly man,\nthis great rich man? We read it was everlasting torment; but that of\nLazarus, eternal joy with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom\nof God. In short, Lazarus was a good man, the other a great man: the\none poor and temperate, the other rich and luxurious: there are too\nmany of them alive; and it were well, if his doom might awaken them\nto repentance.\n\nX. Nor were the twelve apostles, the immediate messengers of the\nLord Jesus Christ, other than poor men, one a fisherman, another\na tent-maker; and he that was of the greatest, though perhaps\nnot the best employment, was a custom-gatherer. (Matt. iv. 18;\nix. 9; Acts, xviii. 3.) So that it is very unlikely that any of\nthem were followers of the fashions of the world: nay, they were\nso far from it, that, as became the followers of Christ, (1 Cor.\niv. 9-14,) they lived poor, afflicted, self-denying lives; bidding\nthe churches to walk as they had them for examples. (Phil. iii. 1,\n7; 1 Pet. ii. 21.) And to shut up this particular, they gave this\npathetic account of the holy women in former times, as an example of\ngodly temperance, (1 Pet. iii. 3, 4,) namely, that first they did\nexpressly abstain from gold, silver, plaited hair, fine apparel,\nor such like; and next, that their adornment was a meek and quiet\nspirit, and the hidden man of the heart, which are of great price\nwith the Lord; affirming that such as live in pleasure, are dead\nwhilst they live: (1 Tim. v. 6; Luke, viii. 14:) for that the\ncares and pleasures of this life choke and destroy the seed of the\nkingdom, and quite hinder all progress in the hidden and divine\nlife. Wherefore we find that the holy men and women of former times\nwere not accustomed to these pleasures and vain recreations; but\nhaving their minds set on things above, sought another kingdom,\nwhich consists in righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit:\nwho having obtained a good report, and entered into their eternal\nrest; therefore their works follow, and praise them in the gates.\n(Rom. xiv. 17; Heb. xi. 2; iv. 9; Rev. xiv. 13.)\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XV.\n\n     1. The judgments of God denounced upon the Jews for their\n     luxury; all ranks included.--2. Christ charges his disciples\n     to have a care of the guilt of it: a supplication to the\n     inhabitants of England.--3. Temperance pressed upon the churches\n     by the apostles.--4. An exhortation to England to measure\n     herself by that rule.--5. What Christian recreations are.--6.\n     Who need other sports to pass away their time are unfit for\n     heaven and eternity.--7. Man has but a few days: they may be\n     better bestowed: this doctrine is ungrateful to none that\n     would be truly blessed.--8. Not only good is omitted by this\n     luxurious life, but evil committed, as breach of marriage and\n     love, loss of health and estate, &c. Playhouses and stages\n     most instrumental to this mischief.--9. How youth are by them\n     inflamed to vanity: what mischief comes of revels, gamings, &c.\n     Below the life of noble heathens.--10. The true disciples of\n     Jesus are mortified in these things: the pleasure and reward of\n     a good employment of time.\n\n\nI. But such excess in apparel and pleasure was not only forbidden\nin Scripture, but it was the ground of that lamentable message by\nthe prophet Isaiah to the people of Israel: \"Moreover the Lord\nsaith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walked with\nstretched-forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they\ngo, and making a tinkling with their feet; therefore the Lord will\nsmite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion,\nand the Lord will discover their secret parts; in that day the Lord\nwill take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments, and their\ncauls, (or net-works in the Hebrew,) and their round tires like the\nmoon; the chains and the bracelets, and the mufflers; the bonnets,\nand the ornaments of the legs, and the head-bands, and the tablets,\nand ear-rings, the rings and nose-jewels; the changeable suits of\napparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping-pins;\nthe glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods and the veils; and\nit shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell, there shall be\na stink; and instead of a girdle, a rent; and instead of well-set\nhair, baldness; and instead of a stomacher, a girding of sackcloth,\nand burning instead of beauty: thy men shall fall by the sword,\nand thy mighty in the war; and her gates shall lament and mourn,\nand she being desolate, shall sit upon the ground.\"[4] (Isa. iii.\n16-26.) Behold, O vain and foolish inhabitants of England and\nEurope, your folly and your doom! Yet read the prophet Ezekiel's\nvision of miserable Tyre, what punishment her pride and pleasure\nbrought upon her; and amongst many other circumstances these are\nsome: \"These were thy merchants in all sorts of things; in blue\nclothes and broidered work, and in chests of rich apparel, emeralds,\npurple, fine linen, coral and agate, spices, with all precious\nstones, and gold, horses, chariots,\" &c.; for which hear part of\nher doom: \"Thy riches, and thy fairs, thy merchandize, and all thy\ncompany, which is in the midst, of thee, shall fall into the midst\nof the sea in the day of thy ruin; and the inhabitant of the isles\nshall be astonished at thee; and their merchants hiss at thee; thou\nshalt be a terror, and shalt be no more.\" (Ezek. xxvii.) Thus hath\nGod declared his displeasure against the luxury of this wanton\nworld. Yet further the prophet Zephaniah goes, for thus he speaks:\n\"And it shall come to pass in the day of the Lord's sacrifice,\nthat I will punish the princes, and the king's children, and all\nsuch as are clothed with strange apparel.\" (Zeph. i. 8.) Of how\nevil consequence was it in those times, for the greatest men to\ngive themselves the liberty of following the vain customs of other\nnations; or of changing the usual end of clothes, or apparel, to\ngratify foolish curiosity!\n\n  [4] The very practice, and garb, and vanity of this age being as\n  liable to the wrath of God, which hangs over England and Europe, and\n  is ready to be executed on their rebellious inhabitants.\n\nII. This did the Lord Jesus Christ expressly charge his disciples\nnot to be careful about: insinuating that such as were could not be\nhis disciples: for, says he, \"Take no thought, saying, What shall\nwe eat? or What shall we drink? or Wherewithal shall we be clothed?\nfor after all these things do the Gentiles seek: for your heavenly\nFather knoweth that you have need of all these things: but seek ye\nfirst the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things\nshall be added unto you.\" (Matt. vi. 31-33.) Under which of eating,\nand drinking, and apparel, he comprehends all external things\nwhatsoever; and so much appears, as well because they are opposed\nto the kingdom of God and his righteousness, which are invisible\nand heavenly things, as those very matters he enjoins them not to\nbe careful about, are the most necessary, and the most innocent\nin themselves. If then, in such cases, the minds of his disciples\nwere not to be solicitous; much less in foolish, superstitious,\nidle inventions, to gratify the carnal appetites and minds of\nmen: so certain it is that those who live therein are none of his\nfollowers, but the Gentiles; and as He elsewhere says, \"The nations\nof the world who know not God.\" (Luke, xii. 22-30.) If now then the\ndistinguishing mark between the disciples of Jesus and those of the\nworld is, that one minds the things of heaven, and God's kingdom,\nthat \"stands in righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost;\"\n(Rom. xiv. 17;) being not careful of external matters, even the most\ninnocent and necessary: and that the other minds eating, drinking,\napparel, and the affairs of this world, with the lusts, pleasures,\nprofits, and honours that belong to it; be you intreated for your\nsouls' sakes, O inhabitants of England, to be serious, to reflect\nawhile upon yourselves what care and cost you are at of time and\nmoney, about foolish, nay vicious things: so far are you degenerated\nfrom the primitive Christian life. What buying and selling, what\ndealing and chaffering, what writing and posting, what toil and\nlabour, what noise, hurry, bustle, and confusion, what study, what\nlittle contrivances and overreachings, what eating, drinking, vanity\nof apparel, most ridiculous recreations; in short, what rising\nearly, going to bed late, expense of precious time is there about\nthings that perish! View the streets, shops, exchanges, plays,\nparks, coffee-houses, &c. and is not the world, this fading world,\nwritten upon every face? Say not within yourselves, How otherwise\nshould men live and the world subsist? The common, though frivolous\nobjection. There is enough for all. Let some content themselves\nwith less: a few things, plain and decent, serve a Christian life.\nIt is lust, pride, avarice, that thrust men upon such folly: were\nGod's kingdom more the exercise of their minds, these perishing\nentertainments would have but little of their time or thoughts.\n\nIII. This self-denying doctrine was confirmed and enforced by the\napostles in their example, as we have already shown; and in their\nprecepts too, as we shall yet evince in those two most remarkable\npassages of Paul and Peter; where they do not only tell us what\nshould be done, but also what should be denied and avoided: \"In\nlike manner I will, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel;\nwith shamefacedness and sobriety, not with broidered hair, or gold,\nor pearls, or costly array (then it seems these are immodest)\nbut which becometh women professing godliness, with good works.\"\n(1 Tim. ii. 9, 10.) Absolutely implying, that those who attire\nthemselves with gold, silver, broidered hair, pearls, costly array,\ncannot in so doing, be women professing godliness; making those\nvery things to be contrary to modesty, and consequently that they\nare evil, and unbecoming women professing godliness. To which the\napostle Peter joins another precept after the like sort, viz. \"Whose\nadorning, let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair,\nand of wearing of gold, and of putting on of apparel:\" what then?\n\"But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not\ncorruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which\nis in the sight of God of great price.\" (1 Pet. iii. 3-5.) And as\nan inducement, he adds: \"for after this manner in the old time the\nholy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves.\" Which\ndoth not only intimate that both holy women were so adorned, and\nthat it behoves such as would be holy, and trust in the holy God,\nto be so adorned; but also, that they who used those forbidden\nornaments, were the women and people in all ages, that, for all\ntheir talk, were not holy, nor did trust in God. Such are so far\nfrom trusting in God that the apostle Paul expressly says, that\n\"she that liveth in pleasure is dead whilst she liveth.\" (1 Tim. v.\n6.) And the same apostle further enjoined, that Christians should\nhave their conversation in heaven, and their minds fixed on things\nabove: (Phil. iii. 20; Col. iii. 1-4; Rom. xiii. 13:) \"walk honestly\nas in the day, not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering\nand wantonness, not in envy and strife:\" (Eph. v. 3, 4:) \"let not\nfornication, uncleanness, or covetousness be once named among you:\nneither filthiness, nor foolish talking nor jesting, which are not\nconvenient; but rather giving of thanks:\" (Eph. iv. 29:) \"let no\ncorrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is\ngood, to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the\nhearers. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision\nfor the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.\" (Rom. xiii. 14; Eph.\niv. 30.) And, \"Grieve not the Holy Spirit; (intimating such\nconversation doth;) but be ye followers of God, as dear children:\nwalk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise; redeeming the time,\nbecause the days are evil.\" (Eph. v. 1, 15, 16.)\n\nIV. By this, measure yourselves, O inhabitants of this land, who\nthink yourselves wronged, if not accounted Christians: see what\nproportion your life and spirit bear with these most holy and\nself-denying precepts and examples. Well, my friends, my soul mourns\nfor you: I have been with and among you; your life and pastime are\nnot strangers to my notice; and with compassion, yea, inexpressible\npity, I bewail your folly. O that you would be wise! O that the just\nprinciple in yourselves would be heard! O that eternity had time\nto plead a little with you! Why should your beds, your glasses,\nyour clothes, your tables, your loves, your plays, your parks,\nyour treats, your recreations, poor perishing joys, have all your\nsouls, your time, your care, your purse, and consideration? Be\nye admonished, I beseech you, in the name of the living God, by\none that some of you know hath had his share in these things, and\nconsequently time to know how little the like vanities conduce to\ntrue and solid happiness. No, my Friends, God Almighty knows, and\nwould to God, you would believe and follow me, they end in shame\nand sorrow. Faithful is that most holy One, who hath determined,\nthat every man and woman shall reap what they sow: and will not\ntrouble, anguish, and disappointment be a sad and dreadful harvest\nfor you to reap, for all your misspent time and substance, about\nsuperfluities and vain recreations? Retire then; quench not the Holy\nSpirit in yourselves; redeem your precious abused time: frequent\nsuch conversation as may help you against your evil inclinations;\nso shall you follow the examples, and keep the precepts of Jesus\nChrist, and all his followers; for hitherto we have plainly\ndemonstrated, that no such way of living, as is in request among\nyou of the land, ever was, or can be, truly Christian.\n\nV. But the best recreation is to do good: and all Christian customs\ntend to temperance, and some good and beneficial end; which more or\nless may be in every action. (1 Pet. i. 15; Heb. x. 25; 1 Pet. iv.\n9-11; Matt. xxv. 36, 37; Phil. ii. 4; Ibid. iv. 8.) For instance, if\nmen and women would be diligent to follow their respective callings;\nfrequent the assemblies of religious people; visit sober neighbours\nto be edified, and wicked ones to reform them; be careful in the\ntuition of their children, exemplary to their servants; relieve\nthe necessitous, see the sick, visit the imprisoned; administer\nto their infirmities and indispositions, endeavour peace amongst\nneighbours: also, study moderately such commendable and profitable\narts, as navigation, arithmetic, geometry, husbandry, gardening,\nhandicraft, medicine, &c.; and that women spin, sew, knit, weave,\ngarden, preserve, and the like housewife and honest employments,\nthe practice of the greatest and noblest matrons, and youth, among\nthe very heathens; helping others, who for want are unable to keep\nservants, to ease them in their necessary affairs; often and private\nretirements from all worldly objects, to enjoy the Lord: secret and\nsteady meditations on the divine life and heavenly inheritance;\nwhich to leave undone and prosecute other things, under the notion\nof recreations, is impiety; it is most vain in any to object, that\nthey cannot do these always, and therefore why may not they use\nthese common diversions? for I ask, what would such be at? what\nwould they do? and what would they have? They that have trades\nhave not time enough to do the half of what hath been recommended.\nAnd as for those who have nothing to do, and indeed do nothing,\nwhich is worse, but sin, which is worst of all, here is variety of\npleasant, of profitable, yea, of very honourable employments and\ndiversions for them. Such can with great delight sit at a play, a\nball, a masque, at cards, dice, &c. drinking, revelling, feasting,\nand the like, an entire day; yea turn night into day, and invert the\nvery order of the creation, to humour their lusts; (Amos, vi. 3-8;)\nand were it not for eating and sleeping, it would be past a doubt,\nwhether they would ever find time to cease from those vain and\nsinful pastimes, till the hasty calls of death should summon their\nappearance in another world: yet do they think it intolerable, and\nhardly possible, for any to sit so long at a profitable or religious\nexercise.\n\nVI. But how do these think to pass their vast eternity away? \"For\nas the tree falls, so it lies.\" (Eccl. xi. 3.) Let none deceive\nthemselves, nor mock their immortal souls with a pleasant, but\nmost false and pernicious dream, that they shall be changed by a\nconstraining and irresistible power, just when their souls take\nleave of their bodies; no, no, my friends, \"what you sow, that shall\nyou reap:\" (Gal. vi. 4-9; Eph. v. 6:) if vanity, folly, visible\ndelights, fading pleasures; no better shall you ever reap than\ncorruption, sorrow and the woful anguish of eternal disappointments.\nBut alas! what is the reason that the cry is so common, Must we\nalways dote on these things? Why most certainly it is this, they\nknow not what is the joy and peace of speaking and acting, as in\nthe presence of the most holy God: (Eph. iv. 18-20:) that passes\nsuch vain understandings, darkened with the glories and pleasures\nof the god of this world; (Rom. x. 2;) whose religion is so many\nmumbling and ignorantly devout said words, as they teach parrots;\nfor if they were of those whose hearts are set on things above,\nand whose treasure is in heaven, there would their minds inhabit,\nand their greatest pleasure constantly be: and such who call that\na burden, and seek to be refreshed by such pastimes as a play, a\nmorrice-dance, a punchinello, a ball, a masque, cards, dice, or\nthe like, I am bold to affirm, they not only never knew the divine\nexcellency of God, and his truth, but thereby declare themselves\nmost unfit for them in another world. For how is it possible, that\nthey can be delighted to eternity with that satisfaction, which is\nso tedious and irksome for thirty or forty years, that, for a supply\nof recreation to their minds, the little toys and fopperies of this\nperishing world must be brought into practice and request? Surely,\nthose who are to reckon for every idle word, (Matt. xii. 36,) must\nnot use sports to pass away that time which they are commanded so\ndiligently to redeem, considering no less work is to be done, than\nmaking their calling and election sure: (Eph. v. 16; Phil. iii. 14;\n2 Pet. i. 10; Col. iv. 5:) much less study to invent recreations\nfor their vain minds, and spend the greatest part of their days,\nand months, and years therein, not allowing a quarter of that time\ntoward the great concernment of their lives and souls, for which\nthat time was given them.\n\nVII. There is but little need to drive away that, by foolish\ndivertisements, which flies away so swiftly of itself; and when\nonce gone, is never to be recalled. Plays, parks, balls, treats,\nromances, music, love-sonnets, and the like, will be a very invalid\nplea, for any other purpose than their condemnation who are taken\nand delighted with them, at the revelation of the righteous judgment\nof God. O my friends! these were never invented, but by that mind\nwhich had first lost the joy and ravishing delights of God's holy\npresence. So that we conclude first that of those many excellent\nemployments already mentioned, as worthy to possess such minds as\nare inclined to these vanities, there is store enough of time, not\nonly to take up their spare hours, but double so much, and that with\ngreat delight, diversion, and profit, both to themselves and others;\nwere they but once weaned from vain and fruitless fopperies, and\ndid they but consider, how great the satisfaction, and how certain\nthe rewards are, which attend this, and the other life, for such\nuniversal benefits and virtuous examples. The second conclusion is,\nthat what is alleged by me, can be displeasing and ungrateful to\nnone, but such as know not what it is to walk with God, to prepare\nfor an eternal mansion, to have the mind exercised on heavenly and\ngood things, to follow the examples of the holy men and women of\nformer happy ages: such as know not Christ's doctrine, life, death,\nand resurrection, but only have their minds fastened to the flesh,\nand by the objects of it are allured, deceived, and miserably\nruined: and lastly, that despise heaven, and the joys that are not\nseen, though eternal, for a few perishing trifles that they do see;\nthough they are decreed to pass away. (Rom. vi. 3-8; 1 Cor. xii. 13;\nGal. iii. 27; Col. ii. 12, 13; Eph. iv. 13.) How these are baptized\nwith Christ, into his holy life, cruel sufferings, shameful death,\nand raised with him to immortal desires, heavenly meditations, a\ndivine new life, growing into the knowledge of heavenly mysteries,\nand all holiness, even unto the measure of the stature of Jesus\nChrist, the great example of all: how, I say, these resemble most\nnecessary Christian qualifications, and what share they have\ntherein, let their consciences tell them upon a serious inquiry in\nthe cool of the day.\n\nVIII. But in the next place, such attire and pastimes do not only\nshow the exceeding worldliness of people's inclinations, and their\nvery great ignorance of the divine joys; but by imitating these\nfashions, and frequenting these places and diversions, not only\nmuch good is omitted, but a certain door is open to much evil to\nbe committed: as first, precious time, that were worth a world on\na dying bed, is lost: money that might be employed for the general\ngood, vainly expended, pleasure is taken in mere shame; lusts\nare gratified, the minds of the people alienated from heavenly\nthings, and exercised about mere folly; and men become acceptable\nby their trims and the \u00e0-la-modeness of their dress and apparel;\nfrom whence respect to persons doth so naturally arise, that to\ndeny it is to affirm the sun shines not at noon-day; (James, ii.\n1-9;) nothing being more notorious than the cringing, scraping,\nsirring, and madaming of persons, according to the gaudiness\nof their attire: which is detestable to God, and so absolutely\nforbidden in the Scriptures, that to do it is to break the whole\nlaw, and consequently to incur the punishment thereof. Next, what\ngreat holes do the like practices make in men's estates! How are\ntheir vocations neglected, young women deluded, the marriage-bed\ninvaded, contentions and family animosities begotten, partings of\nman and wife, disinheriting of children, dismissing of servants! On\nthe other hand, servants made slaves, children disregarded, wives\ndespised and shamefully abused, through the intemperance of their\nhusbands; which either puts them upon the same extravagance, or\nlaying such cruel injustice to heart, they pine away their days\nin grief and misery. But of all these wretched inventions, the\nplayhouses, like so many hellish seminaries, do most perniciously\nconduce to these sad and miserable ends; where little besides\nfrothy, wanton, if not directly obscene and profane humours are\nrepresented, which are of notoriously ill consequence upon the minds\nof most; especially the youth that frequent them. And thus it is\nthat idle and debauched stages are encouraged and maintained; than\nwhich scarcely a greater abomination can be thought on of that rank\nof impieties, as will anon particularly be shown; and truly nothing\nbut the excessive pleasure people take therein could blind their\neyes from seeing it.\n\nIX. But lastly, the grand indisposition of mind in people to\nsolid, serious, and heavenly meditations, by the almost continual,\nas well as pleasant rumination in their minds, of those various\nadventures they have been entertained with, which in the more\nyouthful can never miss to inflame and animate their boiling and\nairy constitutions. (Job, xxxv. 13.) And in the rest of the common\nrecreations of balls, masques, treats, cards, dice, &c. there are\nthe like opportunities to promote the like evils. And yet further;\nhow many quarrels, animosities, nay, murders too, as well as expense\nof estate and precious time, have been the immediate consequences of\nthe like practices! In short, these were the ways of the Gentiles\nthat knew not God, but never the practice of them that feared Him:\n(Eph. iv. 17-25:) nay, the more noble among the heathens themselves,\nnamely, Anaxagoras, Socrates, Plato, Antisthenes, Heraclitus, Zeno,\nAristides, Cato, Tully, Epictetus, Seneca, &c. have left their\ndisgust to these things upon record, as odious and destructive, not\nonly of the honour of the immortal God, but of all good order and\ngovernment; as leading into looseness, idleness, ignorance, and\neffeminacy, the great cankers and bane of all states and empires.\nAnd the pretended innocency of these things steals away their minds\nfrom that which is better, into the love of them; nay, it gives them\nconfidence to plead for them, and by no means will they think the\ncontrary. But why? because it is a liberty that feeds the flesh and\ngratifies the lustful eye and palate of poor mortality: wherefore\nthey think it a laudable condition to be no better than the beast,\nthat eats and drinks but what his nature doth require; although the\nnumber is very small of such, so very exorbitant are men and women\ngrown in this present age: for either they do believe their actions\nare to be ruled by their own will; or else at best, that not to be\nstained with the vilest wickedness is matter of great boasting:\nand indeed it is so in a time when nothing is too wicked to be\ndone. But certainly, it is a sign of universal impiety in a land,\nwhen not to be guilty of the sins the very heathens loathe, is to\nbe virtuous, yes, and Christian too, and that to no small degree\nof reputation: a dismal symptom to a country! But is it not to be\ngreatly blinded, that those we call infidels should detest those\npractices as infamous which people that call themselves Christians,\ncannot or will not see to be such, but gild them over with the fair\ntitles of ornaments, decency, recreation, and the like? Well, my\nfriends, if there were no God, no heaven, no hell, no holy examples,\nno Jesus Christ, in cross, doctrine, and life, to be conformed unto;\nyet would charity to the poor, help to the needy, peace amongst\nneighbours, visits to the sick, care of the widow and fatherless,\nwith the rest of those temporal good offices already repeated, be a\nnobler employment, and much more worthy of your expense and pains.\nNor indeed is it to be conceived, that the way to glory is smoothed\nwith such a variety of carnal pleasures; for then conviction, a\nwounded spirit, a broken heart, a regenerate mind; (Prov. xviii.\n14; Psalm li. 17; Matt. v. 4; Luke, vi. 25; Rom. ii. 7; Psalm\nxl. 8; Rom. vii. 22; Heb. xi. 13-16; Rom. i. 25-30;) in a word,\nimmortality, would prove as mere fictions as some make them, and\nothers therefore think them: no, these practices are for ever to be\nextinguished and expelled all Christian society. For I affirm, that\nto one who internally knows God, and hath a sense of his blessed\npresence, all such recreations are death; yea, more dangerously\nevil, and more apt to steal away the mind from the heavenly\nexercise, than grosser impieties. For they are so big they are\nplainly seen; so dirty, they are easily detected: which education\nand common temperance, as well as constitution in many, teach them\nto abhor: and if they should be committed, they carry with them a\nproportionable conviction. But these pretended innocents, these\nsupposed harmless satisfactions, (Job, i. 4,) are more surprising,\nmore destructive: for as they easily gain an admission by the\nsenses, so the more they pretend to innocency the more they secure\nthe minds of people in the common use of their evil consequences,\nthat with a mighty confidence they can plead for them.\n\nX. But as this is plainly not to deny themselves, (1 John, ii.\n15-17,) but on the contrary, to employ the vain inventions of\ncarnal men and women, to gratify the desire of the eye, the desire\nof the flesh, and the pride of life, (all which exercise the mind\nbelow the divine and only true pleasure, or else, tell me what\ndoes,) so be it known to be such, that the heavenly life and\nChristian joys are of another kind, as hath already been expressed:\nyea, that the true disciples of the Lord Christ must be hereunto\ncrucified, as to objects and employments that attract downwards,\nand that their affections should be raised to a more sublime and\nspiritual conversation, as to use this world, even in its most\ninnocent enjoyments, as if they used it not. But if they take\npleasure in anything below, it should be in such good offices as\nbefore mentioned, whereby a benefit may redound in some respect\nto others: in which God is honoured over all visible things, the\nnation relieved, the government bettered, themselves rendered\nexemplary of good, and thereby justly entitled to present happiness,\na sweet memorial with posterity, as well as to a seat at his right\nhand, where there are joys and pleasures for ever: (Job, xxxvi. 7;\nPsalm v. 12; Prov. x. 7, 11:) than which there can be nothing more\nhonourable, nothing more certain, world without end.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVI.\n\n     1. Luxury should not be used by Christians, because of its\n     inconsistency with the spirit of Christianity.--2. The cup of\n     which Christ's true disciples drank.--3. O! who will drink of\n     this cup!--4. An objection answered of the nature of God's\n     kingdom, and what it stands in.--5. Of the frame of the spirit\n     of Christ's followers.\n\n\nI. But the luxury opposed in this discourse should not be allowed\namong Christians, because both that which invents it, delights in\nit, and pleads so strongly for it, is inconsistent with the true\nspirit of Christianity; nor doth the very nature of the Christian\nreligion admit thereof. For therefore was it, that immortality and\neternal life were brought to light, that all the invented pleasures\nof mortal life, in which the world lives, might be denied and\nrelinquished: and for this reason it is, that nothing less than\nimmense rewards and eternal mansions are promised, that men and\nwomen might therefore be encouraged willingly to forsake the vanity\nand fleshly satisfactions of the world, and encounter with boldness\nthe shame and sufferings they must expect to receive at the hand of,\nit may be, their nearest intimates and relations.\n\nFor if the Christian religion had admitted the possession of this\nworld in any other sense than the simple and naked use of those\ncreatures, really given of God for the necessity and convenience\nof the whole creation; for instance, did it allow all that pride,\nvanity, curiosity, pomp, exchange of apparel, honours, preferments,\nfashions, and the customary recreations of the world, with whatever\nmay delight and gratify their senses; then what need of a daily\ncross; a self-denying life; working out salvation with fear and\ntrembling; seeking the things that are above; having the treasure\nand heart in heaven; no idle talking, no vain jesting, but fearing\nand meditating all the day long; undergoing all reproach, scorn,\nhard usage, bitter mockings, and cruel deaths? What need these\nthings? And why should they be expected in order to that glorious\nimmortality and eternal crown, if the vanity, pride, expense,\nidleness, concupiscence, envy, malice, and whole manner of living\namong the called Christians, were allowed by the Christian religion?\nNo certainly; but as the Lord Jesus Christ well knew in what foolish\ntrifles and vain pleasures, as well as grosser impieties, the minds\nof men and women were fixed, and how much they were degenerated from\nthe heavenly principle of life, into a lustful or unlawful seeking\nafter the enjoyments of this perishing world, nay, inventing daily\nnew satisfactions to gratify the carnal appetites, so did He not\nless foresee the difficulty that all would have to relinquish and\nforsake them at his call, and with what great unwillingness they\nwould take their leave of them, and be weaned from them. Wherefore\nto induce them to it, He did not speak unto them in the language of\nthe law, that they should have an earthly Canaan, great dignities, a\nnumerous issue, a long life, and the like: no, rather the contrary,\nat least to take these things in their course; but He speaks to them\nin a higher strain; namely, He assures them of a kingdom and a crown\nthat are immortal, that neither time, cruelty, death, grave, or\nhell, with all its instruments, shall ever be able to disappoint or\ntake away from those who should believe and obey Him. Further, that\nthey should be taken into that near alliance of loving friends, yea,\nthe intimate divine relation of dear brethren, and co-heirs with Him\nof all celestial happiness, and a glorious immortality. Wherefore,\nif it be recorded that those who heard not Moses were to die, much\nmore they who refuse to hear and obey the precepts of this great and\neternal Rewarder of all that diligently seek and follow Him.\n\nII. And therefore it was that He was pleased to give us, in his\nown example, a taste of what his disciples must expect to drink\ndeeply of, namely, the cup of self-denial, cruel trials, and most\nbitter afflictions: He came not to consecrate a way to the eternal\nrest, through gold, and silver, ribbons, laces, prints, perfumes,\ncostly clothes, curious trims, exact dresses, rich jewels, pleasant\nrecreations, plays, treats, balls, masques, revels, romances,\nlove-songs, and the like pastimes of the world: no, no, alas! but\nby forsaking all such kind of entertainments, yea, and sometimes\nmore lawful enjoyments too; and cheerfully undergoing the loss\nof all on the one hand, and the reproach, ignominy, and the most\ncruel persecution from ungodly men on the other. He needed never\nto have wanted such variety of worldly pleasures, had they been\nsuitable to the nature of his kingdom: for He was tempted, as are\nhis followers, with no less bait than all the glories of the world:\nbut He commanded to seek another country, and to lay up treasures in\nthe heavens that fade not away; and therefore charged them never to\nbe much inquisitive about what they should eat, drink, or put on,\n\"because,\" saith He, \"after these things the Gentiles,\" that know\nnot God, \"do seek;\" (Matt. vi. 29-33;) (and Christians that pretend\nto know Him too,) but \"having food and raiment, therewith to be\ncontent:\" (1 Tim. vi. 11:) He, I say, that enjoined this doctrine,\nand led that holy and heavenly example, even the Lord Jesus Christ,\nbade them that would be his disciples take up the same cross, and\nfollow Him (Luke, xiv. 26, 27, 33.)\n\nIII. O who will follow Him! Who will be true Christians? We must\nnot think to steer another course, nor to drink of another cup, than\nhath the Captain of our salvation done before us: (Heb. ii. 10:) no,\nfor it is the very question He asked James and John, the sons of\nZebedee of old, when they desired to sit at his right and left hand\nin his kingdom, \"Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink\nof, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?\"\n(Matt. xx. 22.) Otherwise no disciples, no Christians. Whoever they\nare that would come to Christ, and be right Christians, must readily\nabandon every delight that would steal away the affections of the\nmind, and exercise it from the divine principle of life, and freely\nwrite a bill of divorce for every beloved vanity; and all, under the\nSun of Righteousness is so, compared with Him.\n\nObjection 1. IV. But some are ready to object, who will not seem to\nwant Scripture for their lusts, although it be evidently misapplied.\nThe kingdom of God stands not in meats, or in drinks, or in apparel,\n&c. Answer. Right; therefore it is that we stand out of them. But\nsurely you have the least reason of any to object this to us,\nwho make those things so necessary to conversation, as our not\nconforming to them renders us obnoxious to your reproach; which how\nChristian, or resembling it is of the righteousness, peace, and joy\nin which the heavenly kingdom stands, let the just principle in your\nown consciences determine. Our conversation stands in temperance,\nand that stands in righteousness, by which we have obtained that\nkingdom, your latitude and excess have no share or interest in.\nIf none, therefore, can be true disciples but they that come to\nbear the daily cross, but those who follow the example of the Lord\nJesus Christ, (Phil. iii. 10; 1 Pet. iv. 13; Tit. ii. 11-13; John,\ni. 9; Rom. vi. 6; Gal. ii. 20; v. 24; vi. 4,) through his baptism,\nafflictions, and temptations; and that none are so baptized with\nHim but those whose minds are retired from the vanities in which\nthe generality of the world live, and become obedient to the holy\nlight and divine grace with which they have been enlightened from\non high, and thereby are daily exercised to the crucifying of\nevery contrary affection, and bringing of immortality to light;\nif none are true disciples but such, as most undoubtedly they are\nnot, then let the people of these days a little soberly reflect\nupon themselves, and they will conclude that none who live and\ndelight in these vain customs and this un-christ-like conversation\ncan be true Christians, or disciples of the crucified JESUS: for\notherwise, how would it be a cross; or the Christian life matter of\ndifficulty and reproach? No, the offence of the cross would soon\ncease, which is \"the power of God to them that believe;\" (Gal. v.\n11; 1 Cor. i. 18;) that every lust and vanity may be subdued, and\nthe creature brought into a holy subjection of mind to the heavenly\nwill of its Creator. For therefore has it been said, that Jesus\nChrist was and is manifested, that by his holy self-denying life and\ndoctrine, and by the immortality He brought, and daily brings to\nlight, He might stain the glory of their fading rests and pleasures;\n(1 Cor. i. 27-29;) that having their minds weaned from them, and\nbeing crucified thereunto, they might seek another country, and\nobtain an everlasting inheritance: for \"the things that are seen\nare temporal,\" (2 Cor. iv. 18,) and those they were, and all true\nChristians are, to be redeemed from resting in: but the things that\nare not seen are eternal; those they were, and all are to be brought\nto, and have their affections chiefly fixed upon.\n\nV. Wherefore a true disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ is to have his\nmind so conversant about heavenly things, that the things of this\nworld may be used as if they were not: that having such things as\nare necessary and convenient, he be therewith content, without the\nsuperfluity of the world; (1 Tim. vi. 8;) whereby the pleasure that\nin times of ignorance was taken in the customs and fashions of the\nworld, may more abundantly be supplied in the hidden and heavenly\nlife of Jesus: for unless there be an abiding in Christ, it will be\nimpossible to bring forth that much fruit (John, xv. 4, 7, 8,) which\nHe requires at the hand of his followers, and wherein his Father is\nglorified. But as it is clear that such as live in the vanities,\npleasures, recreations, and lusts of the world, abide not in Him,\nneither know Him, for they that know Him depart from iniquity; so\nis their abiding and delighting in those bewitching follies, the\nvery reason why they are so ignorant and insensible of Him: Him who\ncontinually stands knocking at the door of their hearts; (Rev. iii.\n20;) in whom they ought to abide, and whose divine power they should\nknow to be the cross on which every beloved lust and alluring vanity\nshould be slain and crucified; that so they might feel the heavenly\nlife to spring up in their hearts, and themselves to be quickened\nto seek the things that are above; that when Christ shall appear,\nthey might appear with Him in glory who is over all, God blessed for\never. (Col. iii. 1; Rom. ix. 5.) Amen.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVII.\n\n     1. The customs, fashions, &c. which make up the attire and\n     pleasure of the age, are enemies to inward retirement.--2. Their\n     end is to gratify lust.--3. Had they been solid, Adam and Eve\n     had not been happy, that never had them.--4. But the confidence\n     and presumption of Christians, as they would be called, in the\n     use of them is abominable.--5. Their authors further condemn\n     them, who are usually loose and vain people.--6. Mostly\n     borrowed of the Gentiles, that knew not God.--7. An objection\n     of their usefulness considered and answered, and the objectors\n     reproved.--8. The best heathens abhorring what pretended\n     Christians plead for.--9. The use of these things encourages\n     the authors and makers of them to continue in them.--10. The\n     objection of the maintenance of families answered. None must\n     do evil, that good should follow: but better employments may\n     be found more serviceable to the world.--11. Another objection\n     answered: GOD no author of their inventions, and so not\n     excusable by his institution.--12. People pleading for these\n     vanities show what they are. An exhortation to the weighty and\n     considerate. A great part of the way to true discipleship, is to\n     abandon the school and shop of Satan.\n\n\nI. Next, those customs and fashions, which make up the common attire\nand conversation of the times, do eminently obstruct the inward\nretirement of people's minds, by which they may come to behold the\nglories of immortality: who instead of fearing their Creator in the\ndays of their youth, and seeking the kingdom of God in the first\nplace, (Eccl. xii. 1; Luke, xii. 31,) expecting the addition of such\nother things as may be necessary and convenient, according to the\ninjunctions of God and the Lord Jesus Christ; as soon as they can\ndo anything, they look after pride, vanity, and that conversation\nwhich is most delightful to the flesh, (Jer. xviii. 18-20,) which\nbecomes their most delightful entertainment: all which do but\nevidently beget lustful conceptions, and inflame to inordinate\nthoughts, wanton discourses, lascivious treats, if not at last to\nwicked actions. To such it is tedious and offensive to speak of\nheaven or another life. Bid them reflect upon their actions, not\ngrieve the Holy Spirit, consider of an eternal doom, prepare for\njudgment; and the best return that is usual is reproachful jests,\n(Eph. v. 3, 4,) profane repartees, if not direct blows. Their\nthoughts are otherwise employed: their mornings are too short for\nthem to wash, to smooth, to paint, to patch, to braid, to curl,\nto gum, to powder, and otherwise to attire and adorn themselves;\n(Psalm xii. 2; Isa. v.; xii.; lix. 3, 4;) whilst their afternoons\nare as commonly bespoke for visits and for plays; where their\nusual entertainment is some stories fetched from the more approved\nromances; some strange adventures, some passionate amours, unkind\nrefusals, grand impediments, importunate addresses, miserable\ndisappointments, wonderful surprises, unexpected encounters, castles\nsurprised, imprisoned lovers rescued, and meetings of supposed dead\nones; bloody duels, languishing voices echoing from solitary groves,\noverheard mournful complaints, deep-fetched sighs sent from wild\ndeserts, intrigues managed with unheard-of subtlety; and whilst\nall things seem at the greatest distance, then are dead people\nalive, enemies friends, despair turned to enjoyment, and all their\nimpossibilities reconciled: things that never were, nor are, nor\never shall or can be, they all come to pass. And as if men and women\nwere too slow to answer the loose suggestions of corrupt nature; or\nwere too intent on more divine speculations and heavenly affairs,\nthey have all that is possible for the most extravagant wits to\ninvent; not only express lies, but utter impossibilities to very\nnature, on purpose to excite their minds to those idle passions,\nand intoxicate their giddy fancies with swelling nothings but airy\nfictions: which not only consume their time, effeminate their\nnatures, debase their reason, and set them on work to reduce these\nthings to practice, and make each adventure theirs by imitation;\nbut if disappointed,--as who can otherwise expect from such mere\nphantasms?--the present remedy is latitude in the greatest vice. And\nyet these are some of their most innocent recreations, which are\nthe very gins of Satan, to ensnare people; contrived most agreeable\nto their weakness, and in a more insensible manner mastering their\naffections by entertainments most taking to their senses. On such\noccasions it is their hearts breed vanity, and their eyes turn\ninterpreters to their thoughts, and their looks do whisper the\nsecret inflammations of their intemperate minds; (Prov. vii. 10-21;)\nwandering so long abroad, till their lascivious actings bring night\nhome, and load their minds and reputations with lust and infamy.\n\nII. Here is the end of all their fashions and recreations, to\ngratify the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of\nlife: (1 John, ii. 15, 16:) clothes that were given to cover, now\nwant a covering for their shameful excess; and that which should\nremind men of lost innocency, they pride and glory in: but the\nhundredth part of these things cost man the loss of Paradise, that\nnow make up the agreeable recreation, aye, the accomplishment of the\ntimes. For as it was Adam's fault to seek a satisfaction to himself,\nother than what God ordained; so it is the exercise, pleasure,\nand perfection of the age, to spend the greatest portion of their\ntime in vanities, which are so far from the end of their creation,\nnamely, a divine life, that they are destructive of it.\n\nIII. Were the pleasures of the age true and solid, Adam and Eve\nhad been miserable in their innocency, who knew them not: but\nas it was once their happiness, not to know them in any degree;\nso it is theirs, that know Christ indeed, to be by his eternal\npower redeemed and raised to the love of immortality: which is yet\na mystery to those who live and have pleasure in their curious\ntrims, rich and changeable apparel, nicety of dress, invention and\nimitation of fashions, costly attire, mincing gaits, wanton looks,\nromances, plays, treats, balls, feasts, and the like conversation\nin request: for as these had never been, if man had staid at home\nwith his Creator, and given the entire exercise of his mind to the\nnoble ends of his creation; so certain it is, that the use of these\nvanities, is not only a sign that men and women are yet ignorant\nof their true rest and pleasure, but it greatly obstructs and\nhinders the retirement of their minds, and their serious inquiry\nafter those things that are eternal. O that there should be so much\nnoise, clutter, invention, traffic, curiosity, diligence, pains, and\nvast expense of time and estate, to please and gratify poor vain\nmortality! And that the soul, the very image of divinity itself,\nshould have so little of their consideration. What, O what more\npregnant instances and evident tokens can be given, that it is the\nbody, the senses, the case, a little flesh and bone covered with\nskin, the toys, fopperies, and very vanities of this mortal life and\nperishing world, that please, that take, that gain them; on which\nthey dote; and think they never have too much time, love, or money\nto bestow upon them!\n\nIV. Thus are their minds employed; and so vain are they in their\nimaginations, and dark in their understandings, that they not\nonly believe them innocent, but persuade themselves they are good\nChristians all this while; and to rebuke them is worse than heresy.\n(Luke, viii. 14; Prov. i. 30, x. 17, xii. 1, xv. 14; Isa. lvii.\n1-10; Jer. xvi. 19-21; Mat. vi. 7.) Thus are they strangers to the\nhidden life; and by these things are they diverted from all serious\nexamination of themselves: and a forced zeal of half-an-hour's talk\nin other men's words, which they have nothing to do with, is made\nsufficient; being no more their states, or at least their intention,\nas their works show, than it was the young man's in the Gospel, that\nsaid, he would go, and did not. But alas! why? O there are other\nguests! What are they? Pharamond, Cleopatra, Cassandra, Clelia; a\nplay, a ball a spring-garden; the park, the gallant, the exchange,\nin a word, the world. These stay, these call, these are importunate,\nand these they attend, and these are their most familiar associates.\nThus are their hearts captivated from the divine exercise; nay,\nfrom such external affairs, as immediately concern some benefit\nto themselves, or needy neighbours; pleasing themselves with the\nreceived ideas of those toys and fopperies into their loose and airy\nminds; and if in all things they cannot practise them, because they\nwant the means of it, yet as much as may be, at least to dote upon\nthem, be taken with them, and willingly suffer their thoughts to\nbe hurried after them. All which greatly indisposes the minds, and\ndistracts the souls of people from the divine life and principle of\nthe holy Jesus; but, as it hath been often said, more especially\nthe minds of the younger sort: to whom the like divertisements\n(Jer. ii. 5,) (where their inclinations being presented with what\nis very suitable to them, they become excited to more vanity than\never they thought upon before,) are incomparably dearer than all\nthat can be said of God's fear, a retired life, eternal rewards,\nand joys unspeakable and full of glory: so vain, so blind, and so\nvery insensible are men and women, of what truly makes a disciple\nof Christ. (Rom. xiii. 11, 12; Matt. xv. 7-14.) O! that they would\nponder on these things, and watch against, and come out of all these\nvanities, for the coming of the Lord, lest being unprepared, and\ntaken up with other guests, they enter not into his everlasting rest.\n\nV. That which further manifests the unlawfulness of these numerous\nfashions and recreations is, that they are either the inventions of\nvain, idle, and wanton minds, to gratify their own sensualities,\nand raise the like wicked curiosity in others, to imitate the\nsame; by which nothing but lust and folly are promoted: or the\ncontrivances of indigent and impoverished wits, who make it the\nnext way for their maintenance: in both which respects, and upon\nboth which considerations, they ought to be detested. For the first\nlicenses express impiety, and the latter countenances a wretched\nway of livelihood, and consequently diverts from more lawful, more\nserviceable, and more necessary employments. That such persons\nare both the inventors and actors of all these follies, cannot\nbe difficult to demonstrate: for were it possible, that any one\ncould bring us father Adam's girdle, and mother Eve's apron, what\nlaughing, what fleering, what mocking of their homely fashions\nwould there be! Surely their tailor would find but little custom,\nalthough we read, it was God himself that made them coats of skins.\n(Gen. iii. 21.) The like may be asked of all the other vanities,\nconcerning the holy men and women through all the generations of\nholy writ. How many pieces of ribbon, and what feathers, lace-bands,\nand the like, did Adam and Eve wear in Paradise, or out of it?\nWhat rich embroideries, silks, points, &c. had Abel, Enoch, Noah,\nand good old Abraham? Did Eve, Sarah, Susannah, Elizabeth, and the\nVirgin Mary use to curl, powder, patch, paint, wear false locks, or\nstrange colours, rich points, trimmings, laced gowns, embroidered\npetticoats, shoes with slip-slaps, laced with silver or silver lace,\nand ruffled like pigeons' feet, with several yards, if not pieces of\nribbons? How many plays did Jesus Christ and his apostles recreate\nthemselves at? What poets, romances, comedies, and the like did the\napostles and saints make, or use to pass away their time withal? I\nknow, they bid all redeem their time, to avoid foolish talking, vain\njesting, profane babblings, and fabulous stories; (Eph. v. 1-5, 15,\n16; 2 Tim. ii. 16, 22; Matt. xxv. 13; Phil. ii. 12, 13; Col. iii.\n1, 2, 5;) as what tend to godliness: and rather to watch, to work\nout their salvation with fear and trembling, to flee foolish and\nyouthful lusts, and to follow righteousness, peace, goodness, love,\ncharity; and to mind the things that are above as they would have\nhonour, glory, immortality, and eternal life.\n\nVI. But if I were asked, Whence came they then? I could quickly\nanswer, From the Gentiles, that knew not God; for some amongst\nthem detested them, as will be shown; they were the pleasures\nof an effeminate Sardanapalus, a fantastic Miracles, a comical\nAristophanes, a prodigal Charaxus, a luxurious Aristippus; and the\npractices of such women as the infamous Clytemnestra, the painted\nJezebel, the lascivious Campaspe, the immodest Posthumia, the costly\nCorinthian Lais, the most impudent Flora, the wanton Egyptian\nCleopatra, and most insatiable Messalina: persons whose memories\nhave stunk through all ages, and that carry with them a perpetual\nrot: these, and not the holy self-denying men and women in ancient\ntimes, were devoted to the like recreations and vain delights.\nNay, the more sober of the very heathens themselves, and that upon\na principle of great virtue, as is by all confessed, detested the\nlike folly and wanton practices. There is none of them to be found\nin Plato, or in Seneca's works: Pythagoras, Socrates, Phocion,\nZeno, &c. did not accustom themselves to these entertainments. The\nvirtuous Penelope, the chaste Lucretia, and the grave Cornelia, with\nmany others, could find themselves employment enough among their\nchildren, servants, and neighbours; they, though nobles, next to\ntheir devotion, delighted most in spinning, weaving, gardening,\nneedlework, and such like good housewifery, and commendable\nentertainment: who, though called Heathens, expressed much more\nChristianity in all their actions, than do the wanton, foolish\npeople of this age, who notwithstanding will be called Christians.\nBut above all, you playmongers, whence think you, came your so\npassionately beloved comedies; than which, as there is not any one\ndiversion that is more pernicious, so not one more in esteem, and\nfondly frequented? Why, I will tell you; their greatgrandfather was\na Heathen, and that not of the best sort: his name was Epicharmus.\nIt is true, he is called a philosopher, or a lover of wisdom; but he\nwas only so by name; and no more in reality than the comedians of\nthese times are true Christians. It is reported of him by Suidas, a\nGreek historian, that he was the first man who invented comedies;\nand by the help of one Phormus, he made also fifty fables. But would\nyou know his country, and the reason of his invention? His country\nwas Syracuse, the chief city in Sicily, famous for the infamy of\nmany tyrants; to please and gratify the lusts of some of whom, he\nset his wits to work. And do not you think this an ill original?\nAnd is it less in any one to imitate, or justify the same, since\nthe more sober Heathens have themselves condemned them? Nay, is it\nnot abominable, when such as call themselves Christians, do both\nimitate and justify the like inventions? Nor had the melancholy\ntragedies a better parentage, namely, one Thespis, an Athenian poet;\nto whom they also do ascribe the original of that impudent custom\nof painting faces, and the counterfeit, or representation of other\npersons, by change of habit, humours, &c., all which are now so much\nin use and reputation with the great ones of the times. To these let\nme add that poetical _amoroso_, whom an inordinate passion of love\nfirst transported to those poetical raptures of admiration, indeed\nsordid effeminacy, if not idolatry; they call him Alcman or Alcina,\na Lydian: he being exceedingly in love with a young woman of his own\ncountry, is said to have been the first person that gave the world a\nsight of that kind of folly, namely, love stories, and verses; which\nhave been so diligently imitated by almost all nations ever since in\ntheir romances.\n\nObjection 2. VII. I know that some will say, But we have many\ncomedies and tragedies, sonnets, catches, &c. that are on purpose to\nreprehend vice, from whence we learn many commendable things. Though\nthis be shameful, yet many have been wont, for want of shame or\nunderstanding, or both, to return me this for answer. Now I readily\nshall confess, that amongst the heathens it was the next remedy\nagainst the common vices to the more grave and moral lectures of\ntheir philosophers, of which number I shall instance two: Euripides,\nwhom Suidas calls a learned tragical poet, and Eupolis, whom the\nsame historian calls a comical poet. The first was a man so chaste,\nand therefore so unlike those of our days, that he was called one\nthat hated women, that is, wanton ones, for otherwise he was twice\nmarried; the other he characters as a most severe reprehender of\nfaults. From which I gather, that their design was not to feed the\nidle lazy fancies of people, nor merely to get money; but since\nby the means of loose wits the people had been debauched, their\nwork was to reclaim them, rendering vice ridiculous, and turning\nwit against wickedness. And this appears the rather, from the\ndescription given, as also that Euripides was supposed to have been\ntorn in pieces by wanton women; which doubtless was for declaiming\nagainst their impudence: and the other being slain in the battle\nbetwixt the Athenians and Laced\u00e6monians, was so regretted, that a\nlaw was made, that never after such poets should be allowed to bear\narms: doubtless it was because in losing him they lost a reprover\nof vice. So that the end of the approved comedians and tragedians\nof those times was but to reform the people by making sin odious:\nand that not so much by a rational and argumentative way, usual\nwith their philosophers; as by sharp jeers, severe reflections,\nand rendering their vicious actions shameful, ridiculous, and\ndetestable; so that for reputation sake they might not longer be\nguilty of them: which is to me but a little softer than a whip or a\nbridewell. Now if you that plead for them will be contented to be\naccounted heathens, and those of the more dissolute and wicked sort\ntoo, that will sooner be jeered than argued out of your sins, we\nshall acknowledge to you that such comedies and tragedies as these\nmay be serviceable; but then for shame abuse not the name of Jesus\nChrist so impudently as to call yourselves Christians, whose lusts\nare so strong, that you are forced to use the low shifts of heathens\nto repel them: to leave their evils not for the love of virtue, but\nout of fear, shame, or reputation. Is this your love to Jesus, your\nreverence to the Scriptures, that through faith are able to make the\nman of God perfect? Is all your prattle about ordinances, prayers,\nsacraments, Christianity, and the like, come to this; that at last\nyou must betake yourselves to such instructors as were by the sober\nheathens permitted to reclaim the most vicious of the people that\nwere amongst them? And such remedies too as below which there is\nnothing but corporal punishment?\n\nVIII. This is so far from Christianity, that many of the nobler\nheathens, men and women, were better taught, and better disposed;\nthey found out more heavenly contemplations, and subjects of an\neternal nature to meditate upon. Nay, so far did they outstrip\nthe Christians of these times, that they not only were exemplary\nby their grave and sober conversation; but for their public\nbenefit the Athenians instituted the Gyn\u00e6cosmi, or twenty men,\nwho should make it their business to observe the people's apparel\nand behaviour; that if any were found immodest, and to demean\nthemselves loosely, they had full authority to punish them. But\nthe case is altered; it is punishable to reprove such: yes, it is\nmatter of the greatest contumely and reproach. Nay, so impudent\nare some grown in their impieties, that they sport themselves with\nsuch religious persons: and not only manifest a great neglect of\npiety, and a severe life by their own looseness, but their extreme\ncontempt of it, by rendering it ridiculous, through comical and\nabusive jests on public stages. Which, how dangerous it is, and apt\nto make religion little worth in the people's eyes, besides the\ndemonstration of this age, let us remember that Aristophanes had not\na readier way to bring the reputation of Socrates in question with\nthe people, who greatly reverenced him for his grave and virtuous\nlife and doctrine, than by his abusive representations of him in\na play: which made the airy, wanton, unstable crowd, rather part\nwith Socrates in earnest, than Socrates in jest. Nor can a better\nreason be given why the poor Quakers are made so much the scorn of\nmen, than because of their severe reprehensions of sin and vanity,\nand their self-denying conversation, amidst so great intemperance\nin all worldly satisfactions: yet can such libertines all this\nwhile strut and swell for Christians, and strut it out against\nprecept and example; but we must be whimsical, conceited, morose,\nmelancholy, or else heretics, deceivers, and what not? O blindness!\nPharisaical hypocrisy! As if such were fit to be judges of religion;\nor that it were possible for them to have a sight and sense of\ntrue religion, or really to be religious, whilst darkened in their\nunderstandings by the god of the pleasures of this world; and\ntheir minds so wrapped up in external enjoyments, and the variety\nof worldly delight: no, in the name of the everlasting God, you\nmock Him, and deceive your souls; for the wrath of the Almighty is\nagainst you all, whilst in that spirit and condition; in vain are\nall your babbles and set performances, God laughs you to scorn; his\nanger is kindling because of these things: wherefore be ye warned to\ntemperance, and repent.\n\nIX. Besides, this sort of people are not only wicked, loose, and\nvain, who both invent and act these things; but by your great\ndelight in such vain inventions you encourage them therein, and\nhinder them from more honest and more serviceable employments. For\nwhat is the reason that most commodities are held at such excessive\nrates, but because labour is so very dear? And why is it so, but\nbecause so many hands are otherwise bestowed, even about the very\nvanity of all vanities? Nay, how common is it with these mercenary\nprocurers to people's folly, that when their purses begin to grow\nlow, they shall present them with a new and pretendedly more\nconvenient fashion; and that perhaps before the former costly habits\nshall have done half their service; which either must be given away,\nor new vamped in the cut _most \u00e0-la-mode_. O prodigal, yet frequent\nfolly!\n\nObjection 3. X. I know I am coming to encounter the most plausible\nobjection they are used to urge when driven to a pinch, viz. But\nhow shall those many families subsist whose livelihood depends upon\nsuch fashions and recreations as you so earnestly decry? I answer:\nit is a bad argument to plead for the commission of the least evil\nthat never so great a good may come of it: if you and they have\nmade wickedness your pleasure and your profit, be ye content that\nit should be your grief and punishment till the one can learn to\nbe without such vanity, and the others have found out more honest\nemployments. It is the vanity of the few great ones that makes\nso much toil for the many small: and the great excess of the one\noccasions the great labour of the other. Would men learn to be\ncontented with few things, such as are necessary and convenient,\n(the ancient Christian life,) all things might be at a cheaper rate,\nand men might live for little. If the landlords had less lusts to\nsatisfy, the tenants might have less rent to pay, and turn from poor\nto rich, whereby they might be able to find more honest and domestic\nemployments for their children than becoming sharpers and living by\ntheir wits, which is but a better word for their sins. And if the\nreport of the more intelligent in husbandry be credible, lands are\ngenerally improvable ten in twenty: and were there more hands about\nmore lawful and serviceable manufactures, they would be cheaper,\nand greater vent might be made of them, by which a benefit would\nredound to the world in general; nay, the burden lies the heavier\nupon the laborious country, that so many hands and shoulders as have\nthe lust-caterers of the cities, should be wanting to the plough and\nuseful husbandry. If men never think themselves rich enough, they\nmay never miss of trouble and employment; but those who can take the\nprimitive state and God's creation for their model, may learn with\na little to be contented; as knowing that desires after wealth do\nnot only prevent or destroy true faith, but when got increase snares\nand trouble. It is no evil to repent of evil: but that cannot be,\nwhilst men maintain what they should repent of: it is a bad argument\nto avoid temperance, or justify the contrary, because otherwise\nthe actors and inventors of excess would want a livelihood; since\nto feed them that way is to nurse the cause instead of starving\nit. Let such of those vanity hucksters as have got sufficient, be\ncontented to retreat, and spend it more honestly than they got it;\nand such as really are poor, be rather helped by charity to better\ncallings: this were more prudent, nay Christian, than to consume\nmoney upon such foolish toys and fopperies. Public workhouses would\nbe effectual remedies to all these lazy and lustful distempers,\nwith more profit and a better conscience. Therefore it is that we\ncannot, we dare not square our conversation by the world's: no, but\nby our plainness and moderation to testify against such extravagant\nvanities; and by our grave and steady life to manifest our dislike,\non God's behalf, to such intemperate and wanton curiosity: yea, to\ndeny ourselves what otherwise perhaps we lawfully could use with a\njust indifferency, if not satisfaction; because of that abuse that\nis amongst the generality.\n\nObjection 4. XI. I know, that some are ready further to object: Hath\nGod given us these enjoyments on purpose to condemn us, if we use\nthem? Answer: But to such miserable, poor, silly souls, who would\nrather charge the most high and holy God with the invention or\ncreation of their dirty vanities, than want a plea to justify their\nown practice, not knowing how, for shame, or fear, or love to throw\nthem off; I answer, that what God made for man's use, was good, and\nwhat the blessed Lord Jesus Christ allowed or enjoined, or gave\nus in his most heavenly example, is to be observed, believed, and\npractised. (Luke, viii. 14; xii. 28-31.) But in the whole catalogue\nthe Scriptures give of both, I never found the attires, recreations,\nand way of living, so much in request with the generality of the\nChristians of these times: no certainly, God created man a holy,\nwise, sober, grave, and reasonable creature, fit to govern himself\nand the world: but divinity was then the great object of his reason\nand pleasure; all external enjoyments of God's giving being for\nnecessity, convenience, and lawful delight, with this proviso\ntoo, that the Almighty was to be seen, and sensibly enjoyed and\nreverenced in every one of them. But how very wide the Christians\nof these times are from this primitive institution is not difficult\nto determine, although they make such loud pretensions to that most\nholy Jesus, who not only gave the world a certain evidence of a\nhappy restoration, by his own coming, but promised his assistance\nto all that would follow Him in the self-denial and way of his holy\ncross; (John, viii. 12; xv. 7, 8; xvii. 20;) and therefore hath so\nseverely enjoined no less on all, as they would be everlastingly\nsaved. But whether the minds of men and women are not as profoundly\ninvolved in all excess and vanity, as those who know Him not any\nfurther than by hearsay; and whether being thus banished the\npresence of the Lord, by their greedy seeking the things that are\nbelow, and thereby having lost the taste of divine pleasure, they\nhave not feigned to themselves an imaginary pleasure, to quiet or\nsmother conscience, and pass their time without that anguish and\ntrouble which are the consequences of sin, that so they might be\nat ease and security while in the world, let their own consciences\ndeclare. (Rom. ii. 8, 9.) Adam's temptation is represented by\nthe fruit of a tree, (Gen. iii. 6,) thereby intimating the great\ninfluence external objects, as they exceed in beauty, carry with\nthem upon our senses: so that unless the mind keep upon its constant\nwatch, so prevalent are visible things, that hard it is for one\nto escape being insnared in them; (Mark, xiii. 33-37;) and he\nshall need to be only sometimes entrapped, to cast so thick a veil\nof darkness over the mind, that not only it shall with pleasure\ncontinue in its fetters to lust and vanity, but proudly censure such\nas refuse to wear them, strongly pleading for them, as serviceable\nand convenient: that strange passion do perishing objects raise in\nthose minds where way is made, and entertainment given to them. But\nChrist Jesus is manifested in us, and hath given unto us a taste\nand understanding of Him that is true; and to all such a proportion\nof his good spirit, as is sufficient, would they obey it, to redeem\ntheir minds from that captivity they have been in to lust and\nvanity, and entirely ransom them from the dominion of all visible\nobjects, and whatsoever may gratify the desires of the eye, the lust\nof the flesh, and the pride of life; (1 John, ii. 15, 16;) that they\nmight be regenerated in their minds, changed in their affections,\nand have their whole hearts set on things that are above, where moth\nnor rust can ever pass, or enter to harm or destroy.\n\nXII. But it is a manifest sign of what mould and make the persons\nare who practise and plead for such shameful Egyptian rags, as\npleasures. It is to be hoped that they never knew, or to be feared\nthey have forgotten, the humble, plain, meek, holy, self-denying,\nand exemplary life, which the eternal Spirit sanctifies all obedient\nhearts into; yea, it is indubitable that either such always have\nbeen ignorant, or else they have lost sight of that good land,\nthat heavenly country, and blessed inheritance they once had some\nglimmering prospect of. (Gal. v. 22-25; Eph. v. 8-11, 15, 16.) O\nthat they would but withdraw a while, sit down, weigh and consider\nwith themselves where they are, and whose work and will they are\ndoing! that they would once believe the devil hath not a stratagem\nmore pernicious to their immortal souls, than this of exercising\ntheir minds in the foolish fashions and wanton recreations of the\ntimes! Great and gross impieties beget a detestation in the opinion\nof sober education and reputation; and therefore since the devil\nrightly sees such things have no success with many; it is his next,\nand most fatal design, to find some other entertainments, that\ncarry less of infection in their looks, (though more of security,\nbecause less of scandal,) and more of pleasure in their enjoyment,\non purpose to busy and arrest people from a diligent search and\ninquiry after those matters which necessarily concern their eternal\npeace: (Eph. vi. 12-19:) that being ignorant of the heavenly life,\nthey may not be induced to press after it; but being only formally\nreligious, according to the traditions and precepts of others,\nproceed to their common pleasures, and find no check therefrom,\ntheir religion and conversation for the most part agreeing well\ntogether, whereby an improvement in the knowledge of God, going on\nfrom grace to grace, growing to the measure of the stature of Jesus\nChrist himself, is not known; but as it was in the beginning at\nseven, so it is at seventy; nay, not so innocent, unless by reason\nof the old saying, \"Old men are twice children.\" (Eph. i. 16-23; iv.\n12, 13.)\n\nO! the mystery of godliness, the heavenly life, the true Christian,\nare another thing. Wherefore we conclude that as the design of the\ndevil, where he cannot involve and draw into gross sin, is to busy,\ndelight, and allure the minds of men and women by more seeming\ninnocent entertainments, on purpose that he may more easily secure\nthem from minding their duty and progress, and obedience to the\nonly true God, which is eternal life; (John. xvii. 3;) and thereby\ntake up their minds from heavenly and eternal things; so those who\nwould be delivered from these snares should mind the holy, just,\ngrave, and self-denying teachings of God's grace and Spirit in\nthemselves, that they may reject, and for ever abandon the like\nvanity and evil; (Tit. ii. 11-15;) and by a reformed conversation\ncondemn the world of its intemperance: so will the true discipleship\nbe obtained: for otherwise many enormous consequences and pernicious\neffects will follow. It is to encourage such impious persons, to\ncontinue and proceed in the like trades of feeding the people's\nlusts; and thereby such make themselves partakers of their plagues,\nwho by continual fresh desire to the like curiosities, and that\nway of spending time and estate, induce them to spend more time in\nstudying how to abuse time; lest, through their pinching and small\nallowance, those prodigals should call their father's house to mind:\nfor whatsoever any think, more pleasant baits, alluring objects,\ngrateful entertainments, cunning emissaries, acceptable sermons,\ninsinuating lectures, taking orators, the crafty devil has not ever\nhad, by which to entice and insnare the minds of people, and totally\nto divert them from heavenly reflections and divine meditations,\nthan the attire, sports, plays, and pastimes of this godless age,\nthe school and shop of Satan, hitherto so reasonably condemned.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVIII.\n\n     1. But if these customs, &c. were but indifferent, yet\n     being abused they deserve to be rejected.--2. The abuse is\n     acknowledged by those that use them, therefore should leave\n     them.--3. Such as pretend to seriousness should exemplarily\n     withdraw from such latitudes: a wise parent weans his child of\n     what it dotes too much upon; and we should watch over ourselves\n     and neighbours.--4. God, in the case of the brazen serpent, &c.\n     gives us an example to put away the use of abused things.--5.\n     If these things were sometimes convenient, yet when their use\n     is prejudicial in example, they should be disused.--6. Such as\n     yet proceed to love their unlawful pleasures more than Christ\n     and his cross; the mischief they have brought to persons and\n     estates, bodies and souls.--7. Ingenuous people know this to be\n     true: an appeal to God's witness in the guilty: their state,\n     that of Babylon.--8. But temperance in food, and plainness in\n     apparel, and sober conversation conduce most to good: so the\n     apostle teaches in his epistles.--9. Temperance enriches a\n     land: it is a political good, as well as a religious one, in\n     all governments.--10. When people have done their duty to God,\n     it will be time enough to think of pleasing themselves.--11. An\n     address to the magistrates and all people, how to convert their\n     time and money to better purposes.\n\n\nI. But should these things be as indifferent, as they are proved\nperniciously unlawful; for I never heard any advance their plea\nbeyond the bounds of mere indifferency; yet so great is their abuse,\nso universal the sad effects thereof, like to an infection, that\nthey therefore ought to be rejected of all; especially those whose\nsobriety hath preserved theta on this side of that excess, or whose\njudgments, though themselves be guilty, suggest the folly of such\nintemperance. For what is an indifferent thing, but that which may\nbe done, or left undone? Granting, I say, this were the case, yet\ndo both reason and religion teach that when they are used with such\nan excess of appetite as to leave them would be a cross to their\ndesires, they have exceeded the bounds of mere indifferency, and are\nthereby rendered no less than necessary. Which being a violation of\nthe very nature of the things themselves, a perfect abuse enters;\nand consequently they are no longer to be considered in the rank of\nthings simply indifferent, but unlawful.\n\nII. Now that the whole exchange of things, against which I have so\nearnestly contended, are generally abused by the excess of almost\nall ages, sexes, and qualities of people, will be confessed by many,\nwho yet decline not to conform themselves to them; and to whom, as I\nhave understood, it only seems lawful, because, say they, the abuse\nof others should be no argument why we should not use them. But to\nsuch I answer, That they have quite forgotten, or will not remember,\nthey have acknowledged these things to be but of an indifferent\nnature; if so, and vanity never urged more, I say, there can be\nnothing more clear, than since they acknowledge their great abuse,\nthat they are wholly to be forsaken: for since they may as well be\nlet alone as done at any time, surely they should then of duty be\nlet alone, when the use of them is an abetting the general excess,\n(Phil. iii. 17,) and a mere exciting others to continue in their\nabuse, because they find persons reputed sober to imitate them, or\notherwise give them an example. Precepts are not half so forcible as\nexamples.\n\nIII. Every one that pretends to seriousness ought to inspect\nhimself, as having been too forward to help on the excess, and can\nnever make too much haste out of those inconveniencies that by his\nformer example he encouraged any to; that by a new one he may put\na seasonable check upon the intemperance of others. A wise parent\never withdraws those objects, however innocent in themselves, which\nare too prevalent upon the weak senses of his children, on purpose\nthat they might be weaned: and it is as frequent with men to bend\na crooked stick as much the contrary way, that they might make it\nstraight at last. Those that have more sobriety than others should\nnot forget their stewardships, but exercise that gift of God to the\nsecurity of their neighbours. It was murdering Cain that rudely\nasked the Lord, \"Was he his brother's keeper?\" (Gen. iv. 9.) For\nevery man is necessarily obliged thereto; and therefore should be so\nwise as to deny himself the use of such indifferent enjoyments as\ncannot be used by him without too manifest an encouragement to his\nneighbour's folly.\n\nIV. God hath sufficiently excited men to what is said; for in the\ncase of the brazen serpent, (2 Kings. xviii. 3, 4,) which was a\nheavenly institution and type of Christ, he with great displeasure\nenjoined it should be broken to pieces, because they were too\nfond and doting upon it. Yes, the very groves themselves, however\npleasant for situation, beautiful for their walks and trees,\nmust be cut down: and why? Only because they had been abused to\nidolatrous uses. And what is an idol but that which the mind puts an\nover-estimate or value upon? None can benefit themselves so much by\nan indifferent thing as others by not using that abused liberty.\n\nV. If those things were convenient in themselves, which is a step\nnearer necessity than mere indifferency, yet when by circumstances\nthey become prejudicial, such conveniency itself ought to be put\noff; much more what is but indifferent should be denied. People\nought not to weigh their private satisfactions more than a public\ngood; nor please themselves in too free a use of indifferent things,\nat the cost of being so really prejudicial to the public as they\ncertainly are, whose use of them, if no worse, becomes exemplary\nto others, and begets an impatience in their minds to have the\nlike. Wherefore it is both reasonable and incumbent on all to make\nonly such things necessary as tend to life and godliness, and to\nemploy their freedom with most advantage to their neighbours. (2\nPet. i. 3.) So that here is a two-fold obligation; the one not to\nbe exemplary in the use of such things, which though they may use\nthem, yet not without giving too much countenance to the abuse and\nexcessive vanity of their neighbours. The other obligation is, that\nthey ought so far to condescend to such religious people, who are\noffended at these fashions, and that kind of conversation as to\nreject them. (Rom. xiv. 1, to the end.)\n\nVI. Now those who, notwithstanding what I have urged, will yet\nproceed; what is it but that they have so involved themselves and\ntheir affections in them, that it is hardly possible to reform them;\nand that for all their many protestations against their fondness\nto such fopperies, they really love them more than Christ and his\ncross. Such cannot seek the good of others, who do so little respect\ntheir own. For, after a serious consideration, what vanity, pride,\nidleness, expense of time and estates have been and yet are! How\nmany persons debauched from their first sobriety, and women from\ntheir natural sweetness and innocency to loose, airy, wanton, and\nmany times more enormous practices! How many plentiful estates\nhave been overrun by numerous debts, chastity ensnared by accursed\nlustful intrigues; youthful health overtaken by the hasty seizure of\nunnatural distempers, and the remaining days of such spent upon a\nrack of their vice's procuring, and so made slaves to the unmerciful\nbut necessary effects of their own inordinate pleasures! in which\nagony they vow the greatest temperance, but are no sooner out of it,\nthan in their vice again. (Lam. iv. 5; Job, xxi. 13, 14; Psalm lv.\n23; xxxvii. 10; Eccl. viii. 12; Psalm xxxvii. 1, 2; Prov. ii. 22.)\n\nVII. That these things are the case, and almost innumerable more,\nI am persuaded no ingenuous person of any experience will deny:\nhow then, upon a serious reflection, any that pretend conscience\nor the fear of God Almighty, can longer continue in the garb,\nlivery, and conversation of those whose whole life tends to little\nelse than what I have repeated, much less join with them in their\nabominable excess, I leave to the just principle in themselves to\njudge. (Jer. xvi. 5-9.) No, surely! this is not to obey the voice\nof God, who in all ages did loudly cry to all, Come out of--_of\nwhat?_--the ways, fashions, converse, and spirit of Babylon. (Isa.\niii. 13-16; Jer. l. 8; xv. 6, 7; Amos, vi. 3-7.) What is that?\nThe great city of all these vain, foolish, wanton, superfluous,\nand wicked practices, against which the Scriptures denounce most\ndreadful judgments; ascribing all the intemperance of men and women\nto the cup of wickedness she hath given them to drink; whose are the\nthings indifferent, if they must be so. And for witness, John in\nhis revelation says in her description: How much she hath glorified\nherself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her.\nAnd the kings of the earth, who have lived deliciously with her,\nshall bewail her and lament her; and the merchants of the earth\nshall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth her merchandise any\nmore; the merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and\nof pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and\nthyine-wood, and all manner of vessels of ivory, and all manner of\nvessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble;\nand cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine,\nand oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and\nhorses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men. (Rev. xviii.\n7, 9, 11-13.) Behold the character and judgment of luxury: and\nthough I know it hath a further signification than what is literal,\nyet there is enough to show the pomp, plenty, fulness, idleness,\nease, wantonness, vanity, lust, and excess of luxury that reign\nin her. But at the terrible day, who will go to her exchange any\nmore? Who to her plays? Who will follow her fashions then? And who\nshall traffic in her delicate inventions? Not one; for she shall be\njudged. No plea shall excuse or rescue her from the wrath of the\nJudge; for strong is the Lord, who will perform it. (Rev. xviii.\n8.) If these reasonable pleas will not prevail, yet however I shall\ncaution such in the repetition of part of Babylon's miserable\ndoom: mind, my friends, more heavenly things, hasten to obey that\nrighteous principle which would exercise and delight you in that\nwhich is eternal; or else with Babylon, the mother of lust and\nvanity, the fruits that your souls lust after shall depart from you,\nand all things which are dainty and goodly shall depart from you and\nyou shall find them NO MORE: O Dives! No more. (Rev. xviii. 14.) Lay\nyour treasures, therefore, up in heaven, O ye inhabitants of the\nearth, where nothing can break through to harm them; but where time\nshall shortly be swallowed up of eternity. (Luke, xii. 33, 34.)\n\nVIII. But my arguments against these things end not here: for the\ncontrary most of all conduces to good; namely, temperance in food,\nplainness in apparel, with a meek, shame-faced, and quiet spirit,\nand that conversation which doth only express the same in all godly\nhonesty: as the apostle saith, \"Let no corrupt communication proceed\nout of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying,\nthat it may minister grace to the hearers; neither filthiness, nor\nfoolish talking, nor jesting, but rather giving of thanks: for let\nno man deceive you with vain words, because of these things cometh\nthe wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.\" (Col. iv.\n5, 6; 1 Thes. iv. 11, 12; 1 Pet. iii. 1-4; Eph. iv. 2; v. 3-6; 1\nTim. iv. 12; Phil. iii. 16-20.) And if men and women were but thus\nadorned after this truly Christian manner, impudence would soon\nreceive a check, and lust, pride, vanity, and wantonness find a\nrebuke. (1 Pet. ii. 12; Prov. xxxi. 23-31; James, ii. 2-9.) They\nwould not be able to attack such universal chastity or encounter\nsuch godly austerity: virtue would be in credit, and vice afraid\nand ashamed, and excess not dare to show its face. There would be\nan end of gluttony and gaudiness of apparel, flattering titles,\nand a luxurious life; (2 Pet. iii. 11; Psal. xxvi. 6;) and then\nprimitive innocency and plainness would come back again, and that\nplain-hearted, downright, harmless life would be restored, of not\nmuch caring what we should eat, drink, or put on, (Luke, xii.\n22-30,) as Christ tells us the Gentiles did, and as we know this age\ndaily does, under all its talk of religion; but as the ancients,\nwho with moderate care for necessaries and conveniencies of life,\ndevoted themselves to the concernments of a celestial kingdom, and\nmore minded their improvement in righteousness than their increase\nin riches; for they laid their treasure up in heaven, (Matt. xxv.\n21,) and endured tribulation for an inheritance that cannot be taken\naway.\n\nIX. But the temperance I plead for is not only religiously but\npolitically good: it is the interest of good government to curb\nand rebuke excesses: it prevents many mischiefs. Luxury brings\neffeminacy, laziness, poverty, and misery; (Prov. x. 4; Eccl.\nx. 16-18;) but temperance preserves the land. It keeps out\nforeign vanities, and improves our own commodities: now we are\ntheir debtors; then they would be debtors to us for our native\nmanufactures. By this means, such persons who by their excess, not\ncharity, have deeply engaged their estates, may in a short space\nbe enabled to clear them from those incumbrances which otherwise,\nlike moths, soon eat out plentiful revenues. It helps persons of\nmean substance to improve their small stocks, that they may not\nexpend their dear earnings, and hard-got wages upon superfluous\napparel, foolish May-games, plays, dancings, shows, taverns,\nale-houses, and the like folly and intemperance, of which this land\nis more infested, and by which it is rendered more ridiculous than\nany kingdom in the world: for none I know of is so infested with\ncheating mountebanks, savage morrice-dancers, pick-pockets, and\nprofane players, and stagers, to the slight of religion, the shame\nof government, and the great idleness, expense, and debauchery of\nthe people: for which the Spirit of the Lord is grieved, and the\njudgments of the Almighty are at the door, and the sentence ready\nto be pronounced, \"Let him that is unjust be unjust still.\" (Rev.\nxxii. 11; Eccl. xii. 1.) Wherefore it is that we cannot but loudly\ncall upon the generality of the times, and testify both by our life\nand doctrine against the like vanities and abuses, if possibly any\nmay be weaned from their folly, and choose the good old path of\ntemperance, wisdom, gravity, and holiness, the only way to inherit\nthe blessings of peace and plenty here, and eternal happiness\nhereafter.\n\nX. Lastly, supposing we had none of these foregoing reasons justly\nto reprove the practice of the land in these particulars; however,\nlet it be sufficient for us to say, that when people have first\nlearned to fear, worship, and obey their Creator, to pay their\nnumerous vicious debts, to alleviate and abate their oppressed\ntenants; but above all outward regards, when the pale faces are\nmore commiserated, when the famished poor, the distressed widow,\nand helpless orphan, God's works, and your fellow-creatures, are\nprovided for; then, I say, if then, it will be time enough for you\nto plead the indifferency of your pleasures. But that the sweet and\ntedious labour of the husbandman, early and late, cold and hot, wet\nand dry, should be converted into the pleasure, ease, and pastime\nof a small number of men; that the cart, the plough, the flail,\nshould be in that continual severity laid upon nineteen parts of\nthe land, to feed the inordinate lusts and delicious appetites of\nthe twentieth, is so far from the appointment of the great Governor\nof the world, and God of the spirits of all flesh, that, to imagine\nsuch horrible injustice as the effects of his determinations, and\nnot the intemperance of men, were wretched and blasphemous. As\non the other side, it would be to deserve no pity, no help, no\nrelief from God Almighty, for people to continue that expense in\nvanity and pleasure, whilst the great necessities of such objects\ngo unanswered; especially since God hath made the sons of men but\nstewards to each other's exigencies and relief. Yea, so strict is\nit enjoined, that on the omission of these things, we find this\ndreadful sentence partly to be grounded, \"Depart from me, ye cursed,\ninto everlasting fire,\" &c. (Matt. xxv. 34-41.) As on the contrary,\nto visit the sick, see the imprisoned, relieve the needy, &c. are\nsuch excellent properties in Christ's account, that thereupon He\nwill pronounce such blessed, saying, \"Come, ye blessed of my Father,\ninherit the kingdom prepared for you,\" &c. (Matt. xxv. 34-41.) So\nthat the great are not, with the leviathan in the deep, to prey upon\nthe small, much less to make a sport of the lives and labours of the\nlesser ones, to gratify their inordinate senses.\n\nXI. I therefore humbly offer an address to the serious consideration\nof the civil magistrate, that, if the money which is expended in\nevery parish in such vain fashions as wearing of laces, jewels,\nembroideries, unnecessary ribbons, trimmings, costly furniture, and\nattendance, together with what is commonly consumed in taverns,\nfeasts, gaming, &c. could be collected into a public stock, or\nsomething in lieu of this extravagant and fruitless expense, there\nmight be reparation to the broken tenants, workhouses for the able,\nand alms-houses for the aged and impotent. Then should we have no\nbeggars in the land, the cry of the widow and the orphan would\ncease, and charitable relief might easily be afforded towards the\nredemption of poor captives, and the refreshment of such distressed\nProtestants as labour under the miseries of persecution in other\ncountries: nay, the Exchequer's needs, on just emergencies, might\nbe supplied by such a bank: this sacrifice and service would please\nthe just and merciful God: it would be a noble example of gravity\nand temperance to foreign states, and an unspeakable benefit to\nourselves at home.\n\nAlas! why should men need persuasions to what their own felicity\nso necessarily leads them? Had these _vitiosos_ of the times but a\nsense of heathen Cato's generosity, they would rather deny their\ncarnal appetites than leave such noble enterprises unattempted.\nBut that they should eat, drink, play, game, and sport away their\nhealth, estates, and, above all, their irrevocable precious time,\nwhich should be dedicated to the Lord, as a necessary introduction\nto a blessed eternity, and than which, did they but know it, no\nworldly solace would come in competition: I say, that they should\nbe continually employed about these poor, low things is to have the\nheathens judge them in God's days, as well as Christian precepts\nand examples condemn them. And their final doom will prove the\nmore astonishing, in that this vanity and excess are acted under a\nprofession of the self-denying religion of Jesus, whose life and\ndoctrine are a perpetual reproach to the most of Christians. For\nHe was humble, but they are proud; He forgiving, they revengeful;\nHe meek, they fierce; He plain, they gaudy; He abstemious, they\nluxurious; He chaste, they lascivious: He a pilgrim on earth,\nthey citizens of the world: in fine, He was meanly born, poorly\nattended, and obscurely brought up; He lived despised, and died\nhated of the men of his own nation. O you pretended followers of\nthis crucified Jesus! examine yourselves, try yourselves, know\nyou not your own selves; if He dwell not, if He rule not in you,\nthat you are reprobates? Be ye not deceived, for God will not be\nmocked, (at last with forced repentances,) such as you sow, such\nyou must reap. (1 Cor. xiii. 5; Gal. vi. 8.) I beseech you to hear\nme, and remember you were invited and entreated to the salvation of\nGod. I say; as you sow, you reap: if you are enemies to the cross\nof Christ,--and you are so if you will not bear it, but do as you\nlist, and not as you ought;--if you are uncircumcised in heart and\near, and you are so, if you will not hear, and open to Him that\nknocks at the door within, and if you resist and quench the Spirit\nin yourselves, that strives with you, to bring you to God, (and\nthat you certainly do who rebel against its motions, reproofs,\nand instructions,) then you sow to the flesh, to fulfil the lusts\nthereof, and of the flesh will you reap the fruits of corruption,\n(Rom. ii. 8,) woe, anguish, and tribulation, from God, the Judge\nof quick and dead, by Jesus Christ. But if you will daily bear the\nholy cross of Christ, and sow to the Spirit; if you will listen to\nthe light and grace that comes by Jesus, and which He has given\nto all people for salvation, and square your thoughts, words, and\ndeeds thereby, which leads and teaches the lovers of it to deny all\nungodliness and the world's lusts, and to live soberly, righteously,\nand godly in this present evil world, then may you with confidence\nlook for the blessed hope and joyful coming, and glorious appearance\nof the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. (Tit. ii. 11-13.)\nLet it be so, O you Christians, and escape the wrath to come! Why\nwill you die? Let the time past suffice: remember, that No Cross,\nno Crown. Redeem then the time, for the days are evil, (Eph. v.\n16,) and yours are but very few. Therefore gird up the loins of your\nminds, be sober, fear, watch, pray, and endure to the end; calling\nto mind for your encouragement and consolation, that all such as\nthrough patience and well-doing wait for immortality, (Rom. ii. 7,)\nshall reap glory, honour, and eternal life in the kingdom of the\nFather: whose is the kingdom, the power, and the glory for ever.\nAmen.\n\n\n\n\nEND OF PART I.\n\n\n\n\n  NO CROSS, NO CROWN.\n\n  THE\n\n  SECOND PART:\n\n  CONTAINING\n\n  AN ACCOUNT OF THE REMARKABLE SAYINGS\n\n  OF\n\n  MEN EMINENT FOR THEIR GREATNESS,\n  LEARNING, OR VIRTUE;\n\n  COLLECTED IN FAVOUR OF THE TRUTH DELIVERED IN THE\n\n  FIRST PART;\n\n  BY WILLIAM PENN.\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE.\n\n\nNo Cross, No Crown, should have ended here; but that the power which\nexamples and authorities have put upon the minds of the people,\nabove the most reasonable and pressing arguments, inclined me to\npresent my readers with some of those many instances that might be\ngiven, in favour of the virtuous life recommended in our discourse.\nI chose to cast them into three sorts of testimonies, not after\nthe threefold subject of the book; but suitable to the times,\nqualities, and circumstances of the persons that gave them forth;\nwhose divers excellencies and stations have transmitted their names\nwith reputation to our own times. The first testimony comes from\nthose called Heathens; the second from professed Christians; and\nthe last, from retired, aged, and dying men; being their last and\nserious reflections, to which no ostentation or worldly interests\ncould induce them. Where it will be easy for the considerate reader\nto observe, how much the pride, avarice, and luxury of the world\nstood reprehended in the judgments of persons of great credit\namongst men; and what was that life and conduct, that in their most\nretired meditations, when their sight was clearest, and judgment\nmost free and disabused, they thought would give peace here, and lay\nfoundations of eternal blessedness.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIX.\n\n     _The Testimonies of several great, learned, and virtuous\n     personages among the_ Gentiles, _urged against the excesses of\n     the age, in favour of the self-denial, temperance, and piety,\n     recommended in the first part of this discourse._\n\n\nI. AMONG THE GREEKS, &c. viz.\n\n     1. Cyrus.--2. Artaxerxes.--3. Agathocles.--4. Philip.--5.\n     Ptolemy.--6. Xenophanes.--7. Antigonus.--8. Themistocles.--9.\n     Aristides.--10. Pericles.--11. Phocion.--12. Clitomachus.--13.\n     Epaminondas.--14. Demosthenes.--15. Agasicles.--16.\n     Agesilaus.--17. Agis.--18. Alcamenes.--19. Alexandrides.--20.\n     Anaxilas.--21. Ariston.--22. Archidamus.--23. Cleomenes.--24.\n     Dersyllidas.--25. Hippodamus.--26. Leonidas.--27. Lysander.--28.\n     Pausanias.--29. Theopompus, &c.--30. The manner of life and\n     government of the Laced\u00e6monians in general.--31. Lycurgus their\n     lawgiver.\n\nI. Cyrus, than whom a greater monarch we hardly find in story,\nis more famous for his virtue than his power; God calls him his\nshepherd. Now let us see the principles of his conduct and life.\nSo temperate was he in his youth, that when Astyages, urged him\nto drink wine, he answered, \"I am afraid lest there should be\npoison in it, having seen thee reel and sottish after having drunk\nthereof.\" And so careful was he to keep the Persians from corruption\nof manners, that he would not suffer them to leave their rude and\nmountainous country, for one more pleasant and fruitful, lest\nthrough plenty and ease, luxury at last might debase their spirits.\nAnd so very chaste was he, that having taken a lady of quality, a\nmost beautiful woman, his prisoner, he refused to see her, saying,\n\"I have no mind to be a captive to my captive.\" It seems, he claimed\nno such propriety; but shunned the occasion of evil. The comptroller\nof his household asking him one day what he would please to have\nfor his dinner; \"Bread,\" said he; \"for I intend to encamp nigh the\nwater:\" a short and easy bill of fare: but this shows the power he\nhad over his appetite as well as his soldiers; and that he was fit\nto command others, that could command himself: according to another\nsaying of his, \"No man,\" saith he, \"is worthy to command, who is\nnot better than those who are to obey.\" And when he came to die,\nhe gave this reason of his belief of immortality; \"I cannot,\" said\nhe, \"persuade myself to think that the soul of man, after having\nsustained itself in a mortal body, should perish when delivered out\nof it, for want of it;\" a saying of perhaps as great weight, as may\nbe advanced against Atheism, from more enlightened times.\n\nII. Artaxerxes Mnemon, being upon an extraordinary occasion reduced\nto eat barley bread, and dried figs, and drink water, \"What\npleasure,\" saith he, \"have I lost till now, through my delicacies\nand excess!\"\n\nIII. Agathocles becoming king of Sicily, from being the son of a\npotter, always to humble his mind to his original, would be daily\nserved in earthen vessels upon his table: an example of humility and\nplainness.\n\nIV. Philip, king of Macedon, upon three sorts of good news,\narrived in one day, feared too much success might transport him\nimmoderately; and therefore prayed for some disappointments to\nseason his prosperity, and caution his mind under the enjoyment of\nit. He refused to oppress the Greeks with his garrisons, saying,\n\"I had rather retain them by kindness than fear, and to be always\nbeloved, than for a while terrible.\" One of his minions persuading\nhim to decline hearing a cause, wherein a particular friend was\ninterested, \"I had much rather,\" says he, \"thy friend shall lose\nhis cause, than I my reputation.\" Seeing his son, Alexander,\nendeavouring to gain the hearts of the Macedonians, by gifts and\nrewards, \"Canst thou believe,\" says he, \"that a man that thou hast\ncorrupted to thy interests, will ever be true to them?\" When his\ncourt would have had him quarrel with and correct the Peloponnenses\nfor their ingratitude to him, he said, \"By no means; for if they\ndespise and abuse me after being kind to them, what will they do if\nI do them harm?\"--a great example of patience in a king, and wittily\nsaid. Like to this was his reply to the ambassadors of Athens, whom\nasking after audience, if he could do them any service, and one\nof them surlily answering, The best thou canst do us is to hang\nthyself, he was nothing disturbed, though his court murmured; but\ncalmly said to the ambassador, \"Those who suffer injuries are better\npeople than those that do them.\" To conclude with him: being one day\nfallen along the ground, and seeing himself in that posture he cried\nout, \"What a small spot of earth do we take up, and yet the whole\nworld cannot content us!\"\n\nV. Ptolemy, son of Lagus, being reproached for his mean original,\nand his friends angry that he did not resent it; \"We ought,\" says\nhe, \"to bear reproaches patiently.\"\n\nVI. Xenophanes being jeered for refusing to play at a forbidden\ngame, answered: \"I do not fear my money, but my reputation: they\nthat make laws, must keep them.\" A commendable saying.\n\nVII. Antigonus being taken sick, he said, it was a warning from\nGod to instruct him of his mortality. A poet flattered him with\nthe title of the Son of God, he answered, \"My servant knows the\ncontrary.\" Another sycophant telling him, that the will of kings\nis the rule of justice: \"No,\" saith he, \"rather justice is the rule\nof the will of kings;\" and being pressed by his minions to put a\ngarrison into Athens, to hold the Greeks in subjection, he answered,\n\"he had not a stronger garrison than the affections of his people.\"\n\nVIII. Themistocles, after all the honour of his life, sits down with\nthis conclusion, \"That the way to the grave is more desirable than\nthe way to worldly honours.\" His daughter being courted by one of\nlittle wit and great wealth, and another of little wealth and great\ngoodness; he chose the poor man for his son-in-law: \"For,\" saith he,\n\"I will rather have a man without money, than money without a man;\"\nreckoning, that not money, but worth, makes the man. Being told by\nSymmachus, that he would teach him the art of memory; he gravely\nanswered, he had rather learn the art of forgetfulness: adding, he\ncould remember enough, but many things he could not forget, which\nwere necessary to be forgotten: as the honours, glories, pleasures,\nand conquests he had spent his days in: too apt to transport to vain\nglory.\n\nIX. Aristides, a wise and just Greek, of greatest honour and trust\nwith the Athenians;--he was a great enemy to cabals in government:\nthe reason he renders is, \"Because,\" saith he, \"I would not be\nobliged to authorize injustice.\" He so much hated covetousness,\nthough he was thrice chosen treasurer of Athens, that he lived\nand died poor, and that of choice: for being therefore reproached\nby a rich usurer, he answered, \"Thy riches hurt thee more than my\npoverty hurts me.\" Being once banished by a contrary faction in\nthe state, he prayed to God, that the affairs of his country might\ngo so well, as never to need his return: which however caused him\npresently to be recalled: whereupon he told them, that he was not\ntroubled for his exile with respect to himself, but the honour of\nhis country. Themistocles, their general, had a project to propose,\nto render Athens mistress of Greece, but it required secrecy: the\npeople obliged him to communicate it to Aristides, whose judgment\nthey would follow. Aristides having privately heard it from\nThemistocles, publicly answered the people, \"True there was nothing\nmore advantageous, nothing more unjust:\" which quashed the project.\n\nX. Pericles, as he mounted the tribunal, prayed to God that not a\nword might fall from him, that might scandalize the people, wrong\nthe public affairs, or hurt his own. One of his friends praying\nhim to speak falsely in his favour; \"We are friends,\" saith he,\n\"but not beyond the altar;\" meaning not against religion and truth.\nSophocles being his companion, upon sight of a beautiful woman, said\nto Pericles, \"Ah, what a lovely creature is that!\" To whom Pericles\nreplied, \"It becometh a magistrate not only to have his hands clean,\nbut his tongue and eyes also.\"\n\nXI. Phocion, a famous Athenian, was honest and poor, yea, he\ncontemned riches: for a certain governor making rich presents, he\nreturned them; saying, \"I refused Alexander's.\" And when several\npersuaded him to accept of such bounty, or else his children would\nwant, he answered, \"If my son be virtuous, I shall leave him enough;\nand if he be vicious, more would be too little.\" He rebuked the\nexcess of the Athenians, and that openly; saying, \"He that eateth\nmore than he ought, maketh more diseases than he can cure.\" To\ncondemn or flatter him, was to him alike. Antipater pressing him to\nsubmit to his sense, he answered, \"Thou canst not have me for thy\nfriend and flatterer too.\" Seeing a man in office to speak much, and\ndo little, he asked, \"How can that man do business, that is always\ndrunk with talking?\" After all the great services of his life, he\nwas unjustly condemned to die; and going to the place of execution,\nlamented by the people, one of his enemies spit in his face; he\ntook it without any disorder of mind, only saying, \"Take him away.\"\nBefore execution, his friends asked him, whether he had nothing to\nsay to his son? \"Yes,\" said he, \"let him not hate my enemies, nor\nrevenge my death: I see it is better to sleep on the earth with\npeace, than with trouble upon the softest bed: that he ought to do\nthat which is his duty; and what is more is vanity: that he must not\ncarry two faces: that he promise little, but keep his promises: the\nworld does the contrary.\"\n\nXII. Clitomachus had so great a love to virtue, and practised it\nwith such exactness, that if at any time in company he heard wanton\nor obscene discourse, he was wont to quit the place.\n\nXIII. Epaminondas being invited to a sacrificial feast, so soon\nas he entered he withdrew, because of the sumptuous furniture and\nattire of the place and people; saying, \"I was called at Leurtra to\na sacrifice, but I find it is a debauch.\" The day after the great\nbattle he obtained upon his enemies, he seemed sad and solitary,\nwhich was not his ordinary temper; and being asked why, answered,\n\"I would moderate the joy of yesterday's triumphs.\" A Thessalian\ngeneral, and his colleague in a certain enterprise, knowing his\npoverty, sent him two thousand crowns to defray his part of the\ncharges; but he seemed angry, and answered, \"This looks like\ncorrupting me;\" contenting himself with less than five pounds,\nwhich he borrowed of one of his friends for that service. The same\nmoderation made him refuse the presents of the Persian emperor,\nsaying, \"They were needless if he only desired of him what was just;\nif more, he was not rich enough to corrupt him.\" Seeing a rich man\nrefuse to lend one of his friends money that was in affliction,\nhe said, \"Art not thou ashamed to refuse to help a good man in\nnecessity?\" After he had freed Greece from trouble, and made the\nThebans, his countrymen, triumph over the Laced\u00e6monians, till then\ninvincible, that ungrateful people arraigned him and his friends,\nunder pretence of acting something without authority: he, as\ngeneral, took the blame upon himself, justified the action both from\nnecessity and success, arraigning his judges for ingratitude whilst\nhimself was at the bar, which caused them to withdraw with fallen\ncountenances, and hearts smitten with guilt and fear. To conclude,\nhe was a man of great truth and patience, as well as wisdom and\ncourage; for he was never observed to lie in earnest or in jest. And\nnotwithstanding the ill and cross humours of the Thebans, aggravated\nby his incomparable hazards and services for their freedom and\nrenown, it is reported of him that he ever bore them patiently,\noften saying that he ought no more to be revenged of his country\nthan of his father.\n\nXIV. Demosthenes, the great orator of Athens, had these sentences:\n\"That wise men speak little, and that therefore nature hath given\nmen two ears and one tongue, to hear more than they speak.\" To one\nthat spoke much he said, \"How cometh it that he who taught thee\nto speak, did not teach thee to hold thy tongue?\" He said of a\ncovetous man, \"That he knew not how to live all his lifetime, and\nthat he left it for another to live after he was dead. That it was\nan easy thing to deceive one's self, because it was easy to persuade\none's self to what one desired.\" He said, \"That calumnies were\neasily received, but time would always discover them. That there\nwas nothing more uneasy to good men than not to have the liberty\nof speaking freely; and that if any one knew what he had to suffer\nfrom the people, he would never meddle to govern them. In fine, that\nman's happiness was to be like God; and to resemble Him, we must\nlove truth and justice.\"\n\nXV. Agasicles, king of the Laced\u00e6monians, or Spartans, which are\none, was of the opinion that it was better to govern without force:\nand, says he, the means to do it is to govern the people as a father\ngoverns his children.\n\nXVI. Agesilaus, king of the same people, would say, that he had\nrather be master of himself than of the greatest city of his\nenemies: and to preserve his own liberty than to usurp the liberty\nof another man. \"A prince,\" says he, \"ought to distinguish himself\nfrom his subjects by his virtue, and not by his state or delicacy\nof life.\" Wherefore he wore plain, simple clothing; his table was\nas moderate and his bed as hard as that of any ordinary subject.\nAnd when he was told that one time or other he would be obliged to\nchange his fashion: \"No,\" saith he, \"I am not given to change even\nin a change: and this I do,\" saith he, \"to remove from young men\nany pretence of luxury, that they may see their prince practise\nwhat he counsels them to do.\" He added, \"That the foundation of\nthe Laced\u00e6monian laws was to despise luxury, and to reward with\nliberty; nor,\" saith he, \"should good men put a value upon that\nwhich mean and base souls make their delight.\" Being flattered by\nsome with divine honour, he asked them if they could not make gods\ntoo? If they could why did they not begin with themselves?--The same\naustere conduct of life made him refuse to have his statue erected\nin the cities of Asia: nor would he suffer his picture to be taken;\nand his reason is good: \"for,\" saith he, \"the fairest portraiture\nof men is their own actions.\"--Whatsoever was to be suddenly done\nin the government, he was sure to set his hand first to the work,\nlike a common person. He would say, it did not become men to make\nprovision to be rich but to be good. Being asked the means to true\nhappiness; he answered, \"To do nothing that should make a man fear\nto die:\" another time, \"To speak well, and do well.\" Being called\nhome by the ephori, or supreme magistrates, the way of the Spartan\nconstitution, he returned, saying, \"It is not less the duty of a\nprince to obey laws than to command men.\" He conferred places of\ntrust and honour upon his enemies, that he might constrain their\nhatred into love. A lawyer asking him for a letter to make a person\njudge that was of his own friends; \"My friends,\" says he, \"have\nno need of recommendation to do justice.\"--A comedian of note,\nwondering that Agesilaus said nothing to him, asked if he knew him;\n\"Yes,\" said he, \"art not thou the buffoon Callipedes?\" One calling\nthe king of Persia the Great king, he answered, \"He is not greater\nthan I unless he hath more virtue than I.\"--One of his friends\ncatching him playing with his children, he prevented him thus: \"Say\nnothing till thou art a father too.\"--He had great care of the\neducation of youth, often saying, \"We must teach children what they\nshould do when they are men.\" The Egyptians despising him because he\nhad but a small train and a mean equipage; \"Oh,\" said he, \"I will\nhave them to know royalty consists not in vain pomp but in virtue.\"\n\nXVII. Agis, another king of Laced\u00e6mon, imprisoned for endeavouring\nto restore their declining discipline, being asked whether he\nrepented not of his design; answered, \"No; for,\" saith he, \"good\nactions never need repentance.\" His father and mother desiring of\nhim to grant something he thought unjust, he answered, \"I obeyed you\nwhen I was young; I must now obey the laws, and do that which is\nreasonable.\"--As he was leading to the place of execution one of his\npeople wept, to whom he said, \"Weep not for me; for the authors of\nthis unjust death are more in fault than I.\"\n\nXVIII. Alcamenes, king of the same people, being asked which was\nthe way to get and preserve honour; answered, \"To despise wealth.\"\nAnother wondering why he refused the presents of the Messenians, he\nanswered, \"I make conscience to keep the laws that forbid it.\" To a\nmiser, accusing him of being so reserved in his discourse, he said,\n\"I had rather conform to reason than thy covetousness; or, I had\nrather be covetous of my words than money.\"\n\nXIX. Alexandrides hearing an exile complain of his banishment, saith\nhe, \"Complain of the cause of it, to wit, his deserts, for there\nis nothing hurtful but vice.\" Being asked why they were so long in\nmaking the process of criminals in Laced\u00e6mon, \"Because,\" saith he,\n\"when they are once dead they are past repentance.\" This shows their\nbelief of immortality and eternal blessedness; and that even poor\ncriminals, through repentance, may obtain it.\n\nXX. Anaxilas would say that the greatest advantage kings had upon\nother men was their power of excelling them in good deeds.\n\nXXI. Ariston hearing one admire this expression, \"We ought to do\ngood to our friends and evil to our enemies;\" answered, \"By no\nmeans; we ought to do good to all; to keep our friends and to gain\nour enemies.\" A doctrine the most difficult to flesh and blood in\nall the precepts of Christ's sermon upon the mount: nay, not allowed\nto be his doctrine, but both an eye for an eye, defended against\nhis express command, and oftentimes an eye put out, an estate\nsequestered, and life taken away under a specious zeal for religion\ntoo; as if sin could be christened, and impiety entitled to the\ndoctrine of Christ: O, will not such heathens rise up in judgment\nagainst our worldly Christians in the great day of God!\n\nXXII. Archidamus also, king of Sparta, being asked who was\nmaster of Laced\u00e6monia; \"The laws,\" saith he, \"and after them the\nmagistrates.\" One praising a musician in his presence, \"Ah!\" saith\nhe, \"but when wilt thou praise a good man?\"--Another saying, that\nman is an excellent musician: \"That is all one,\" saith he, \"as if\nthou wouldst say, there is a good cook:\" counting both trades of\nvoluptuousness.--Another promising him some excellent wine; \"I care\nnot,\" saith he, \"for it will only put my mouth out of taste to my\nordinary liquor;\" which it seems was water.--Two men chose him an\narbitrator; to accept it, he made them promise to do what he would\nhave them: \"Then,\" said he, \"stir not from this place till you have\nagreed the matter between yourselves,\" which was done.--Dionysius,\nking of Sicily, sending his daughters rich apparel, he forbad them\nto wear it, saying, \"You will seem to me but the more homely.\" This\ngreat man certainly was not of the mind to breed up his children at\nthe exchanges, dancing-schools, and play-houses.\n\nXXIII. Cleomenes, king of the same people, would say, \"That kings\nought to be pleasant; but not to cheapness and contempt.\" He was so\njust a man in power, that he drove away Demaratus his fellow-king,\n(for they always had two,) for offering to corrupt him in a cause\nbefore them, \"Lest,\" saith he, \"he should attempt others less able\nto resist him, and so ruin the state.\"\n\nXXIV. Dersyllidas perceiving that Pyrrhus would force a prince\nupon his countrymen, the Laced\u00e6monians, whom they lately rejected,\nstoutly opposed him, saying, \"If thou art God, we fear thee not,\nbecause we have done no evil; and if thou art but a man we are men\ntoo.\"\n\nXXV. Hippodamus seeing a young man ashamed, that was caught in bad\ncompany, he reproved him sharply, saying, \"For time to come, keep\nsuch company as thou needest not blush at.\"\n\nXXVI. Leonidas, brother to Cleomenes, being offered by Xerxes to\nbe made an emperor of Greece, answered, \"I had rather die for my\nown country, than have an unjust command over other men's;\" adding,\n\"Xerxes deceived himself, to think it a virtue to invade the right\nof other men.\"\n\nXXVII. Lysander being asked by a person, what was the best frame of\ngovernment; \"That,\" says he, \"where every man hath according to his\ndeserts.\" Though one of the greatest captains that Sparta bred, he\nhad learned by his wisdom to bear personal affronts: \"Say what thou\nwilt,\" says he to one that spoke abusively to him, \"empty thyself,\nI shall bear it.\" His daughters were contracted in marriage to some\npersons of quality, but he dying poor, they refused to marry them;\nupon which the ephori condemned each of them in a great sum of\nmoney, because they preferred money before faith and engagement.\n\nXXVIII. Pausanias, son of Cleombrotus, and colleague of Lysander,\nbeholding, among the Persian spoils they took, the costliness of\ntheir furniture, said, \"It had been much better if they had been\nworth less, and their masters more.\" And after the victory of\nPlat\u00e6a, having a dinner dressed according to the Persian manner, and\nbeholding the magnificence and furniture of the treat; \"What,\" saith\nhe, \"do these people mean, that live in such wealth and luxury, to\nattack our meanness and poverty?\"\n\nXXIX. Theopompus saith, \"The way to preserve a kingdom, is to\nembrace the counsel of one's friends, and not to suffer the meaner\nsort to be oppressed.\" One making the glory of Sparta to consist\nin commanding well, he answered, \"No, it is in knowing how to obey\nwell.\" He was of opinion, that great honours hurt a state; adding,\nthat time would abolish great, and augment moderate honours among\nmen; meaning, that men should have the reputation they deserve,\nwithout flattery and excess.\n\nA rhetorician, bragging himself of his art, was reproved by a\nLaced\u00e6monian; \"Dost thou call that an art,\" saith he, \"which hath\nnot truth for its object?\" Also a Laced\u00e6monian being presented with\na harp after dinner, by a musical person, \"I do not,\" saith he,\n\"know how to play the fool.\" Another being asked, what he thought\nof a poet of the times, answered, \"Good for nothing but to corrupt\nyouth.\" Nor was this only the wisdom and virtue of some particular\npersons, which may be thought to have given light to the dark body\nof their courts; but their government was wise and just, and the\npeople generally obeyed it; making virtue to be true honour, and\nthat honour dearer to them than life.\n\nXXX. Laced\u00e6monian customs, according to Plutarch, were these:\nthey were very temperate in their eating and drinking, their\nmost delicate dish being a pottage made for the nourishment of\nancient people. They taught their children to write and read, to\nobey the magistrates, to endure labour, and to be bold in danger:\nthe teachers of other sciences were not so much as admitted in\nLaced\u00e6monia.--They had but one garment, and that new once a year.\nThey rarely used baths or oil, the custom of those parts of the\nworld.--They accustomed their youth to travel by night without\nlight, to use them not to be afraid.--The old governed the young;\nand those of them who obeyed not the aged, were punished.--It was\na shame not to bear reproof among the youth; and among the aged,\nmatter of punishment not to give it. They made ordinary cheer, on\npurpose to keep out luxury; holding, that mean fare kept the spirit\nfree, and the body fit for action. They permitted not their youth\nto travel, lest they should corrupt their manners; and for the same\nreason they permitted not strangers to dwell amongst them, that\nconformed not to their way of living. In this they were so strict,\nthat such of their youth that were not educated in their customs,\nenjoyed not the privileges of natives. They would suffer neither\ncomedies nor tragedies to be acted in their country. They condemned\na soldier but for painting his buckler of several colours: and\npublicly punished a young man for having learned but the way to a\ntown given to luxury. They also banished an orator for bragging,\nthat he could speak a whole day upon any subject: for they did not\nlike much speaking, much less for a bad cause.--They buried their\ndead without any ceremony or superstition; for they only used a red\ncloth upon the body, broidered with olive leaves; this burial had\nall degrees. Mourning they forbad, and epitaphs too.--When they\nprayed to God, they stretched forth their arms, which with them was\na sign that they must do good works, as well as make good prayers.\nThey asked of God but two things, patience in labour, and happiness\nin well-doing.\n\nThis account is mostly the same with Xenophon's: adding, that they\nate moderately, and in common: the aged mixed with the youth, to\nawe them, and give them good example.--When they were fifteen\nyears of age, instead of leaving them to their own conduct, as\nin other places, they had most care of their conversation, that\nthey might preserve them from the mischiefs _that_ age is incident\nto. And those that would not comply with these rules, were not\ncounted always honest people.--And in this, their government was\nexcellent; that they thought there was no greater punishment for a\nbad man, than to be known and used as such, at all times, and in all\nplaces; for they were not to come into the company of persons of\nreputation.--They were to give place to all others; to stand when\nthey sat; to be accountable to every honest man that met them of\ntheir conversation.--That they must keep their poor kindred.--That\nthey used not the same freedoms that honest people might use: by\nwhich means they kept virtue in credit, and vice in contempt.--They\nused all things necessary for life, without superfluity or want;\ndespising riches, and sumptuous apparel, and living: judging, that\nthe best ornament of the body is health, and of the mind, virtue.\n\"And since,\" saith Xenophon, \"it is virtue and temperance that\nrender us commendable, and that it is only the Laced\u00e6monians that\nreverence them publicly, and have made it the foundation of their\nstate; their government, of right, merits preference to any other\nin the world. But that,\" saith he, \"which is strange, is, that all\nadmire it, but none imitate it.\" Nor is this account and judgment\nfantastical.\n\nXXXI. Lycurgus, their famous founder and lawgiver, instilled these\nprinciples, and by his power with them, made them laws to rule\nthem. Let us hear what he did: Lycurgus, willing to retire his\ncitizens from a luxurious to a virtuous life, and show them how\nmuch good conduct and honest industry might meliorate the state of\nmankind, applied himself to introduce a new model of government,\npersuading them to believe, that though they were descended of noble\nand virtuous ancestors, if they were not exercised in a course of\nvirtue, they would, like the dog in the kitchen, rather leap at\nthe meat than run at the game. In fine, they agreed to obey him.\nThe first thing then that he did to try his power with them, was,\nto divide the land into equal portions, so that the whole Laconic\ncountry seemed but the lots of brethren: this grieved the rich;\nbut the poor, which were the most, rejoiced.--He rendered wealth\nuseless by community; and forbad the use of gold and silver: he made\nmoney of iron, too base and heavy to make a thief. He retrenched\ntheir laws of building, suffering no more ornament than could be\nmade with a hatchet and a saw: and their furniture was like their\nhouses. This course disbanded many trades: no merchant, no cook, no\nlawyer, no flatterer, no divine, no astrologer, was to be found in\nLaced\u00e6monia. Injustice was banished, their society having cut up\nthe root of it, which is avarice, by introducing a community, and\nmaking gold and silver useless. To prevent the luxury of tables, as\nwell as of apparel, he ordained public places of eating, where all\nshould publicly be served; those that refused to come thither, were\nreputed voluptuous and reproved, if not corrected. He forbad costly\nofferings in the temple, that they might offer often; for that God\nregardeth the heart, not the offering.--These and some more, were\nthe laws he instituted; and whilst the Spartans kept them, it is\ncertain they were the first state of Greece; which lasted about five\nhundred years. It is remarkable, that he would never suffer the\nlaws to be written, to avoid barratry; and that the judges might\nnot be tied religiously to the letter of the law; but left to the\ncircumstances of fact; in which no inconvenience was observed to\nfollow.\n\n\nII. _The_ ROMANS _also yielded us instances to our point in hand_,\nviz.\n\n     1. Cato.--2. Scipio Africanus.--3. Augustus.--4. Vespasian.--5.\n     Trajan.--6. Adrian.--7. Marcus Aurelius Antoninus.--8.\n     Pertinax.--9. Pescennius.--10. Alexander Severus.--11.\n     Dioclesian.--12. Theodosius.\n\n1. Cato, that sage Roman, seeing a luxurious man loaded with flesh,\n\"Of what service,\" saith he, \"can that man be, either to himself,\nor the commonwealth?\" One day beholding the statues of several\npersons erecting, that he thought little worthy of remembrance, that\nhe might despise the pride of it, \"I had rather,\" said he, \"they\nshould ask, why they set not up a statue to Cato, than why they\ndo.\"--He was a man of severity of life, both example and judge.--His\ncompetitors in the government, hoping to be preferred, took the\ncontrary humour, and mightily flattered the people: this good man\ndespised their arts, and with an unusual fervency cried out, \"That\nthe distempers of the commonwealth did not require flatterers to\ndeceive them, but physicians to cure them;\" which struck so great\nan awe upon the people, that he was first chosen of them all.--The\nfine dames of Rome became governors to their husbands; he lamented\nthe change, saying, \"It is strange that those who command the world\nshould yet be subject to women.\"--He thought those judges, that\nwould not impartially punish malefactors, greater criminals than\nthe malefactors themselves: a good lesson for judges of the world.\nHe would say, That it was better to lose a gift than a correction;\n\"for,\" says he, \"the one corrupts us, but the other instructs\nus.--That we ought not to separate honour from virtue; for then\nthere would be few any more virtuous.\" He would say, \"No man is fit\nto command another, that cannot command himself. Great men should\nbe temperate in their power, that they may keep it. For men to be\ntoo long in offices in a government, is to have too little regard\nto others, or the dignity of the state. They that do nothing, will\nlearn to do evil. That those who have raised themselves by their\nvices, should gain to themselves credit by virtue.\" He repented him,\nthat ever he passed away one day without doing good. And that there\nis no witness any man ought to fear, but that of his own conscience.\nNor did his practice fall much short of his principles.\n\nII. Scipio Africanus, though a great general, loaded with honours\nand triumphs, preferred retirement to them all; being used to say,\nThat he was never less alone, than when he was alone: implying,\nthat the most busy men in the world, are the most destitute of\nthemselves; and, that external solitariness gives the best company\nwithin. After he had taken Carthage, his soldiers brought him a most\nbeautiful prisoner; he answered, \"I am your general;\" refusing to\ndebase himself, or dishonour her.\n\nIII. Augustus eating at the table of one of his friends, where a\npoor slave breaking a crystal vessel, fell upon his knees, begging\nhim that his master might not fling him to the lampreys; as he had\nuse to do for food, with such of them that offended him: Augustus\nhating his friend's cruelty, broke all his friend's crystal vessels,\nboth reproving his luxury and his severity. He never recommended any\nof his own children, but he always added, If they deserve it. He\nreproved his daughter for her excess in apparel, and both rebuked\nand imprisoned her for her immodest latitudes. The people of Rome\ncomplaining that wine was dear, he sent them to the fountains,\ntelling them they were cheap.\n\nIV. Vespasian was a great and an extraordinary man, who maintained\nsomething of the Roman virtue in his time. One day seeing a young\nman finely dressed, and richly perfumed, he was displeased with\nhim, saying, \"I had rather smell the poor man's garlic, than thy\nperfume:\" and took his place and government from him. A certain\nperson being brought before him, that had conspired against him,\nhe reproved him, and said, \"That it was God who gave and took away\nempires.\" Another time conferring favour upon his enemy, and being\nasked why he did so, he answered, that he should remember the right\nway.\n\nV. Trajan would say, \"That it became an emperor to act towards his\npeople, as he would have his people act towards him.\" The governor\nof Rome having delivered the sword into his hand, and created him\nemperor; \"Here,\" saith he, \"take it again: if I reign well, use it\nfor me: if ill, use it against me.\" An expression which shows great\nhumility and goodness, making power subservient to virtue.\n\nVI. Adrian, also emperor, had several sayings worthy of notice: one\nwas, \"That a good prince did not think the estates of his subjects\nbelonging to him.\" He would say, \"That kings should not act the\nking:\" that is, should be just, and mix sweetness with greatness,\nand be conversible with good men. \"That the treasures of princes\nare like the spleen, that never swells, but it makes other parts\nshrink:\" teaching princes thereby to spare their subjects.--Meeting\none that was his enemy before he was emperor, he cried out to him,\n\"Now thou hast no more to fear:\" intimating, that, having power to\nrevenge himself, he would rather use it to do him good.\n\nVII. Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, a good man, (the Christians of\nhis time felt it,) commended his son for weeping at his tutor's\ndeath, answering those that would have rendered it unsuitable to\nhis condition, \"Let him alone,\" says he, \"it is fit he should\nshow himself a man, before he be a prince.\" He did nothing in the\ngovernment without consulting his friends, and would say, \"It is\nmore just that one should follow the advice of many, than many\nthe mind of one.\" He was more philosopher than emperor: for his\ndominions were greater within than without. And having commanded his\nown passions by a circumspect conformity to virtuous principles,\nhe was fit to rule those of other men. Take some of his excellent\nsayings, as followeth: \"Of my grandfather Verus I have learned to be\ngentle and meek, and to refrain from all anger and passion. From the\nfame and memory of him that begot me, shamefacedness, and manlike\nbehaviour. I observed his meekness, his constancy without wavering,\nin those things, which, after a due examination and deliberation,\nhe had determined. How free from all vanity he carried himself in\nmatters of honour and dignity! His laboriousness and assiduity: his\nreadiness to hear any man that had ought to say, tending to any\ncommon good. His moderate condescending to other men's occasions\nas an ordinary man.--Of my mother, to be religious and bountiful,\nand to forbear not only to do, but to intend any evil. To content\nmyself with a spare diet, and to fly all such excess as is incident\nto great wealth.--Of my grandfather, both to frequent public schools\nand auditories, and to get me good and able teachers at home; and\nthat I ought not to think much, if upon such occasions I were at\nexcessive charge. I gave over the study of rhetoric and poetry, and\nof elegant, neat language. I did not use to walk about the house in\nmy senator's robe, nor to do any such things. I learned to write\nletters without any affectation and curiosity; and to be easy, and\nready to be reconciled, and well pleased again with them that had\noffended me, as soon as any of them would be content to seek unto me\nagain. To observe carefully the several dispositions of my friends,\nand not to be offended with idiots, nor unreasonably to set upon\nthose, that are carried away with the vulgar opinions, with the\ntheorems and tenets of philosophers. To love truth and justice,\nand to be kind and loving to all them of my house and family, I\nlearned from my brother Severus: and it was he that put me in the\nfirst conceit and desire of an equal commonwealth, administered by\njustice and equality; and of a kingdom, wherein should be regarded\nnothing more than the good and welfare, or liberty of the subjects.\nAs for God, and such suggestions, helps, and inspirations, as might\nbe expected, nothing did hinder, but that I might have begun long\nbefore to live according to nature: or that even now, that I was\nnot yet partaker, and in present possession of that life, I myself\n(in that I did not observe those inward motions and suggestions;\nyea, and almost plain and apparent instructions and admonitions of\nGod) was the only cause of it.--I that understand the nature of\nthat which is good, that it is to be desired; and of that which is\nbad, that it is odious and shameful: who know moreover, that this\ntransgressor, whoever he be, is my kinsman, not by the same blood\nand seed, but by participation of the same reason, and of the same\ndivine participle, or principle: how can I either be hurt by any\nof these, since it is not in their power to make me incur anything\nthat is reproachful, or be angry or ill affected towards him, who by\nnature is so near unto me? For we are all born to be fellow-workers,\nas the feet, the hands, and the eyelids; as the rows of upper and\nunder teeth: for such therefore to be in opposition, is against\nnature.\"--He saith, \"It is high time for thee to understand true\nnature, both of the world, whereof thou art a part, and of that Lord\nand Governor of the world, from whom, as a channel from the spring,\nthou thyself didst flow. And that there is but a certain limit of\ntime appointed unto thee, which if thou shalt not make use of, to\ncalm and allay the many distempers of thy soul, it will pass away,\nand thou with it, and never after return.--Do, soul, do abuse and\ncontemn thyself yet awhile, and the time for thee to repent thyself\nwill be at an end. Every man's happiness depends upon himself;\nbut, behold! thy life is almost at an end, whilst not regarding\nthyself as thou oughtest, thou dost make thy happiness to consist\nin the souls and conceits of other men. Thou must also take heed of\nanother kind of wandering; for they are idle in their actions who\ntoil and labour in their life, and have no certain scope to which\nto direct all their motions and desires. As for life and death,\nhonour and dishonour, labour and pleasure, riches and poverty, all\nthese things happen unto men indeed, both good and bad equally; but\nas things, which of themselves are neither good nor bad, because of\nthemselves neither shameful nor praiseworthy. Consider the nature\nof all worldly visible things; of those especially, which either\nensnare by pleasure, or for their irksomeness are dreadful; or for\ntheir outward lustre and show, are in great esteem and request; how\nvile and contemptible, how base and corruptible, how destitute of\nall true life and being they are. There is nothing more wretched\nthan that soul, which in a kind of circuit compasseth all things;\nsearching even the very depths of all the earth, and, by all signs\nand conjectures, prying into the very thoughts of other men's\nsouls; and yet of this is not sensible, that it is sufficient for\na man to apply himself wholly, and confine all his thoughts and\ncares to the guidance of that Spirit which is within him, and truly\nand really serve him. For even the least things ought not to be\ndone without relation unto the end; and the end of the reasonable\ncreature is, to follow and obey him who is the reason, as it were,\nand the law of this great city, and most ancient commonwealth.\nPhilosophy doth consist in this, for a man to preserve that spirit\nwhich is within him, from all manner of contumelies and injuries,\nand above all pains and pleasures, never to do anything either\nrashly, or feignedly, or hypocritically: he that is such is surely\nindeed a very priest and minister of God, well acquainted, and in\ngood correspondence with him especially, that is seated and placed\nwithin himself; to whom also he keeps and preserveth himself;\nneither spotted by pleasure, nor daunted by pain; free from any\nmanner of wrong or contumely. Let thy God that is in thee, to rule\nover thee, find by thee, that he hath to do with a man, an aged\nman, a sociable man, a Roman, a prince, and that hath ordered his\nlife, as one that expecteth, as it were, nothing but the sound of\nthe trumpet, sounding a retreat to depart out of this life with all\nreadiness. Never esteem anything as profitable, which shall ever\nconstrain thee, either to break thy faith, or to lose thy modesty:\nto hate any man, to suspect, to curse, to dissemble, to lust after\nanything that requireth the secret of walls or veils. But he that\npreferreth, before all things, his rational part and spirit, and\nthe sacred mysteries of virtue which issue from it, he shall never\nwant either solitude or company; and, which is chiefest of all, he\nshall live without either desire or fear. If thou shalt intend that\nwhich is present, following the rule of right and reason carefully,\nsolidly, meekly; and shalt not intermix any other business, but\nshalt study this, to preserve thy spirit unpolluted and pure: and\nas one that were even now ready to give up the ghost; shalt cleave\nunto him, without either hope or fear of anything, in all things\nthat thou shalt either do or speak, contenting thyself with heroical\ntruth, thou shalt live happily: and from this there is no man that\ncan hinder thee. Without relation to God, thou shalt never perform\naright anything human; nor on the other side anything divine. At\nwhat time soever thou wilt, it is in thy power to retire into\nthyself, and to be at rest: for a man cannot retire any whither to\nbe more at rest, and freer from all business, than into his own\nsoul. Afford then thyself this retiring continually, and thereby\nrefresh and renew thyself. Death hangeth over thee, whilst yet\nthou livest, and whilst thou mayest be good. How much time and\nleisure doth he gain, who is not curious to know what his neighbour\nhath said, or hath done, or hath attempted, but only what he doth\nhimself, that it may be just and holy. Neither must he use himself\nto cut off actions only, but thoughts and imaginations also that\nare not necessary; for so will unnecessary consequent actions the\nbetter be prevented and cut off. He is poor that stands in need of\nanother, and hath not in himself all things needful for his life.\nConsider well, whether magnanimity rather, and true liberty, and\ntrue simplicity, and equanimity, and holiness, whether these be not\nmost reasonable and natural. Honour that which is chiefest and most\npowerful in the world, and that is it which makes use of all things,\nand governs all things: so also in thyself, honour that which is\nchiefest and most powerful, and is of one kind and nature with that;\nfor it is the very same, which being in thee, turneth all other\nthings to its own use, and by whom also thy life is governed. What\nis it that thou dost stay for? An extinction or a translation; for\neither of them, with a propitious and contented mind. But till that\ntime come, what will content thee? What else, but to worship and\npraise God, and do good unto men?\" As he lay dying, and his friends\nabout him, he spake thus: \"Think more of death, than of me, and that\nyou and all men must die as well as I.\" Adding, \"I recommend my son\nto you, and to God, if he be worthy.\"\n\nVIII. Pertinax, also emperor, being advised to save himself from the\nfury of the mutineers, answered \"No: what have I done that I should\ndo so?\" Showing that innocence is bold, and should never give ground\nwhere it can show itself, be heard, and have fair play.\n\nIX. Pescennius seeing the corruption that reigned among officers of\njustice, advised, \"That judges should have first salaries, that they\nmight do their duty without any other bribes or perquisites.\" He\nsaid, \"He would not offend the living that he might be praised when\nhe was dead.\"\n\nX. Alexander Severus having tasted both of a private life, and the\nstate of an emperor, had this censure; \"Emperors,\" says he, \"are ill\nmanagers of the public revenue to feed so many unuseful mouths;\"\nwherefore he retrenched his family from pompous to serviceable.\nHe would not employ persons of quality in his domestic service,\nthinking it too mean for them and too costly for him: adding, \"That\npersonal service was the work of the lowest order of the people.\"\nHe would never suffer offices of justice to be sold; \"For,\" saith\nhe, \"it is not strange that men should sell what they buy;\" meaning\njustice. He was impartial in correction: \"My friends,\" says he, \"are\ndear to me; but the commonwealth is dearer.\" Yet he would say, \"That\nsweetening power to the people made it lasting. That we ought to\ngain our enemies as we keep our friends:\" that is, by kindness. He\nsaid, \"That we ought to desire happiness and to bear afflictions;\nthat those which are desirable may be pleasant; but the troubles\nwe avoid may have most profit in the end.\" He did not like pomp in\nreligion: for it is not gold that recommends the sacrifice, but the\npiety of him that offers it. A house being in contest betwixt some\nChristians and keepers of taverns, the one to perform religion, the\nother to sell drink therein, he decided the matter thus: \"That it\nwere much better that it were any way employed to worship God than\nto make a tavern of it.\" Behold! by this we may see the wisdom and\nvirtue that shined among the heathens.\n\nXI. Dioclesian would say, that there was nothing more difficult than\nto reign well: and the reason he gave was, that those who had the\nears of princes do so continually lay ambushes to surprise them to\ntheir interests, that they can hardly make one right step.\n\nXII. Theodosius the younger was so merciful in his nature, that\ninstead of putting people to death, he wished it were in his power\nto call the dead to life again.\n\nThese were the sentiments of the ancient grandees of the world, to\nwit, emperors, kings, princes, captains, statesmen, &c. not unworthy\nof the thoughts of persons of the same figure and quality now in\nbeing: and for that end they are here collected, that such may with\nmore ease and brevity behold the true statutes of the ancients, not\nlost or lessened by the decays of time.\n\n\nIII. _I will now proceed to report the virtuous doctrines and\nsayings of men of more retirement; such as philosophers and writers,\nboth Greeks and Romans, who in their respective times were masters\nin the civility, knowledge, and virtue that were among the Gentiles,\nbeing most of them many ages before the coming of Christ_, _viz._\n\n     1. Thales.--2. Pythagoras.--3. Solon.--4. Chilon.--5.\n     Periander.--6. Bias.--7. Cleobulus.--8. Pittacus.--9.\n     Hippias.--10. The Bambycatii.--11. The Gyn\u00e6cosmi.--12.\n     Anacharsis.--13. Anaxagoras.--14. Heraclitus.--15.\n     Democritus.--16. Socrates.--17. Plato.--18. Antisthenes.--19.\n     Xenocrates.--20. Bion.--21. Demonax.--22. Diogenes.--23.\n     Crates.--24. Aristotle.--25. Mandanis.--26. Zeno.--27.\n     Seneca.--28. Epictetus.\n\nI. Thales, an ancient Greek philosopher, being asked by a person\nthat had committed adultery if he might swear, answered, \"By no\nmeans; for perjury is no less sinful than adultery; and so thou\nwouldst commit two sins to cover one.\" Being asked what was the best\ncondition of a government, answered, \"That the people be neither\nrich nor poor:\" for he placed external happiness in moderation.\nHe would say, \"That the hardest thing in the world was to know a\nman's self; but the best to avoid those things which we reprove in\nothers;\" an excellent and close saying, \"That we ought to choose\nwell and then to hold fast. That the felicity of the body consists\nin health, and that in temperance; and the felicity of the soul in\nwisdom.\" He thought \"That God was without beginning or end; that\nhe was the searcher of hearts; that he saw the thoughts as well as\nactions: for being asked of one if he could sin and hide it from\nGod, he answered, 'No: how can I when he who thinks evil cannot?'\"\n\nII. Pythagoras, a famous and virtuous philosopher of Italy, being\nasked when men might take the pleasure of their passions, answered,\n\"When they have a mind to be worse.\" He said the world was like a\ncomedy, and the true philosophers the spectators. He would say,\n\"That luxury led to debauchery, and debauchery to violence, and\nthat to bitter repentance: that he who taketh too much care of\nhis body makes the prison of his soul more insufferable: that\nthose who do reprove us are our best friends; that men ought to\npreserve their bodies from diseases by temperance, their souls from\nignorance by meditation, their will from vice by self-denial, and\ntheir country from civil war by justice: that it is better to be\nloved than feared; that virtue makes bold: but,\" saith he, \"there\nis nothing so fearful as an evil conscience.\" He said, \"That men\nshould believe in a Divinity, that he _is_, and that he overlooks\nthem, and neglecteth them not; there is no being nor place without\nGod.\" He told the senators of Croton, being two thousand, praying\nhis advice, \"That they received their country as a depositum, or\ntrust from the people; wherefore they should manage it accordingly,\nsince they were to resign their account, with their trust to their\nchildren; that the way to do it was to be equal to all citizens, and\nto excel them in nothing more than justice; that every one of them\nshould so govern his family that he might refer himself to his own\nhouse as to a court of judicature, taking great care to preserve\nnatural affection; that they be examples of temperance in their\nown families, and to the city; that in courts of judicature none\nattest God by an oath, but use themselves so to speak as they may\nbe believed without an oath: that the discourse of that philosopher\nis vain, by which no passion of a man is healed; for as there is\nno benefit of medicine if it expel not diseases out of bodies, so\nneither of philosophy if it expel not evil out of the soul.\"\n\nIII. Solon, esteemed as Thales, one of the seven sages of Greece, a\nnoble philosopher, and a lawgiver to the Athenians, was so humble\nthat he refused to be prince of that people, and voluntarily\nbanished himself when Pisastratus usurped the government there;[5]\nresolving never to outlive the laws and freedom of his country.\nHe would say, that to make a government last the magistrates must\nobey the laws, and the people the magistrates. It was his judgment,\nthat riches brought luxury, and luxury brought tyranny. Being\nasked by Croesus, king of Lydia, when seated on his throne richly\nclothed and magnificently attended, if he had ever seen anything\nmore glorious; he answered, cocks, peacocks, and pheasants; by how\nmuch their beauty is natural. These undervaluing expressions of\nwise Solon, meeting so pat upon the pride and luxury of Croesus,\nthey parted; the one desirous of toys and vanities, the other an\nexample and instructor of true nobility and virtue, that contemned\nthe king's effeminacy. Another time Croesus asked him who was\nthe happiest man in the world; expecting he would have said\nCroesus,[6] because the most famous for wealth in those parts: he\nanswered, \"Tellus, who, though poor, yet was an honest and good\nman, and contented with what he had: who, after he had served the\ncommonwealth faithfully, and seen his children and grandchildren\nvirtuously educated, died for his country in a good old age, and was\ncarried by his children to his grave.\" This much displeased Croesus,\nbut he dissembled it. Whilst Solon recommended the happiness of\nTellus, Croesus, moved, demanded to whom he assigned the next place;\nmaking no question but himself should be named, \"Cleobis,\" saith\nhe, \"and Bito, brethren that loved well, had a competency, were of\ngreat health and strength; most tender and obedient to their mother,\nreligious of life, who after sacrificing in the temple fell asleep\nand waked no more.\" Hereat Croesus growing angry, \"Strange!\" saith\nhe, \"doth our happiness seem so despicable that thou wilt not rank\nus equal with private persons?\" Solon answered, \"Dost thou inquire\nof us about human affairs? Knowest thou not that Divine Providence\nis severe, and often full of alteration? Do not we in process of\ntime see many things we would not? Aye, and suffer many things\nwe would not? Count man's life at seventy years, which makes[7]\ntwenty-six thousand two hundred and fifty and odd days, there is\nscarcely one day like another: so that every one, O Croesus! is\nattended with crosses. Thou appearest to me very rich, and king over\nmany people; but the question thou askest I cannot resolve till I\nhear thou hast ended thy days happily: for he that hath much wealth\nis not happier than he that gets his bread from day to day, unless\nProvidence continue those good things, and that he dieth well.\nSolon, after his discourse, not flattering Croesus, was dismissed,\nand accounted unwise that he neglected the present good out of\nregard to the future. \u00c6sop, that wrote the fables, being then at\nSardis, sent for thither by Croesus, and much in favour with him,\nwas grieved to see Solon so unthankfully dismissed, and said to\nhim, \"Solon, we must either tell kings nothing at all or what may\nplease them:\" \"No,\" saith Solon, \"either nothing at all, or what is\nbest for them.\" However it was not long ere Croesus was of another\nmind; for being taken prisoner by Cyrus, the founder of the Persian\nmonarchy, and by his command fettered and put on a pile of wood to\nbe burned, Croesus sighed deeply,[8] and cried, \"O Solon! Solon!\"\nCyrus bid the interpreter ask on whom he called. He was silent;\nat last pressing him, answered, \"Upon him who I desire above all\nwealth, would have spoken with all tyrants.\" This not understood,\nupon further importunity he told them, \"Solon, an Athenian, who\nlong since,\" says he, \"came to me, and seeing my wealth, despised\nit; besides, what he told me is come to pass; nor did his counsel\nbelong to me alone, but to all mankind, especially those that think\nthemselves happy.\" Whilst Croesus said thus, the fire began to\nkindle and the outparts to be seized by the flame: Cyrus, informed\nof the interpreters what Croesus said, began to be troubled; and\nknowing himself to be a man, and that to use another, not inferior\nto himself in wealth, so severely, might one day be retaliated,\ninstantly commanded the fire to be quenched, and Croesus and his\nfriends to be brought off: whom ever after, as long as he lived,\nCyrus had in great esteem. Thus Solon gained due praise, that of\ntwo kings his advice saved one and instructed the other. And as it\nwas in Solon's time that tragical plays were first invented, so\nhe was most severe against them; foreseeing the inconveniencies\nthat followed upon the people's being affected with the novelty of\npleasure. It is reported of him that he went himself to the play,\nand after it was ended he went to Thespis, the great actor, and\nasked him if he were not ashamed to tell so many lies in the face of\nso great an auditory. Thespis answered, as it is now usual, \"There\nis no harm nor shame to act such things in jest.\" Solon, striking\nhis staff hard upon the ground, replied, \"But in a short time we who\napprove of this kind of jest shall use it in earnest in our common\naffairs and contracts.\" In fine, he absolutely forbade him to teach\nor act plays, conceiving them deceitful and unprofitable; diverting\nyouth and tradesmen from more necessary and virtuous employments. He\ndefined them happy who are competently furnished with their outward\ncallings,[9] that live temperately and honestly: he would say that\ncities are the common sewer of wickedness. He affirmed that to be\nthe best family which got not unjustly, kept not unfaithfully,\nspent not with repentance. \"Observe,\" saith he, \"honesty in thy\nconversation more strictly than an oath. Seal words with silence;\nsilence with opportunity. Never lie, but speak the truth. Fly\npleasure, for it brings sorrow. Advise not the people what is most\npleasant, but what is best. Make not friends in haste, nor hastily\npart with them. Learn to obey, and thou wilt know how to command.\nBe arrogant to none; be mild to those about thee. Converse not with\nwicked persons. Meditate on serious things. Reverence thy parents.\nCherish thy friend. Conform to reason, and in all things take\ncounsel of God.\" In fine, his two short sentences were these:[10]\n\"Of nothing too much;\" and \"Know thyself.\"\n\n  [5] Plut. Herod.\n\n  [6] Plut. Laert.\n\n  [7] According to the Athenian account.\n\n  [8] Herod. Halic.\n\n  [9] Stob. Sent. 3.\n\n  [10] Clem. Alex. Strom.\n\nIV. Chilon, another of the wise men of Greece, would say, that it\nwas the perfection of a man, to foresee and prevent mischiefs; that\nherein good people differ from bad ones, their hopes were firm and\nassured; that God was the great touchstone, or rule of mankind; that\nmen's tongues ought not to outrun their judgment: that we ought\nnot to flatter great men, lest we exalt them above their merit\nand station; nor to speak hardly of the helpless. They that would\ngovern a state well, must govern their families well. He would say,\nthat a man ought so to behave himself, that he fall neither into\nhatred nor disgrace. That that commonwealth is happiest where the\npeople mind the law more than the lawyers. Men should not forget the\nfavours they receive, nor remember those they do. Three things, he\nsaid, were difficult, yet necessary to be observed: to keep secrets,\nforgive injuries, and use time well. \"Speak not ill,\" says he, \"of\nthy neighbour. Go slowly to the feast of thy friends, but swiftly\nto their troubles. Speak well of the dead. Shun busybodies. Prefer\nloss before covetous gain. Despise not the miserable. If powerful,\nbehave thyself mildly, that thou mayst be loved rather than feared.\nOrder thy house well: bridle thy anger: grasp not at much: make not\nhaste, neither dote upon anything below. A prince,\" saith he, \"must\nnot take up his time about transitory and mortal things; eternal and\nimmortal are fittest for him.\" To conclude: he was so just in all\nhis actions, that Laertius tells us, he professed in his old age,\nthat he had never done anything contrary to the conscience of an\nupright man; only, that of one thing he was doubtful, having given\nsentence against his friend, according to law, he advised his friend\nto appeal from him his judge, so to preserve both his friend and the\nlaw. Thus true and tender was conscience in heathen Chilon.\n\nV. Periander, prince and philosopher too, would say, that pleasures\nare mortal, but virtues immortal.[11] \"In success be moderate, in\ndisappointments, patient and prudent. Be alike to thy friends, in\nprosperity, and in adversity. Peace is good; rashness dangerous;\ngain sordid. Betray not secrets: punish the guilty: restrain men\nfrom sin. They that would rule safely, must be guarded by love, not\narms. To conclude,\" saith he, \"live worthy of praise, so wilt thou\ndie blessed.\"\n\n  [11] Baart. Suid. Protag. Stob. xxviii.\n\nVI. Bias, one of the seven wise men, being in a storm with wicked\nmen, who cried mightily to God; \"Hold your tongues,\"[12] saith he,\n\"it were better He knew not you were here:\" a saying that hath great\ndoctrine in it; the devotion of the wicked doth them no good: it\nanswers to that passage in Scripture, \"The prayers of the wicked are\nan abomination to the Lord.\" (Prov. xv. 8.) An ungodly man asking\nhim what godliness was, he was silent: but the other murmuring,\nsaith he, \"What is that to thee, that is not thy concern?\" He was\nso tender in his nature, that he seldom judged a criminal to death,\nbut he wept; adding, \"One part goeth to God, and the other part I\nmust give the law.\" \"That man is unhappy,\" saith he, \"that cannot\nbear affliction. It is a disease of the mind, to desire that which\ncannot, or is not fit to be had. It is an ill thing, not to be\nmindful of other men's miseries.\" To one that asked what is hard,\nhe answered, \"To bear cheerfully a change for the worse.\" \"Those,\"\nsays he, \"who busy themselves in vain knowledge, resemble owls that\nsee by night, and are blind by day; for they are sharp-sighted\nin vanity, but dark at the approach of true light and knowledge.\"\nHe adds, \"Undertake deliberately; but then go through. Speak not\nhastily, lest thou sin. Be neither silly nor subtle. Hear much;\nspeak little and seasonably. Make profession of God everywhere;\nand impute the good thou dost, not to thyself, but to the power of\nGod.\" His country being invaded, and the people flying with the best\nof their goods, asked, why he carried none of his; \"I,\" saith he,\n\"carry my goods within me.\"--Valerius Maximus adds, \"in his breast;\"\nnot to be seen by the eye, but to be prized by the soul; not to be\ndemolished by mortal hands; present with them that stay, and not\nforsaking those that fly.\n\n  [12] Laert. Stob.\n\nVII. Cleobulus, prince and philosopher of Lyndus:[13] he would\nsay, \"That it was man's duty to be always employed upon something\nthat was good.\" Again, \"Be never vain nor ungrateful. Bestow your\ndaughters, virgins in years, but matrons in discretion. Do good to\nthy friend, to keep him; to thy enemy, to gain him. When any man\ngoeth forth, let him consider what he hath to do; when he returneth,\nexamine what he hath done. Know, that to reverence thy father is thy\nduty. Hear willingly, but trust not hastily. Obtain by persuasion,\nnot by violence. Being rich, be not exalted: poor, be not dejected.\nForego enmity. Instruct thy children. Pray to God, and persevere in\ngodliness.\"\n\n  [13] Laert. Plut. Sympos. Sap. Sep. Stob. Ser.\n\nVIII. Pittacus being asked what was best, he answered, \"to do the\npresent thing well.\"[14] He would say, what thou dost take ill\nin thy neighbour, do not thyself. Reproach not the unhappy; for\nthe hand of God is upon them. Be true to thy trust. Bear with thy\nneighbour: love thy neighbour. Reproach not thy friend, though he\nrecede from thee a little. He would say that commonwealth is best\nordered where the wicked have no command, and that family, which\nhath neither ornament nor necessity. To conclude: he advised to\nacquire honesty; love discipline; observe temperance; gain prudence;\nmind diligence; and keep truth, faith, and piety. He had a brother,\nwho, dying without issue, left him his estate; so that when Croesus\noffered him wealth he answered, \"I have more by half than I desire.\"\nHe also affirmed that family the best who got not unjustly, kept not\nunfaithfully, spent not with repentance; and that happiness consists\nin a virtuous and honest life: in being content with a competency\nof outward things, and in using them temperately. And to conclude,\nhe earnestly enjoined all to flee corporeal pleasure; \"for,\" says\nhe, \"it certainly brings sorrow: but observe an honest life more\nstrictly than an oath: meditate on serious things.\"\n\n  [14] Plutarch. Stob. xxviii.\n\nIX. Hippias, a philosopher: it is recorded of him[15] that he would\nhave every one provide his own necessaries; and, that he might do\nwhat he taught, he was his own tradesman. He was singular in all\nsuch arts and employments, insomuch as he made the very buskins he\nwore. A better life than Alexander's.\n\n  [15] Cic. lib. de Orat.\n\nX. The Bambycatii[16] were a certain great people that inhabited\nabout the river Tigris, in Asia, who, observing the great influence\ngold, silver, and precious jewels had upon their minds, agreed\nto bury all in the earth to prevent the corruption of their\nmanners.--They used inferior metals, and lived with very ordinary\naccommodation; wearing mostly but one very grave and plain robe to\ncover nakedness. It were well if Christians would mortify their\ninsatiable appetites after wealth and vanity any way, for heathens\njudge their excess.\n\n  [16] Plin.\n\nXI. The Athenians had two distinct numbers of men, called the\nGyn\u00e6cosmi and Gyn\u00e6conomi.[17] These were appointed by the\nmagistrates to overlook the actions of the people: the first\nwere to see that they apparelled and behaved themselves gravely;\nespecially that women were of modest behaviour; and the other were\nto be present at their treats and festivals, to see that there was\nno excess, nor disorderly carriage; and in case any were found\ncriminal, they had full power to punish them. When, alas! when shall\nthis care and wisdom be seen amongst the Christians of these times,\nthat so intemperance might be prevented? But it is too evident\nthey love the power and the profits, but despise the virtue of\ngovernment, making it an end instead of a means to that happy end,\nviz. the well ordering the manners and conversation of the people,\nand equally distributing rewards and punishments.\n\n  [17] Vid. Suid.\n\nXII. Anacharsis, a Scythian, was a great philosopher;[18] Croesus\noffered him large sums of money, but he refused them. Hanno did the\nlike, to whom he answered, \"My apparel is a Scythian rug; my shoes,\nthe hardness of my feet; my bed, the earth; my sauce, hunger: you\nmay come to me as one that is contented; but those gifts which you\nso much esteem, bestow on your citizens.\"\n\n  [18] Cic. Tusc. Quest. 5; Clem. Alex. Strom.\n\nXIII. Anaxagoras, a nobleman, but true philosopher,[19] left his\ngreat patrimony to seek out wisdom; and being reproved by his\nfriends for the little care he had of his estate, answered, \"It is\nenough that you care for it.\" One asked him why he had no more love\nfor his country than to leave it; \"Wrong me not,\" saith he, \"my\ngreatest care is my country,\" pointing his finger towards heaven.\nReturning home, and taking a view of his great possessions, \"If\nI had not disregarded them,\" saith he, \"I had perished.\" He was\na great clearer and improver of the doctrine of One Eternal God,\ndenying divinity to sun, moon, and stars, saying, \"God was infinite,\nnot confined to place; the eternal wisdom and efficient cause of\nall things; the divine mind and understanding; who, when matter was\nconfused, came and reduced it to order, which is the world we see.\"\nHe suffered much from some magistrates for his opinion; yet dying,\nwas admired by them.\n\n  [19] Plut. contra Usur. Lysand. Cic. Tusc. Quest. 5.\n\nXIV. Heraclitus was invited by king Darius, for his great virtue\nand learning, to this effect: \"Come as soon as thou canst to my\npresence and royal palace; for the Greeks, for the most part, are\nnot obsequious to wise men, but despise the good things which\nthey deliver. With me thou shalt have the first place, and daily\nhonour and titles: thy way of living shall be as noble as thy\ninstructions.\" But Heraclitus, refusing his offer, returned this\nanswer: \"Heraclitus to Darius the king, health. Most men refrain\nfrom justice and truth to pursue insatiableness and vain glory,\nby reason of their folly: but I, having forgotten all evil, and\nshunning the society of inbred envy and pride, will never come to\nthe kingdom of Persia, being contented with a little according to\nmy own mind.\" He also slighted the Athenians. He had great and\nclear apprehensions of the nature and power of God, maintaining his\ndivinity against the idolatry in fashion. This definition he gives\nof God: \"He is not made with hands. The whole world, adorned with\nhis creatures, is his mansion. Where is God? Shut up in temples?\nImpious men! who place their God in the dark. It is a reproach to\na man to tell him he is a stone, yet the god you profess is born\nof a rock: you ignorant people! you know not God: his works bear\nwitness of him.\" Of himself he saith, \"O ye men, will ye not learn\nwhy I never laugh? It is not that I hate men, but their wickedness.\nIf you would not have me weep, live in peace: you carry swords in\nyour tongues; you plunder wealth, poison friends, betray the trust\nthe people repose in you: shall I laugh when I see men do these\nthings? Their garments, beards, and heads adorned with unnecessary\ncare; a mother deserted by a wicked son; or young men consuming\ntheir patrimony; others filling their bellies at feasts more with\npoison than with dainties. Virtue would strike me blind if I should\nlaugh at your wars. By music, pipes, and stripes you are excited\nto things contrary to all harmony. Iron, a metal more proper for\nploughs and tillage, is fitted for slaughter and death; men raising\narmies of men, covet to kill one another, and punish them that quit\nthe field for not staying to murder men. They honour as valiants\nsuch as are drunk with blood; but lions, horses, eagles, and other\ncreatures, use not swords, bucklers, and instruments of war: their\nlimbs are their weapons,--some their horns, some their bills, some\ntheir wings; to one is given swiftness, to another bigness, to a\nthird swimming. No irrational creature useth a sword, but keeps\nitself within the laws of its creation, except man, that doth not\nso, which brings the heavier blame, because he hath the greatest\nunderstanding.--You must leave your wars, and your wickedness, which\nyou ratify by a law, if you would have me leave my severity. I have\novercome pleasure, I have overcome riches, I have overcome ambition,\nI have mastered flattery: fear hath nothing to object against me,\ndrunkenness hath nothing to charge upon me, anger is afraid of me:\nI have won the garland in fighting against these enemies.\"--This,\nand much more, did he write in his epistles to Hermodorus, of his\ncomplaints against the great degeneracy of the Ephesians. And in an\nepistle to Aphidamus he writes, \"I am fallen sick, Aphidamus, of a\ndropsy; whatsoever is of us, if it get the dominion, it becomes a\ndisease. Excess of heat is a fever; excess of cold, a palsy; excess\nof wind a cholic: my disease cometh from excess of moisture. The\nsoul is something divine, which keeps all these in a due proportion.\nI know the nature of the world; I know that of man; I know diseases;\nI know health: but if my body be overpressed, it must descend to\nthe place ordained; however, my soul shall not descend; but being\na thing immortal, I shall ascend on high, where a heavenly mansion\nshall receive me.\"\n\nA most weighty and pathetical discourse: they that know anything\nof God may savour something divine in it. O that the degenerate\nChristians of these times would but take a view of the virtue,\ntemperance, zeal, piety, and faith of this heathen, who\nnotwithstanding that he lived five hundred years before the coming\nof Christ in the flesh, had these excellent sentences! Yet again,\nhe taught that God punisheth not by taking away riches; he rather\nalloweth them to the wicked to discover them; for poverty may be a\nveil. Speaking of God, \"How can that light which never sets be ever\nhidden or obscured?\" \"Justice,\" saith he, \"shall seize one day upon\ndefrauders and witnesses of false things.\" Unless a man hope to the\nend for that which is to be hoped for, he shall not find that which\nis unsearchable; which Clemens, an ancient father, applied to Isaiah\nvi. \"Unless you believe, you shall not understand.\" Heraclitus lived\nsolitarily in the mountains; had a sight of his end; and as he was\nprepared for it, so he rejoiced in it. These certainly were the men\nwho, having not a law, without them, became a law unto themselves,\nshowing forth the work of the law written in their hearts; (Rom.\nii. 14;) and who for that reason shall judge the circumcision, and\nreceive the reward of \"Well done,\" by him who is Judge of quick and\ndead.\n\nXV. Democritus would say, that he had lived to an extraordinary age\nby keeping himself from luxury and excess. That a little estate went\na great way with men that were neither covetous nor prodigal. That\nluxury furnished great tables with variety: and temperance furnished\nlittle ones. That riches do not consist in the possession, but right\nuse of wealth. He was a man of great retirement, avoiding public\nhonours and employments; bewailed by the people of Abdera as mad,\nwhilst indeed he only smiled at the madness of the world.\n\nXVI. Socrates, the most religious and learned philosopher of his\ntime, and of whom it is reported Apollo gave this character, that\nhe was the wisest man on earth,[20] was a man of a severe life,\nand instructed people gratis in just, grave, and virtuous manners;\nfor which, being envied by Aristophanes, the vain, comical wit of\nthat age, as one spoiling the trade of plays, and exercising the\ngenerality of the people with more noble and virtuous things,[21]\nwas represented by him in a play, in which he rendered Socrates\nso ridiculous, that the vulgar would rather part with Socrates in\nearnest than Socrates in jest; which made way for their impeaching\nhim as an enemy to their gods; for which they put him to death. But\nin a short space his eighty judges and the whole people so deeply\nresented the loss, that they slew many of his accusers: some hanged\nthemselves; none would trade with them nor answer them a question.\nThey erected several statues to his praise; they forbad his name to\nbe mentioned, that they might forget their injustice: they called\nhome his banished friends and scholars; and by the most wise and\nlearned men of that age it is observed, that famous city Athens was\npunished with the most dreadful plagues that ever raged amongst\nthem, and all Greece with it never prospered in any considerable\nundertaking, but from that time always decayed. Amongst many of his\nsober and religious maxims upon which he was accustomed to discourse\nwith his disciples, these are some:\n\nHe taught everywhere that an upright man and a happy man are all\none. They that do good are employed; they that spend their time in\nrecreations are idle.[22] To do good is the best course of life; he\nonly is idle who might be better employed. A horse is not known by\nhis furniture, but qualities; so men are to be esteemed for virtue,\nnot wealth. Being asked who lived without trouble, he answered,\n\"Those who are conscious to themselves of no evil thing.\"[23] To\none who demanded what was nobility, he answered, \"A good temper and\ndisposition of soul and body. They who know what they ought to do,\nand do it not, are not wise and temperate, but fools and stupid.\" To\none that complained he had not been benefited by his travels, \"Not\nwithout reason,\" says Socrates, \"thou didst travel with thyself:\"\nintimating, he knew not the eternal mind of God to direct and inform\nhim. Being demanded what wisdom was, said, \"A virtuous composure of\nthe soul.\" And being asked who were wise, answered, \"Those that sin\nnot.\" Seeing a young man rich, but ignorant of heavenly things, and\npursuing earthly pleasures; \"Behold,\" says he, \"a golden slave.[24]\nSoft ways of living beget neither a good constitution of body nor\nmind. Fine and rich clothes are only for comedians.\" Being demanded\nfrom what things men and women ought to refrain, he answered,\n\"Pleasure.\" Being asked what continence and temperance were, said,\n\"Government of corporeal desires and pleasures. The wicked live to\neat, &c. but the good eat to live. Temperate persons become the\nmost excellent: eat that which neither hurts the body nor mind, and\nwhich is easy to be gotten.\" One saying it was a great matter to\nabstain from what one desires; \"But,\" says he, \"it is better not to\ndesire at all.\" This is deep religion, even very hard to professed\nChristians. \"It is the property of God to need nothing;[25] and\nthey that need and are contented with least come nearest to God.\nThe only and best way to worship God is to mind and obey whatsoever\nhe commands. That the souls of men and women partake of the divine\nnature: that God is seen of the virtuous mind: that by waiting upon\nhim they are united unto him in an accessible place of purity and\nhappiness; which God he asserted always to be near him.\"\n\n  [20] Plat. Apolog. Diog. Laert. Helvic.; Cic. Tusc. Quest. 1;\n  Xenoph. Brut. Cic. Orat. Liban.\n\n  [21] Apol. Varro. Hist. Schol. Artist.\n\n  [22] Clem. Alex. Strom. ii. 417; Xen. Mem. iii. pp. 720, 778, 779,\n  780. Stob. Ech. Strom. i. 11.\n\n  [23] Stob. iv. 6; Ibid. ii. 18; Xenoph. Mem. 3; Seneca Epist. i.\n  104; Stob. 28; Ibid. 32; Xen. Mem. 1; \u00c6lian. 9; Stob. 37.\n\n  [24] Stob. 37; Ibid. 87; Xen. Mem. 34; \u00c6lian. Ver. Hist. 9.\n\n  [25] Stob. 37; Xen. Mem. iv. 802.; Plat. Ph\u00e6d.\n\nMany more are the excellent sayings of this great man, who was not\nless famous for his sayings than his example, with the greatest\nnations; yet died he a sacrifice to the sottish fury of the vain\nworld. The history of his life reports that his father was told[26]\nhe should have the guide of his life within him, which should\nbe more to him than five hundred masters; which proved true.\nInstructing his scholars herein, charging them not to neglect\nthese divine affairs which chiefly concern man, to mind or inquire\nafter such things as are without in the visible world. He taught\nthe use of outward things[27] only as they were necessary to life\nand commerce; forbidding superfluities and curiosities. He was\nmartyred for his doctrine, after having lived seventy years, the\nmost admired, followed, and visited of all men in his time by kings\nand commonwealths; and than whom antiquity mentions none with\nmore reverence and honour. Well were it for poor England if her\nconceited Christians were true Socrateses; whose strict, just, and\nself-denying life doth not bespeak him more famous than it will\nChristians infamous at the revelation of the righteous judgment,\nwhere heathens' virtue shall aggravate Christians' intemperance; and\ntheir humility, the others' excessive pride: and justly too, since\na greater than Socrates is come, whose name they profess, but they\nwill not obey his law.\n\n  [26] Xen. Mem. i. p. 710.\n\n  [27] Xen. Mem. 4.; Plat. de Legib.\n\nXVII. Plato, that famous philosopher and scholar to Socrates,[28]\nwas so grave and devoted to divine things, nay, so discreetly\npolitic, that in his commonwealth he would not so much as harbour\npoetical fancies, much less upon stages, as being too effeminate,\nand apt to withdraw the minds of youth from more noble, more manly,\nas well as more heavenly exercises. Plato seeing a young man play at\ndice, reproved him sharply; the other answered, \"What, for so small\na matter?\" \"Custom,\" saith Plato, \"is no small thing:[29] let idle\nhours be spent more usefully. Let youth,\" said he, \"take delight\nin good things; for pleasures are the baits of evil. Observe, the\nmomentary sweetness of a delicious life is followed with eternal\nsorrow; the short pain of the contrary, with eternal pleasure.\"\nBeing commanded to put on a purple garment by the king of Sicily,\nhe refused, saying he was a man, and scorned such effeminacies.\nInviting Timothy, the Athenian general to supper, he treated him\nwith herbs, water, and such spare diet as he was accustomed to eat.\nTimothy's friends next day, laughing, asked how he was entertained,\nhe answered,[30] \"Never better in life; for he slept all night after\nhis supper:\" thereby commending his temperance. He addicted himself\nto religious contemplations: and is said to have lived a virtuous\nand single life, always eyeing and obeying the mind, which he\nsometimes called, \"God, the Father of all things;\" affirming, \"Who\nlived so should become like him, and so be related to, and joined\nwith the Divinity itself.\" This same Plato, upon his dying bed,\nsent for his friends about him, and told them the whole world was\nout of the way, in that they understood not, nor regarded the mind,\nassuring them, those men died most comfortably that lived most\nconformably to right reason, and sought and adored the First Cause,\nmeaning God.\n\n  [28] Plato de Rep.\n\n  [29] Diog. Laert. in vit.\n\n  [30] Xen. Crat. Stob. \u00c6lian.\n\nXVIII. Antisthenes, an Athenian philosopher,[31] had taught in the\nstudy of eloquence several years; but upon his hearing Socrates\ntreat of the seriousness of religion, of the divine life, eternal\nrewards, &c. bid all his scholars seek them a new master, for he had\nfound one for himself: wherefore selling his estate, he distributed\nit to the poor, and betook himself wholly to the consideration\nof heavenly things; going cheerfully six miles every day to hear\nSocrates.--But where are the like preachers and converts amongst\nthe people called Christians? Observe the daily pains of Socrates;\nsurely he did not study a week to read a written sermon; we are\nassured of the contrary; for it was frequent with him to preach\nto the people at any time of the day, in the very streets, as\noccasion served, and his good genius moved him. Neither was he a\nhireling, or covetous, for he did it gratis: surely then he had\nnot fat benefices, tithes, glebes, &c. And let the self-denial\nand diligence of Antisthenes be considered, who of a philosopher\nand master became a scholar, and that a daily one; surely, it was\nthen matter of reproach, as it is now; showing thereby both want\nof knowledge, though called a philosopher, and his great desire to\nobtain it of one that could teach him. None of these used to go to\nplays, balls, treats, &c. They found more serious employments for\ntheir minds, and were examples of temperance to the world.--I will\nrepeat some of his grave sentences, as reported by Laertius, and\nothers; namely, \"That those are only noble, who are virtuous.[32]\nThat virtue was self-sufficient to happiness: that it consisteth\nin actions, not requiring many words, nor much learning, and is\nself-sufficient to wisdom: for that all other things have reference\nthereunto. That men should not govern by force, nor by laws, unless\ngood, but by justice.\"[33] To a friend, complaining he had lost his\nnotes, \"Thou shouldst have written them upon thy mind,\" saith he,\n\"and not in a book. Those who would never die, must live justly and\npiously.\"--Being asked what learning was best, \"That,\" saith he,\n\"which unlearneth evil.\"[34] To one that praised a life full of\npleasures and delicacies:[35] \"Let the sons of my enemies,\" saith\nhe, \"live delicately:\" counting it the greatest misery. \"We ought,\"\nsaith he, \"to aim at such pleasures as follow honest labour; and\nnot those which go before it.\"[36] When at any time he saw a woman\nrichly dressed, he would, in a way of reproach, bid her husband\nbring out his horse and arms: meaning, if he were prepared to\njustify the injuries such wantonness used to produce, he might the\nbetter allow those dangerous freedoms: \"Otherwise,\" saith he, \"pluck\noff her rich and gaudy attire.\" He is said to exclaim bitterly\nagainst pleasures; often saying, \"I had rather be mad than addicted\nto pleasure, and spend my days in decking and feeding my carcase.\nThose,\" says he, \"who have once learned the way to temperance\nand virtue, let them not offer to entangle themselves again with\nfruitless stories and vain learning, nor be addicted to corporeal\ndelicacies, which dull the mind, and will divert and hinder them\nfrom the pursuit of those more noble and heavenly virtues.\" Upon\nthe death of his beloved master, Socrates,[37] he instituted a sect\ncalled Cynics, out of whom came the great sect of Stoics; both\nwhich had these common principles, which they daily, with great\nand unwearied diligence, did maintain and instruct people in the\nknowledge of, viz., \"No man is wise and happy but the good and\nvirtuous man.[38] That not much learning nor study of many things\nwas necessary. That a wise man is never drunk nor mad: that he never\nsinneth; that a wise man is void of passion: that he is sincere,\nreligious, grave: that he only is divine. That such only are priests\nand prophets that have God in themselves. And that his law is\nimprinted in their minds, and the minds of all men:[39] that such\nan one only can pray who is innocent, meek, temperate, ingenuous,\nnoble, a good magistrate, father, son, master, servant, and worthy\nof praise.\" On the contrary, \"that wicked men can be none of these:\nthat the same belongs to men and women.\"\n\n  [31] Laert. vit. Socr. \u00c6lian.\n\n  [32] Laert.\n\n  [33] Stob.\n\n  [34] Stob. 177.\n\n  [35] Diog. Laert.\n\n  [36] Agel. lib. c. 5.\n\n  [37] Laert. vit. Mem.\n\n  [38] Laert. Plut. de Rep. Stoi. Cic. de aut. Deo, lib. ii.\n\n  [39] Lactant. de Ira Dei, cap. 10.\n\nTheir diet was slender, their food only what would satisfy\nnature.[40] Their garments exceeding mean. Their habitations\nsolitary and homely. They affirmed, those who lived with fewest\nthings and were contented, most nearly approached God, who wants\nnothing. They voluntarily despised riches, glory, and nobility, as\nfoolish shows and vain fictions, that had no true and solid worth\nor happiness in them. They made all things to be good and evil, and\nflatly denied the idle stories of fortune and chance.\n\n  [40] Plat. Pl. Ph. 16. Cic. Tul. Quest. 4. Diog. Laert. vit. Mem.\n  Stob.\n\nCertainly these were they who, having no external law, became a\nlaw unto themselves, and did not abuse the knowledge they had of\nthe invisible God, but to their capacities instructed men in the\nknowledge of that righteous, serious, solid, and heavenly principle\nwhich leads to true and everlasting happiness all those that embrace\nit.\n\nXIX. Xenocrates refused Alexander's present,[41] yet treated his\nambassadors after his temperate and spare manner, saying, \"You see I\nhave no need of your master's bounty, that am so well pleased with\nthis.\" He would say, \"that one ought not to carry one's eyes or\none's hands into another man's house:\" that is, to be a busy-body.\nThat one ought to be most circumspect of one's actions before\nchildren, lest by example one's faults should outlive one's self.\nHe said pride was the greatest obstruction to true knowledge. His\nchastity and integrity were remarkable and reverenced in Athens:\nPhryne, the famous Athenian courtezan, could not place a temptation\nupon him, nor Philip, king of Macedon, a bribe, though the rest sent\nin the embassy were corrupted. And being once brought for a witness,\nthe judges rose up, and cried out, \"Tender no oath to Xenocrates,\nfor he will speak the truth.\" A respect they did not allow to one\nanother. Holding his peace at some detracting discourse, they\nasked him why he spoke not: \"Because,\" saith he, \"I have sometimes\nrepented of speaking, but never of holding my peace.\"\n\n  [41] Laert. Val. Max. 4, 3, 2, 16. Cic. Pro. Fal. Val. Max. 7, 2.\n\nXX. Bion would say, that great men walk in slippery places: that\nit is a great mischief not to bear affliction; that ungodliness is\nan enemy to assurance. He said to a covetous man, that he did not\npossess his wealth, but his wealth possessed him; abstaining from\nusing it, as if it were another man's. In fine, that men ought to\npursue a course of virtue, without regard to the praise or reproach\nof men.\n\nXXI. Demonax seeing the great care that men had of their bodies,\nmore than of their minds; \"They deck the house,\" saith he, \"but\nslight the master.\" He would say, that many are inquisitive after\nthe make of the world, but are little concerned about their own,\nwhich were a science much more worthy of their pains. To a city that\nwould establish the gladiators, or prize-fighters, he said, that\nthey ought first to overthrow the altar of mercy; intimating the\ncruelty of such practices. One asking him why he turned philosopher;\n\"Because,\" saith he, \"I am a man.\" He would say of the priests of\nGreece, if they could better instruct the people, they could not\ngive them too much; but if not, the people could not give them too\nlittle. He lamented the unprofitableness of good laws, by being in\nbad men's hands.\n\nXXII. Diogenes was angry with critics that were nice of words\nand not of their own actions; with musicians, that tune their\ninstruments but could not govern their passions; with astrologers,\nthat have their eyes in the sky, and look not at their own goings;\nwith orators, that study to speak well but not to do well; with\ncovetous men, that take care to get but never use their estates;\nwith those philosophers that despise greatness, and yet court great\nmen; and with those that sacrifice for health, and yet surfeit\nthemselves with eating their sacrifices. One time, discoursing of\nthe nature, pleasure, and reward of virtue, and the people not\nregarding what he said, he fell a singing, at which every one\npressed to hear; whereupon he cried out, in abhorrence of their\nstupidity, \"O God, how much more is the world in love with folly\nthan with wisdom!\" Seeing a man sprinkling himself with water\nafter having done some ill thing, \"Unhappy man,\" saith he, \"dost\nthou not know that the errors of life are not to be washed away\nwith water?\" To one who said, \"Life is an ill thing;\" he answered,\n\"Life is not an ill thing, but an ill life is an ill thing.\" He was\nvery temperate, for his bed and his table he found everywhere. One\nseeing him wash herbs, said, \"If thou hadst followed Dionysius,\nking of Sicily, thou wouldst not have needed to have washed herbs;\"\nhe answered, \"If thou hadst washed herbs, thou needest not to have\nfollowed Dionysius.\" He lighted a candle at noon, saying, \"I look\nfor a man;\" implying that the world was darkened by vice, and men\neffeminated. To a luxurious person, that had wasted his means,\nsupping upon olives; \"If,\" saith he, \"thou hadst used to dine so,\nthou wouldst not have needed to sup so.\" To a young man, dressing\nhimself neatly; \"If this,\" saith he, \"be for the sake of men, thou\nart unhappy; if for women, thou art unjust.\" Another time, seeing\nan effeminate young man; \"Art thou not ashamed,\" saith he, \"to use\nthyself worse than nature hath made thee? She hath made thee a man,\nbut thou wilt force thyself to be a woman.\" To one that courted a\nbad woman; \"O wretch!\" said he, \"what meanest thou to ask for that\nwhich is better lost than found?\" To one that smelled of sweet\nunguents, \"Have a care,\" saith he, \"that this perfume make not thy\nlife stink.\" He compared covetous men to such as have the dropsy;\nthose are full of money, yet desire more; these of water, yet thirst\nfor more. Being asked what beasts were the worst; \"In the field,\"\nsaith he, \"bears and lions; in the city, usurers and flatterers.\"\nAt a feast, one giving him a great cup of wine, he threw it away:\nfor which being blamed, \"If I had drunk it,\" saith he, \"not only the\nwine would have been lost, but I also.\" One asking him how he might\norder himself best, he said, \"By reproving those things in thyself\nwhich thou blamest in others.\" Another demanding what was the\nhardest, he answered, \"To know ourselves; to whom we are partial.\"\nAn astrologer discoursing to the people of the wandering stars;\n\"No,\" saith he, \"it is not the stars, but these,\" pointing to the\npeople that heard him. Being asked what men are most noble; \"They,\"\nsaith he, \"who contemn wealth, honour, and pleasure, and endure the\ncontraries, to wit, poverty, scorn, pain, and death.\" To a wicked\nman, reproaching him for his poverty; \"I never knew,\" saith he, \"a\nman punished for his poverty, but many for their wickedness.\" To one\nbewailing himself that he should not die in his own country; \"Be of\ncomfort,\" saith he, \"for the way to heaven is alike in every place.\"\nOne day he went backwards; whereat the people laughing, \"Are you\nnot ashamed,\" saith he, \"to do that all your lifetime, which you\nderide in me?\"\n\nXXIII. Crates, a Theban, famous for his self-denial and virtue,\ndescended from the house of Alexander, of great estate, at least two\nhundred talents, which having mostly distributed amongst the poor\ncitizens, he became a constant professor of the Cynic philosophy.\nHe exceedingly inveighed against common women. Seeing at Delphos\na golden image, that Phryne, the courtezan, had set up by the\ngains of her trade, he cried out, \"This is a trophy of the Greeks'\nintemperance.\" Seeing a young man highly fed and fat: \"Unhappy\nyouth,\" said he, \"do not fortify thy prison.\" To another, followed\nby a great many parasites; \"Young man,\" saith he, \"I am sorry to\nsee thee so much alone.\" Walking one day upon the Exchange, where\nhe beheld people mighty busy after their divers callings; \"These\npeople,\" saith he, \"think themselves happy; but I am happy that have\nnothing to do with them; for I place my happiness in poverty, not in\nriches. Oh! men do not know how much a wallet, a measure of lupins,\nwith security, is worth.\" Of his wife, Hipparchia, a woman of wealth\nand extraction, but nobler for her love to true philosophy, and how\nthey came together, there will be occasion to make mention in its\nplace.\n\nXXIV. Aristotle, a scholar to Plato,[42] and the oracle of\nphilosophy to these very times, though not so divinely contemplative\nas his master, nevertheless follows him in this, \"That luxury should\nby good discipline be exiled human societies.\"[43] Aristotle seeing\na youth finely dressed, said, \"Art thou not ashamed, when nature\nhath made thee a man, to make thyself a woman?\"[44] And to another,\ngazing on his fine cloak; \"Why dost thou boast thyself of a sheep's\nfleece?\" He said it was the duty of a good man to live so under laws\nas he should do if there were none.\n\n  [42] Stob. Strom. 45.\n\n  [43] Stob. 161.\n\n  [44] Ibid. 46.\n\nXXV. Mandanis, a great and famous philosopher of the Gymnosophists,\nwhom Alexander the Great required to come to the feast of Jupiter's\nson, (meaning himself,) declaring, that if he came he should be\nrewarded, if not, he should be put to death; the philosopher\ncontemned his message as vain and sordid: he first told them, that\nhe denied him to be Jupiter's son; a mere fiction. Next, that as for\nhis gifts, he esteemed them nothing worth; his own country could\nfurnish him with necessaries; beyond which he coveted nothing. And\nlastly, as for the death he threatened, he did not fear it; but of\nthe two, he wished it rather, \"In that,\" saith he, \"I am sure it is\na change to a more blessed and happy state.\"\n\nXXVI. Zeno, the great Stoic,[45] and author of that philosophy, had\nmany things admirable in him; who not only said, but practised.\nHe was a man of that integrity, and so reverenced for it by the\nAthenians, that they deposited the keys of the city in his hands,\nas the only person fit to be entrusted with their liberties; yet\nby birth a stranger, being of Citium in Cyprus. Antigonus, king of\nMacedonia, had a great respect for him, and desired his company, as\nthe following letter expresseth:\n\n\"King Antigonus to Zeno the philosopher, health: I think that I\nexceed thee in fortune and glory; but in learning and discipline,\nand that perfect felicity which thou hast attained, I am exceeded\nby thee; wherefore I thought it expedient to write to thee, that\nthou wilt come to me, assuring myself thou wilt not deny it. Use all\nmeans therefore to come to us, and know, thou art not to instruct\nme only, but all the Macedonians; for he who teacheth the king\nof Macedonia, and guideth him to virtue, it is evident that he\ndoth likewise instruct all his subjects in virtue; for such as is\nthe prince, such for the most part are those who live under his\ngovernment.\"\n\n  [45] Stob. Laert.\n\nZeno answered thus: \"To king Antigonus, Zeno wisheth health: I\nmuch esteem thy earnest desire of learning, in that thou aimest\nat philosophy; not popular, which perverteth manners, but that\ntrue discipline which conferreth profit; avoiding that generally\ncommended pleasure, which effeminates the souls of men. It is\nmanifest that thou art inclined to generous things, not only by\nnature but by choice; with indifferent exercise and assistance, thou\nmayest easily attain to virtue. But I am very infirm of body, being\nfourscore years of age, and so not well able to come; yet I will\nsend thee some of my chief disciples, who in those things concerning\nthe soul, are nothing inferior to me; and whose instructions, if\nthou wilt follow them, will conduct thee to perfect blessedness.\"\n\nThus Zeno refused Antigonus, but sent Pers\u00e6us, his countryman, and\nPhilonides, a Theban. He would say, that nothing was more unseemly\nthan pride, especially in youth, which was a time of learning. He\ntherefore recommended to young men modesty in three things; in their\nwalking, in their behaviour, and in their apparel: often repeating\nthose verses of Euripides, in honour of Capaneus:\n\n    \"He was not puff'd up with his store,\n     Nor thought himself above the poor.\"\n\nSeeing a man very finely dressed, stepping lightly over a kennel:\n\"That man,\" saith he, \"doth not care for the dirt, because he\ncould not see his face in it.\" He also taught, that people should\nnot affect delicacy of diet, no, not in their sickness. To one\nthat smelt with unguents; \"Who is it,\" saith he, \"that smells so\neffeminately?\" Seeing a friend of his taken too much up with the\nbusiness of his land; \"Unless thou lose thy land,\" saith he, \"thy\nland will lose thee.\" Being demanded, whether a man that doth wrong\nmay conceal it from God: \"No,\" saith he, \"nor yet he who thinks it;\"\nwhich testifies to the omnipresence of God. Being asked, who was his\nbest friend, he answered: \"My other self;\" intimating the divine\npart that was in him. He would say, the end of man was not to live,\neat, and drink; but to use his life so as to obtain a happy life\nhereafter. He was so humble that he conversed with mean and ragged\npersons: whence Timon thus:\n\n    \"And for companions, gets of servants store,\n     Of all men the most empty and most poor.\"\n\nHe was patient, and frugal in his household expenses; Laertius\nsaith, he had but one servant; Seneca avers he had none. He was mean\nin his clothes: in his diet, by Philemon thus described:\n\n    \"He water drinks, then broth and herbs doth eat;\n     Teaching his scholars, almost without meat.\"\n\nHis chastity was so eminent, that it became a proverb; \"As chaste as\nZeno.\" When the news of his death came to Antigonus, he broke forth\ninto these words, \"What an object have I lost!\" And being asked, why\nhe admired him so much? \"Because,\" saith he, \"though I bestowed many\ngreat things upon him, he was never therewith exalted nor dejected.\"\nThe Athenians, after his death, by a public decree, erected a statue\nto his memorial; it runs thus: \"Whereas Zeno, the son of Mnaseas,\na Cittian, has professed philosophy about fifty-eight years in\nthis city, and in all things performed the office of a good man,\nencouraging those young men who applied themselves to him, to the\nlove of virtue and temperance, leading himself a life suitable to\nthe doctrine which he professed; a pattern to the best to imitate:\nthe people have thought fit to do honour to Zeno, and to crown him\nwith a crown of gold, according to law, in regard of his virtue and\ntemperance, and to build a tomb for him, publicly, in the Ceramick,\n&c.\" These two were his epitaphs, one by Antipater:\n\n    \"Here Zeno lies, who tall Olympus scal'd;\n     Not heaping Pelion on Ossa's head;\n     Nor by Herculean labours so prevailed;\n     But found out virtue's paths, which thither led.\"\n\nThe other by Xenodotus, the Stoic, thus:\n\n    \"Zeno, thy years to hoary age were spent,\n     Not with vain riches, but with self-content.\"\n\nXXVII. Seneca, a great and excellent philosopher, who with Epictetus\nshall conclude the testimonies of the men of their character, hath\nso much to our purpose that his works are but a kind of continued\nevidence for us: he saith, \"Nature was not so much an enemy, as\nto give an easy passage of life to all other creatures, and that\nman alone should not live without so many arts; she hath commanded\nus none of these things. We have made all things difficult to us,\nby disdaining things that are easy: houses, clothes, meats, and\nnourishment of bodies, and those things which are now the care of\nlife, were easy to come by, freely gotten, and prepared with a\nlight labour: for the measure of these things was necessity, not\nvoluptuousness: but we have made them pernicious and admirable: they\nmust be sought with art and skill. Nature sufficeth to that which\nshe requireth.\n\n\"Appetite hath revolted from nature, which continually inciteth\nitself, and increaseth with the ages, helping vice by wit. First\nit began to desire superfluous, then contrary things: last of all,\nit sold the mind to the body, and commanded it to serve the lusts\nthereof. All these arts, wherewith the city is continually set at\nwork, and maketh such a stir, do center in the affairs of the body,\nto which all things were once performed as to a servant, but now are\nprovided as for a lord: hence the shops of engravers, perfumers, &c.\nHence, of those that teach effeminate motions of the body, and vain\nand wanton songs: for natural behaviour is despised, which completed\ndesires with necessary help; now it is clownishness and ill-breeding\nto be contented with as much as is requisite. What shall I speak\nof rich marbles curiously wrought, wherewith temples and houses do\nshine? What of stately galleries and rich furniture? these are but\nthe devices of most vile slaves; the inventions of men, not of wise\nmen: for wisdom sits deeper; it is the mistress of the mind. Wilt\nthou know what things she hath found out, what she hath made? Not\nunseemly motions of the body, nor variable singing by trumpet or\nflute; nor yet weapons of wars, or fortifications: she endeavoureth\nprofitable things; she favours peace, and calls all mankind to\nagreement: she leadeth to a blessed estate; she openeth the way to\nit, and shows what is evil from what is good, and chaseth vanity out\nof the mind. She giveth solid greatness, but debaseth that which is\npuffed up, and would be seen of men: she bringeth forth the image\nof God to be seen in the souls of men: and so from corporeal, she\ntranslateth into incorporeal things.\" Thus in the 90th epistle to\nLuculius. To Gallio, he writeth thus: \"All men, brother Gallio, are\ndesirous to live happy, yet blind to the means of that blessedness.\nAs long as we wander hither and thither, and follow not our guide,\nbut the dissonant clamour of those that call on us to undertake\ndifferent ways, our short life is wearied and worn away amongst\nerrors, although we labour to get us a good mind: there is nothing\ntherefore to be more avoided, than following the multitude without\nexamination, and believing anything without judging. Let us inquire,\nwhat is best done, not what is more usually done; and what planted\nus in the possession of eternal felicity; not what is ordinarily\nallowed of by the multitude, which is the worst interpreter of\ntruth. I call the multitude, as well those that are clothed in\nwhite, as those in other colours: for I examine not the colours\nof the garments, wherewith their bodies are clothed: I trust not\nmine eyes to inform me what a man is; I have a better and truer\nlight, whereby I can distinguish truth from falsehood. Let the\nsoul find out the good of the soul; if once she may have leisure\nto withdraw into herself, Oh! how will she confess, I wish all I\nhave done were undone; and all I have said, when I recollect it, I\nam ashamed of it, when I now hear the like in others. These things\nbelow, whereat we gaze, and whereat we stay, and which one man with\nadmiration shows unto another, do outwardly shine, but are inwardly\nempty. Let us seek out somewhat that is good, not in appearance,\nbut solid, united, and best, in that which least appears: let us\ndiscover this. Neither is it far from us: we shall find it if we\nseek it. For it is wisdom not to wander from that immortal nature,\nbut to form ourselves according to his law and example. Blessed is\nthe man who judgeth rightly: blessed is he who is contented with\nhis present condition: and blessed is he who giveth ear to that\nimmortal principle, in the government of his life.\" A whole volume\nof these excellent things hath he written. No wonder a man of his\ndoctrine and life escaped not the cruelty of brutish Nero, under\nwhom he suffered death; as also did the apostle Paul, with whom,\nit is said Seneca had conversed. When Nero's messenger brought\nhim the news, that he was to die; with a composed and undaunted\ncountenance he received the errand, and presently called for pen,\nink, and paper, to write his last will and testament; which the\ncaptain refusing, he turned towards his friends, and took his leave\nthus: \"Since, my loving friends, I cannot bequeath you any other\nthing in acknowledgment of what I owe you, I leave you at least the\nrichest and best portion I have, that is the image of my manners\nand life, which doing, you will obtain true happiness.\" His friends\nshowing great trouble for the loss of him; \"Where,\" saith he, \"are\nthose memorable precepts of philosophy? And what is become of those\nprovisions, which for so many years together we have laid up against\nthe brunts and afflictions of Providence? Was Nero's cruelty unknown\nto us? What could we expect better at his hands, that killed his\nbrother and murdered his mother, but that he would put also his\ntutor and governor to death?\" Then turning to his wife Pompeia\nPaulina, a Roman lady, young and noble, besought her for the love\nshe bore him and his philosophy, to suffer patiently his affliction:\n\"For,\" saith he, \"my hour is come wherein I must show, not only by\ndiscourse but by death, the fruit I have reaped by my meditations;\nI embrace it without grief, wherefore do not dishonour it with thy\ntears. Assuage thy sorrow, and comfort thyself in the knowledge thou\nhast had of me, and of my actions; and lead the rest of thy life\nwith that honest industry thou hast addicted thyself unto.\" And\ndedicating his life to God, he expired.\n\nXXVIII. Epictetus, contemporary with Seneca, and an excellent man,\nthought no man worthy of the profession of philosophy, that was\nnot purified from the errors of his nature. His morals were very\nexcellent, which he comprised under these two words, _sustaining_,\nand _abstaining_; or _bearing_, and _forbearing_; to avoid evil,\nand patiently to suffer afflictions, which do certainly comprise\nthe christian doctrine and life, and is the perfection of the\nbest philosophy that was at any time taught by Egyptians, Greeks,\nor Romans, when it signified virtue, self-denial, and a life of\nreligious solitude and contemplation.\n\nHow little the Christians of the times are true philosophers, and\nhow much more these philosophers were Christians, than they, let\nthe righteous principle in every conscience judge. But is it not\nthen intolerable, that they should be esteemed Christians, who are\nyet to learn to be good Heathens? That prate of grace and nature,\nand know neither? Who will presume to determine what is become of\nHeathens, and know not where they are themselves, nor mind what may\nbecome of them? That can run readily over a tedious list of famous\npersonages, and calumniate such as will not, with them, celebrate\ntheir memories with extravagant and superfluous praises, whilst\nthey make it laudable to act the contrary: and none so ready a\nway to become vile, as not to be vicious? A strange paradox, but\ntoo true; so blind, so stupified, so besotted, are the foolish\nsensualists of the world, under their great pretences to religion,\nfaith, and worship. Ah! did they but know the peace, the joy,\nthe unspeakable ravishments of soul, that inseparably attend the\ninnocent, harmless, still, and retired life of Jesus? Did they but\nweigh within themselves, the authors of their vain delights and\npastimes, the nature and disposition they are so grateful to, the\ndangerous consequence of exercising the mind and its affections\nbelow, and arresting and taking them up from their due attendance\nand obedience to the most holy voice crying in their consciences,\n\"Repent, return, all is vanity, and vexation of spirit:\" were but\nthese things reflected upon; were the incessant wooings of Jesus,\nand his importunate knocks and entreaties, by his light and grace,\nat the door of their hearts, but kindly answered, and He admitted\nto take up his abode there: and lastly, were such resolved to give\nup to the instructions and holy guidance of his eternal Spirit, in\nall the humble, heavenly, and righteous conversation it requires,\nand of which He is become our Captain and example; then, O then,\nboth root and branch of vanity, the nature that invented, and that\nwhich delights herself therein, with all the follies themselves,\nwould be consumed and vanish. But they, alas! cheat themselves by\nmisconstrued Scriptures, and daub with the untempered mortar of\nmisapplied promises. They will be saints whilst they are sinners;\nand in Christ, whilst in the spirit of the world, walking after\nthe flesh, and not after the Spirit, by which the true children of\nGod are led. My friends, mind the just witness and holy principle\nin yourselves, that you may experimentally know more of the Divine\nlife, in which, and not in a multitude of vain repetitions, true and\nsolid felicity eternally consists.\n\nIV. _Nor is this reputation, wisdom, and virtue, only to be\nattributed to men: there were women also in the Greek and Roman\nages, that honoured their sex, by great examples of meekness,\nprudence, and chastity; and which I do the rather mention, that\nthe honour, story yields to their virtuous conduct, may raise an\nallowable emulation in those of their own sex, at least, to equal\nthe noble character given them by antiquity, viz._\n\n     1. Penelope.--2. Hipparchia.--3. Cornelia.--4. Pompeia\n     Plautina.--5. Plotina.--6. A reproof to voluptuous women of the\n     times.\n\nI. Penelope, wife to Ulysses, a woman eminent for her beauty and\nquality, but more for her singular chastity. Her husband was absent\nfrom her twenty years, partly in the service of his country, and\npartly in exile; and being believed to be dead, she was earnestly\nsought by divers lovers, and pressed by her parents to change her\ncondition; but all the importunities of the one, or persuasions\nof the other, not prevailing, her lovers seemed to use a kind of\nviolence, that where they could not entice, they would compel: to\nwhich she yielded, upon this condition, that they would not press\nher to marry, till she had ended the work she had in hand: which\nthey granting, \"she undid by night what she wrought by day;\" and\nwith that honest device she delayed their desire, till her husband\nreturned, whom she received, though in beggar's clothes, with a\nheart full of love and truth. A constancy that reproaches too\nmany of the women of the times. Her work shows the industry and\nemployment, even of the women of great quality in those times;\nwhilst those of the present age despise such honest labour as mean\nand mechanical.\n\nII. Hipparchia, a fair Macedonian virgin, noble of blood, as they\nterm it, but more truly noble of mind, I cannot omit to mention:\nwho entertained so earnest an affection for Crates, the Cynical\nphilosopher, as well for his severe life as excellent discourse,\nthat by no means could her relations, nor suitors, by all their\nwealth, nobility, and beauty, dissuade her from being his companion.\nUpon which strange resolution, they all betook themselves to Crates,\nbeseeching him to show himself a true philosopher, in persuading\nher to desist: which he strongly endeavoured by many arguments; but\nnot prevailing, went his way, and brought all the little furniture\nof his house, and showed her: \"This,\" saith he, \"is thy husband;\nthat, the furniture of thy house: consider on it, for thou canst not\nbe mine, unless thou followest the same course of life:\" for being\nrich above twenty talents, which is more than \u00a350,000, he neglected\nall to follow a retired life: all which had so contrary an effect,\nthat she immediately went to him, before them all, and said, \"I\nseek not the pomp and effeminacy of this world, but knowledge and\nvirtue, Crates; and choose a life of temperance, before a life of\ndelicacies; for true satisfaction, thou knowest, is in the mind;\nand that pleasure is only worth seeking, that lasts for ever.\"\nThus was it she became the constant companion both of his love and\nlife, his friendship and his virtues; travelling with him from\nplace to place, and performing the public exercises of instruction\nwith Crates, wherever they came. She was a most violent enemy to\nall impiety, but especially to wanton men and women, and those\nwhose garb and conversation showed them devoted to vain pleasures\nand pastimes; effeminacy rendering the like persons not only\nunprofitable, but pernicious to the whole world. Which she as well\nmade good by the example of her exceeding industry, temperance, and\nseverity, as those are wont to do by their intemperance and folly:\nfor ruin of health, estates, virtue, and loss of eternal happiness,\nhave ever attended, and ever will attend, such earthly minds.\n\nIII. Cornelia, also a noble Roman matron, and sister to Scipio, was\nesteemed the most famous and honourable personage of her time, not\nmore for the greatness of her birth, than her exceeding temperance.\nAnd history particularly mentions this, as one great instance of her\nvirtue, for which she was so much admired, to wit, that she never\nwas accustomed to wear rich apparel, but such apparel as was very\nplain and grave; rather making her children, whom her instructions\nand example had made virtuous, her greatest ornament: a good pattern\nfor the vain and wanton dames of the age.\n\nIV. Pompeia Plautina, wife to Julianus the emperor, commended for\nher compassion to the poor, used the power her virtue had given her\nwith her husband, to put him upon all the just and tender things\nthat became his charge, and to dissuade him from whatsoever seemed\nharsh to the people: particularly she diverted him from a great tax\nhis flatterers advised him to lay upon the people.\n\nV. Plotina, the wife of Trajan, \"a woman,\" saith a certain author,\n\"adorned with piety, chastity, and all the virtues that a woman is\ncapable of.\" There are two instances; one of her piety, the other\nof her chastity; the first is this: when her husband was proclaimed\nemperor, she mounted the capitol after the choice, where, in a\nreligious manner, she said, \"Oh, that I may live under all this\nhonour, with the same virtue and content, that I enjoyed before I\nhad it.\" The second is this: her husband being once exiled, she\ncaused her hair to be cut short, as the men wore it, that with less\nnotice and danger she might be the companion of his banishment.\n\nVI. Thus may the voluptuous women of the times read their reproof in\nthe character of a brave Heathen, and learn, that solid happiness\nconsists in a neglect of wealth and greatness, and a contempt of all\ncorporeal pleasures, as more befitting beasts than immortal spirits:\nand which are loved by none but such, as not knowing the excellency\nof heavenly things, are both inventing and delighting, like brutes,\nin that which perisheth: giving the preference to poor mortality,\nand spending their lives to gratify the lusts of a little dirty\nflesh and blood, that shall never enter into the kingdom of heaven;\nby all which their minds become darkened, and so insensible of more\ncelestial glories, that they do not only refuse to inquire after\nthem, but infamously scoff and despise those that do, as a foolish\nand mad people: to that strange degree of darkness and impudence\nthis age has got. But if the exceeding temperance, chastity, virtue,\nindustry, and contentedness of very Heathens, with the plain and\nnecessary enjoyments God has been pleased to vouchsafe to the sons\nand daughters of men, as sufficient to their wants and conveniency,\nthat they may be the more at leisure to answer the great end of\ntheir being born, will not suffice, but that they will exceed the\nbounds, precepts, and examples, both of Heathens and Christians;\nanguish and tribulation will overtake them, when they shall have an\neternity to think upon, with gnashing teeth, what to all eternity\nthey can never remedy; these dismal wages are decreed for them, who\nso far affront God, heaven, and eternal felicity, as to neglect\ntheir salvation from sin here and wrath to come, for the enjoyment\nof a few fading pleasures. For such to think, notwithstanding their\nlives of sense and pleasure, wherein their minds become slaves to\ntheir bodies, that they shall be everlastingly happy, is an addition\nto their evils: since it is a great abuse to the holy God, that men\nand women should believe Him an eternal companion for their carnal\nand sensual minds: for \"As the tree falls, so it lies; and as death\nleaves men, judgment finds them;\" and there is no repentance in the\ngrave. Therefore, I beseech you, to whom this comes, to retire:\nwithdraw a while: let not the body see all, taste all, enjoy all;\nbut let the soul see too, taste and enjoy those heavenly comforts\nand refreshments proper to that eternal world, of which she is an\ninhabitant, and where she must ever abide in a state of peace or\nplagues, when this visible one shall be dissolved.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XX.\n\n     _The doctrine and practice of the blessed Lord Jesus, and his\n     Apostles; the primitive Christians, and those of more modern\n     times, in favour of this discourse._\n\n     1. The Doctrine of Christ, from Mat. v. about denial of\n     self.--2. John the Baptist's example.--3. The testimonies of\n     the apostle Peter, &c.--4. Paul's godly exhortation against\n     pride, covetousness, and luxury.--5. The primitive Christians'\n     nonconformity to the world.--6. Clemens Romanus against\n     the vanity of the Gentiles.--7. Machiavel, of the zeal of\n     the primitive Christians.--8. Tertullian, Chrysostom, &c.\n     on Mat. xii. 36.--9. Gregory Nazianzen.--10. Ambrose.--11.\n     Augustine.--12. Council of Carthage.--13. Cardan.--14.\n     Gratian.--15. Waldenses.--16. What they understood by daily\n     bread in the Lord's Prayer.--17. Their judgment concerning\n     taverns.--18. Dancing, Music, &c.--19. An epistle of Bartholomew\n     Tertian to the Waldensian churches, &c.--20. Their extreme\n     suffering and faithfulness. Their degeneracy reproved, that call\n     them their ancestors.--21. Paulinus, Bishop of Nola, relieving\n     slaves and prisoners.--22. Acacius, Bishop of Amida, his charity\n     to enemies.\n\n\nHaving abundantly shown how much the doctrine and the conversation\nof the virtuous Gentiles condemn the pride, avarice, and luxury of\nthe professed Christians of the times; I shall, in the next place,\nto discharge my engagement, and farther fortify this discourse,\npresent my reader with the judgment and practice of the most\nchristian times; as also of eminent writers, both ancient and\nmodern. I shall begin with the blessed Author of that religion.\n\nI. Jesus Christ, in whose mouth there was found no guile, sent from\nGod, with a testimony of love to mankind, and who laid down his\nlife for their salvation; whom God hath raised by his mighty power\nto be Lord of all, is of right to be first heard in this matter;\nfor never man spake like him to our point; shot, clear, and close;\nand all opposite to the way of this wicked world. \"Blessed,\" says\nhe, \"are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God:\"\n(Mat. v.:) He doth not say, blessed are the proud, the rich, the\nhigh-minded: here is humility and the fear of the Lord blest.\n\"Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted:\" He doth\nnot say, blessed are the feasters, dancers, and revellers of the\nworld, whose life is swallowed up of pleasure and jollity: no; as\nHe was a man of sorrows, so He blest the godly sorrowful. \"Blessed\nare the meek, for they shall inherit the earth:\" He doth not say,\nblessed are the ambitious, the angry, and those that are puffed up:\nHe makes not the earth a blessing to them: and though they get it\nby conquest and rapine, it will at last fall into the hands of the\nweak to inherit. Again, \"Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst\nafter righteousness:\" but no blessing to the hunger and thirst of\nthe luxurious man. \"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain\nmercy:\" He draws men to tenderness and forgiveness by reward. Hast\nthou one in thy power that hath wronged thee? Be not rigorous; exact\nnot the utmost farthing; be merciful, and pity the afflicted, for\nsuch are blessed. Yet further, \"Blessed are the pure in heart, for\nthey shall see God.\" He doth not say, blessed are the proud, the\ncovetous, the unclean, the voluptuous, the malicious: no; such shall\nnever see God. Again, \"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall\nbe called the children of God.\" He doth not say, blessed are the\ncontentious, back-biters, tale-bearers, brawlers, fighters, makers\nof war; neither shall they be called the children of God, whatever\nthey may call themselves. Lastly, \"Blessed are ye when men shall\nrevile you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against\nyou, falsely for my sake: rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great\nis your reward in heaven.\" He blesseth the troubles of his people,\nand translates earthly sufferings into heavenly rewards. He doth not\nsay, blessed are you when the world speaks well of you, and fawns\nupon you: so that his blessings cross the world's. For the world\nblesseth those as happy, that have the world's favour; He blesseth\nthose as happy that have the world's frowns. This solveth the great\nobjection, Why are you so foolish to expose yourselves to the law,\nto incur the displeasure of magistrates, and suffer the loss of\nyour estates and liberties? Cannot a man serve God in his heart,\nand do as others do? Are you wiser than your forefathers? Call to\nmind your ancestors. Will you question their salvation by your\nnovelties, and forget the future good of your wife and children,\nas well as sacrifice the present comforts of your life, to hold up\nthe credit of a party? A language I have more than once heard: I\nsay, this doctrine of Christ is an answer and antidote against the\npower of this objection. He teaches us to embrace truth under all\nthose scandals. The Jews had more to say of this kind than any,\nwhose way had a more extraordinary institution; but Christ minds\nnot either institution or succession. He was a new man, and came to\nconsecrate a new way, and that in the will of God; and the power\nthat accompanied his ministry, and that of his followers, abundantly\nproved the Divine authority of his mission, who thereby warns his to\nexpect and to bear contradiction, reviling, and persecution: for if\nthey did it to the green tree, much more were they to expect that\nthey would do it to the dry; if to the Lord, then to the servant.\n\nWhy then should Christians fear that reproach and tribulation, that\nare the companions of his religion, since they work to his sincere\nfollowers a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory? But\nindeed they have great cause to fear and be ashamed, who are the\nauthors of such reproach and suffering, so contrary to the meek\nand merciful spirit of Christ: for if they are blessed, who are\nreviled and persecuted for his sake, the revilers and persecutors\nmust be cursed. But this is not all: He bids his disciples follow\nHim, learn of Him, for He was meek and lowly: He taught them to\nbear injuries, and not smite again; to exceed in kindness: to go\ntwo miles when asked to go one; to part with cloak and coat too;\nto give to them that ask, and to lend to them that would borrow;\nto forgive, aye, and love enemies too; commanding them, saying,\n\"Bless them that curse you; do good to them that hate you; and pray\nfor them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.\" (Mat. v.)\nUrging them with a most sensible demonstration, \"That,\" saith He,\n\"ye may be the children of your Father, which is in heaven: for He\nmaketh his sun to rise upon the good and the evil, and his rain to\ndescend upon the just and the unjust. He also taught his disciples\nto believe and rely upon God's providence, from the care that He\nhad over the least of his creatures: \"Therefore,\" saith He, \"I say\nunto you, take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, and what\nye shall drink, nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on: is\nnot the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the\nfowls of the air, for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather\ninto barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them; are ye not much\nbetter than they? Which of you, by taking thought, can add one cubit\nunto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the\nlilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they\nspin: and yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory\nwas not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the\ngrass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into\nthe oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?\nTherefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat, or what shall\nwe drink, or wherewithal shall we be clothed? For after all these\nthings do the Gentiles seek, for your heavenly Father knoweth that\nye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of\nGod, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added\nunto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow\nshall take thought for the things of itself: sufficient unto the\nday is the evil thereof.\" (Mat. vi.) Oh! how plain, how sweet, how\nfull, yet how brief are his blessed sentences! They thereby show\nfrom whence they came, and that Divinity itself spoke them: what\nare laboured, what are forced and scattered in the best of other\nwriters, and not all neither, is here comprised after a natural,\neasy, and conspicuous manner. He sets nature above art, and trust\nabove care. This is He that himself came poor into the world, and so\nlived in it: He lay in a manger, conversed with mechanics; fasted\nmuch, retired often: and when He feasted, it was with barley loaves\nand fish, dressed doubtless in an easy and homely manner. He was\nsolitary in his life, in his death ignominious. The foxes had holes,\nthe birds of the air had nests, but the Son of Man had not a place\nwhereon to lay his head. He that made all things as God, had nothing\nas man; which hath this blessed instruction in it, that the meanest\nand poorest should not be dejected, nor yet the richest and highest\nbe exalted. In fine, having taught this doctrine, and lived as He\nspoke, He died to confirm it, and offered up Himself a propitiation\nfor the sins of the whole world, when no other sacrifice could be\nfound, that could atone for man with God, who, rising above the\npower of death and the grave, hath led captivity captive, and is\nbecome the first-born from the dead, and Lord of the living; and his\nliving people praise Him, who is worthy for ever.\n\nII. John the Baptist, who was the fore-runner of Christ's\nappearance in the flesh, did by his own abstinence sufficiently\ndeclare what sort of person it was he came to prepare and bespeak\npeople to receive. For, though sanctified from his birth and\ndeclared by Christ to be the greatest of all prophets; yet his\nclothing was but a coarse garment of camel's hair, and a leathern\ngirdle; and his food, only locusts and wild honey: a life very\nnatural, and of great simplicity. This was all the pomp and retinue,\nwhich the greatest ambassador that ever came to the world was\nattended with; about the best of messages, to wit, Repent, for the\nkingdom of God is at hand: and, there is one coming after me, whose\nshoes-latchet I am not worthy to unloose, who shall baptize you\nwith fire, and with the Holy Ghost; and is the Lamb of God that\ntaketh away the sin of the world. (Mat. iii. 11; John, i. 29.) Did\nthe fore-runner of the coming of God, for Immanuel is God with men,\nappear without the state, grandeur, and luxury of the world; and\nshall those who pretend to receive the message, and that for glad\ntidings too, and confess the Immanuel, Jesus Christ, to be the Lord,\nlive in the vanity and excess of the world, and care more for their\nfine clothes, delicate dishes, rich furniture, stately attendance,\nand pleasant diversion, than for the holy cross of Christ, and\nblessed narrow way that leadeth to salvation. Be ashamed, and repent!\n\nIII. PETER, ANDREW, PHILIP, and the rest of the holy apostles, were,\nby calling as well as doctrine, not a luxurious people; for they\nwere made up of poor fishermen and mechanics; for Christ called not\nhis disciples out of the higher ranks of men, nor had they ability\nany more than will to use the excesses herein reproved. You may\nconceive what their lives were, by what their Master's doctrine was;\nfor they were the true scholars of his heavenly discipline. Peter\nthus speaks, and exhorteth the Christians of his time, \"Let not your\nadorning be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and the\nwearing of gold, and of putting on of apparel; but let it be the\nhidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the\nornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God\nof great price; for after this manner, in the old time, the holy\nwomen, who also trusted in God, adorned themselves.\" (1 Pet. iii. 3,\n4.) Wherefore gird up the loins of your minds, be sober and hope to\nthe end, as obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according\nto your former lusts, in your ignorance, but as He which hath\ncalled you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation:\n(1 Pet. i. 13-15:) and giving all diligence, add to your faith,\nvirtue; to virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, temperance; and to\ntemperance, patience; and to patience, godliness; and to godliness,\nbrotherly-kindness; and to brotherly-kindness, charity; for if\nthese things be in you and abound, they make you, that you shall\nbe neither barren nor unfruitful: for so an entrance shall be\nministered unto you abundantly, into the everlasting kingdom of our\nLord and Saviour Jesus Christ; (2 Pet. i. 5-8, 11;) not rendering\nevil for evil, or railing for railing; but contrariwise, blessing;\nknowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye shall inherit a\nblessing: (1 Pet. iii. 9:) for even hereunto were ye called,\nbecause Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye\nshould follow his steps, who did no sin, neither was guile found\nin his mouth; who, when He was reviled, reviled not again; when\nHe suffered, He threatened not, but committed himself to Him that\njudgeth righteously. (1 Pet. ii. 21-23.)\n\nIV. Paul, who was also an apostle, though, as he saith, born out\nof due time: a man of great knowledge and learning, but, \"I count\nit,\" saith he, \"all loss for the excellency of the knowledge\nof Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of\nall things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.\nBrethren, be followers of me, and mark them which walk so, as ye\nhave us for an ensample: for many walk, of whom I have told you\noften, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of\nthe cross of Christ, whose end is destruction; whose god is their\nbelly; they glory in their shame, and they mind earthly things. For\nour conversation is in heaven; from whence we look also for the\nSaviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.\" (Phil. iii. 8, 18.) In like manner\nalso, \"I will that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with\nshame-facedness and sobriety, not with broidered hair, or gold, or\npearls, or costly array; but with good works, as becometh women\nprofessing godliness.\" (1 Tim. ii. 9, 10.) \"Be followers of God,\nas dear children, and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us:\nbut fornication, and all uncleanness, and covetousness, let it not\nbe once named amongst you, as becometh saints; neither filthiness\nnor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient; but\nrather giving of thanks: for this ye know, that no whoremonger,\nunclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any\ninheritance in the kingdom of Christ, and of God. See, then, that\nyou walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the\ntime, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but\nunderstanding what the will of the Lord is; and be not drunk with\nwine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking\nto yourselves in hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making\nmelody in your hearts to the Lord.\" (Ephes. v.) \"Rejoice in the Lord\nalways; and again, I say rejoice. Let your moderation be known to\nall men, for the Lord is at hand.\" (Phil. iv. 4-6.) \"Be careful for\nnothing, for we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain\nwe can carry nothing out: and, having food and raiment, let us be\ntherewith content; for godliness, with contentment, is great gain:\nbut they that will be rich, fall into temptation, and a snare, and\ninto many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in perdition\nand destruction; for the love of money is the root of all evil,\nwhich whilst some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and\npierced themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of\nGod, flee these things, and follow after righteousness, godliness,\nfaith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith,\nand lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and\nhast professed a good profession before many witnesses. I give thee\ncharge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before\nChrist Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession,\nthat thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until\nthe appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. Charge them that are rich\nin this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain\nriches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to\nenjoy; that they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready\nto distribute, willing to communicate, laying up in store for\nthemselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may\nlay hold on eternal life. O Timothy, keep that which is committed\nto thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions\nof science, falsely so called, which some professing, have erred\nconcerning the faith. Grace be with thee, Amen.\" (1 Tim. vi. 7, to\nthe end.) This was the blessed doctrine these messengers of eternal\nlife declared, and what is more, they lived as they spoke. You find\nan account of their reception in the world, and the way of their\nliving, in his first epistle to the Corinthians; \"For I think,\"\nsaith he, \"that God hath set forth us, the apostles last, as it\nwere, appointed to death; for we are made a spectacle to the world,\nto angels, and to men. We are fools for Christ's sake: we are weak,\nwe are despised: even unto this present hour we both hunger and\nthirst, and have no certain dwelling-place, and labour, working\nwith our hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted we suffer\nit; being defamed, we intreat. We are made as the filth of the\nworld, and are as the off-scouring of all things unto this day.\" (1\nCor. iv. 9.) This was the entertainment those faithful followers of\nJesus received at the hands of an ungrateful world; but he who tells\nus of this, also tells us, it is no unusual thing: \"For,\" saith he,\n\"such as will live godly in Christ Jesus, must suffer persecution.\"\nBesides, he knew it had been the portion of the righteous in\npreceding ages, as in his excellent account of the faith, trials,\nand victory of the holy ancients, in his epistle to the Hebrews\nhe does largely express, where he tells us, how great a sojourner\nAbraham was, even in the land of promise, a stranger in his own\ncountry, for God had given it unto him and his posterity, dwelling,\nsaith he, in tents with Isaac and Jacob. And why not better settled?\nWas it for want of understanding, or ability, or materials? No; he\ngives a better reason; for, saith he, Abraham looked for a city\nwhich had foundations, whose builder and maker is God. And speaking\nof Moses, he tells us, \"that, by faith, when he was come to years of\ndiscretion, he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter,\nchoosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than\nto enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, esteeming the reproach\nof Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he had\nrespect unto the recompense of reward; nor feared he the wrath of\nthe king, for he endured, seeing him who is invisible.\" He adds,\n\"And others had trials of cruel mockings and scourgings; yea,\nmoreover of bonds and imprisonments; they were stoned, they were\nsawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword; they wandered\nabout in sheep-skins and goat-skins, being destitute, afflicted,\ntormented, of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in\ndeserts, and in mountains, and in dens, and caves of the earth, and\nthese all have obtained a good report.\" Methinks this should a\nlittle abate the intemperance of professed Christians. I do not bid\nthem be thus miserable, but I would not have them make themselves so\nhereafter; for this afflicted life hath joys transcending the utmost\npleasure that sin can give, and in the end it will be found, that it\nwere better to be a poor pilgrim, than a citizen of the world. Nor\nwas this only the life and instruction of apostolical teachers; the\nsame plainness and simplicity of life was also followed by the first\nChristians.\n\nV. \"The primitive Christians,\"[46] Ouzelius, in his animadversions\non Minutius Felix, saith, \"were reproached by the Gentiles for their\nill-breeding, rude and unpolished language, unfashionable behaviour,\nas a people that knew not how to carry themselves in their addresses\nand salutations, calling them rustics and clowns, which the\nChristians easily bore, valuing their profession the more for its\nnonconformity to the world: wherefore it was usual with them, by\nway of irony and contempt, to call the Gentiles, the well-bred, the\neloquent, and the learned.\" This he proves by ample testimonies out\nof Arnobius, Lactantius, Isidorus Pelusiota, Theodoret, and others.\nWhich may instruct us, that the Christians' behaviour was not\nregulated by the customs of the country they lived in, as is usually\nobjected against our singularity: no, they refused the embellishment\nof art, and would not wear the furniture of her invention, but\nas they were singular in their religion, so in the way of their\nconversation among men.\n\n  [46] Animad. in Min. Fel. p. 25.\n\nVI. Clement Romanus,[47] if author of the constitutions that\ngo under his name, hath this among the rest, \"Abstain from the\nvain books of the Gentiles. What have you to do with strange and\nunprofitable discourses, which only serve to seduce weak persons?\"\nThis Clement is remembered by Paul in one of his epistles, (Phil.\niv. 3,) who in this exactly follows his advice to Timothy, about\nvain questions, doubtful disputes, and opposition of science. Let us\nsee how this moderation and purity of manners continued.\n\n  [47] Constit. Clem Rom. l. 1, chap. 2.\n\nVII. Machiavel,[48] no mean author, in his Disputations, assures\nus, \"That the first promoters of Christianity were so diligent in\nrooting out the vanities and superstitions of the Gentiles, that\nthey commanded all such poets' and historians' books, who commended\nanything of the Gentile conversation or worship, to be burned;\" but\nthat zeal is evidently extinguished, and those follies revived among\nthe professors of the religion of Jesus.\n\n  [48] Mach. Dis. l. 2, chap. 5.\n\nVIII. Tertullian,[49] Chrysostom, Theophylact, Gregory Nazianzene,\nupon these words of Christ, \"But I say unto you, that every idle\nword that men shall speak, they shall give an account thereof in the\nday of judgment:\" (Mat. xii. 36:) thus reflect upon vain discourse:\n\"These words mean,\" saith Tertullian, \"of all vain and superfluous\nspeech, more talk than is necessary.\" Says Chrysostom, \"of such\nwords as are not convenient or profitable, but move immodestly.\"\nSays Theophylact, \"of all lies, calumnies, all inordinate and\nridiculous speeches.\" Says Gregory, \"such words men shall account\nfor, which want that profit ever redounding from modest discourses,\nand that are seldom uttered from any preceding necessity or cause;\nthings frivolous, fables, old wives' tales.\" All which sufficiently\nreprehend the plays, poetry, and romances of the times, of great\nfolly, vanity, and sin.\n\n  [49] Tert. lib. de Patien. Chrysost.\n\nIX. Gregory, and this a father of the church, a very extraordinary\nman, was so zealous for the simplicity and purity of the mind,\nlanguage, and lives of the Christians of his time, that he\nsuppressed several Greek authors, as Menander, Diphilus,\nApollodorus, Philemon, Alexis, Sappho, and others, which were the\nrecreations of the vain Gentiles: thus Cardan. Hear his judgment of\nfine clothes, none of the least part of the luxury and vanity of the\nage. \"There be some,\" saith he, \"are of opinion, that the wearing\nof precious and sumptuous apparel is no sin; which if it were no\nfault, the Divine word would never have so punctually expressed,\nnor historically related, how the rich man, that was tormented in\nhell, was clothed in purple and silk: whence we may note, that,\ntouching the matter or subject of attire, human curiosity availeth\nhighly. The first substance of our garments was very mean, to wit,\nskins, with wool; when it is we read, God made Adam and his wife\ncoats of skins; that is, of skins of dead beasts. Afterwards, to see\nthe growing pride and vanity of men and women, they came to pure\nwool, because lighter; after that to flax: then to dung and ordure\nof worms, to wit, silk; lastly, to gold and silver, and precious\nstones, which excess of apparel highly displeased God: for instance\nwhereof, which the very Pagans themselves observed, we read that the\nvery first among the Romans that ever wore purple was struck with a\nthunder-bolt, and so died suddenly for a terror to all succeeding\ntimes, that none should attempt to live proudly in precious attire.\"\nThis was the sense of Gregory Nazianzene, that ancient Christian\nwriter, who wore commonly a poor coat, like to a frock; so did\nJustin Martyr, Jerome, and Austin, as their best robe.\n\nX. Ambrose, called a father, who was lieutenant to the province\nand city of Milan, and upon his discreet appeasing the multitude,\ndisordered upon some difference amongst them about electing a\nbishop, was by their uniform consent chosen himself: although this\nperson, of all others, might have been thought to plead for the\naccustomed recreations, especially not having been long a Christian,\nfor he was a Catechumen, or one but lately instructed, at the time\nof his being elected; yet doth he in so many words determine the\nmatter thus: \"Plays ought not to be known by Christians;\" then not\nmade, heard, and defended by Christians; or they must be none that\ndo so.\n\nXI. Augustine,[50] more famous for his many books, and knowledge in\nchurch affairs, whose sentences are oracles with some, gives this as\nhis opinion of plays, and the like recreations, that they were more\npernicious and abominable than those idolatrous sacrifices, which\nwere offered in honour of the pagan gods. Doubtless he thought the\none not so offensive to reason and the impressions divinity hath\nmade on every understanding, as the other were very pleasant to the\nsenses, and therefore apt to steal away the mind from better things;\nfor it was his maxim,[51] that everything a man doth, is either a\nhindrance or furtherance to good. This would be esteemed intolerable\ndoctrine in a poor Quaker, yet will the Quaker rejoice, if it be\nesteemed and followed as good doctrine in Augustine.\n\n  [50] August. de Civit. Dei. l. ii. c. 7.\n\n  [51] De ira Dei. l. 9, c. 7.\n\nXII. The council of Carthage, though times began to look somewhat\nmistier, and the purity and spirituality of religion to be much\ndeclined by the professors of Christianity; yet there was so much\nzeal left against the worst part of Heathenism, that I find an\nexpress canon against the reading of vain books and comedies of the\nGentiles, lest the minds of the people should be defiled by them.\nBut this age either hath no such canon, or executeth it not, to the\nshame of their profession.\n\nXIII. Cardan more particularly relateth,[52] how even Gregory\nthe Great was so zealous of preserving purity of manners among\nChristians, who lived almost two hundred years after the\nCarthaginian council, that he caused many Latin authors to be\nburned, as vain and lascivious; as C\u00e6cilianus, Affranius, Navius,\nLicinus, Ennius, Attilius, Victor, Lucian's Dialogues; nor did\nPlautus, Martial, and Terence, so much in request both in the\nschools and academies of the land, escape their honest zeal,\nalthough the multitude of copies so far frustrated their good\nintentions, as that they are multiplied of late.\n\n  [52] Cardan de Sapient. l. 2.\n\nXIV. Gratian also[53] had such like passages as these, \"We see that\nthe priests of the Lord, neglecting the gospel and the prophets,\nread comedies or play-books, and sing love verses, and read Virgil,\"\na book in which are some good expressions. Strange! that these\nthings should have been so sincerely censured of old, and that\npersons whose names are had in so much reverence, should repute\nthese their censures the constructions of Christ's precepts, and the\nnatural consequences of the Christian doctrine; and yet that they\nshould be so far neglected of this age, as not to be judged worthy\nan imitation. But pray let us hear what doctrine the Waldenses teach\nin this affair.\n\n  [53] Jac. Laurentio de lib. Gentil. p. 40, 41.\n\nXV. The Waldenses[54] were a people so called from one Peter Waldo,\na citizen of Lyons in France, in the year 1160, who inhabited\nPiedmont, elsewhere called Albigenses, from Albi, a city of\nLanguedoc in France; Lollards in England, from one Reynard Lollard,\nwho some time after came into these parts, and preached boldly\nagainst the idolatries, superstitions, and vain conversation\nof the inhabitants of this island. They had many other names,\nas Arnoldists, Esperonists, Henricians, Siccars, Insabaches,\nPaterenians, Turlupins, Lyonists, Fraticelli, Hussites, Bohemians\n(still the same;) but finally, by their enemies, damnable heretics,\nthough by the Protestants, the true church of Christ. And to omit\nmany testimonies, I will instance only in Bishop Usher, who in\nhis discourse of the succession of the Christian church, defends\nthem not only as true reformers, but makes the succession of the\nProtestant church to be mainly evincible from their antiquity. I\nshall forbear all the circumstances and principles they held, or in\nwhich he strongly defends them against the cruelty and ignorance\nof their adversaries, particularly Rainerius, Rubis, Capetaneis,\n&c. only what they held concerning our present subject of apparel\nand recreations, I cannot be so injurious to the truth, their\nself-denial, the good of others, at whose reformation I aim, and\nmy own discourse, as to omit it. And therefore I shall proceed to\nallege their faith and practice in these matters, however esteemed\nbut of a trifling importance, by the loose, wanton, and carnal\nminded of this generation, whose feeling is lost by the enjoyment\nof their inordinate desires, and that think it a high state of\nChristianity to be no better than the beasts that perish, namely,\nin not being excessive in Newgate and mere kennel enormities. That\nthese ancient reformers had another sense of these things, and that\nthey made the conversation of the gospel of a crucified Jesus to\nintend and require another sort of life, than what is used by almost\nall those who account themselves members of his church, I shall\nshow out of their own doctrines, as found in their most authentic\nhistories.\n\n  [54] XII. Cap. Hist. de orig. Walden. Vignia Hist. Bibl. p. 130.\n  Dubran Hist. Bohem. 14. Thuan. in Hist. sui. temp. p. 458. Mat.\n  Paris Hist. of Eng. Angl. 1174; Bellar. tom. 2, lib. 1, cap. 26, co.\n  86. Ecchius. com. loc. c. 28. Apl. l. 6. con. Hieret. p. 99.\n\nXVI. To be brief, in their exposition upon the Lord's prayer,\nthat part of it which speaks thus, \"Give us this day our daily\nbread:\"[55] where, next to that spiritual bread, which they\nmake it to be the duty of all to seek more than life, they come\npositively to deny the praying for more than is requisite for\noutward necessities, or that it is lawful to use more; condemning\nall superfluity and excess, out of fashion, pride, or wantonness,\nnot only of bread, but all outward things, which they judge to be\nthereby comprehended; using Ezekiel's words,[56] (Ezek. xvi. 45,)\nthat fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness were the cause\nof the wickedness and the abominations of Sodom, for which God by\nfire destroyed them off the earth. Whereupon they conclude with an\nancient father of the primitive church, after this manner, that\ncostly apparel, superfluity in diet, as three dishes when one will\nserve, play, idleness, and sleep, fatten the body, nourish luxury,\nweaken the spirit, and lead the soul unto death; \"But,\" say they,\n\"a spare diet, labour, short sleep, plain and mean garments, help\nto purify the soul, tame the body, mortify the lusts of the flesh,\nand comfort the spirit.\" So severe were they, that, in the chapter\nof the instructions of their children,[57] they would not suffer\nthem to converse with those of strange places or principles, whose\nconversation was gaming, plays, and the like wanton recreations; but\nespecially concerning young women. \"A man,\" say they, \"must have a\ngreat care of his daughter. Hast thou daughters? Keep them within to\nwholesome things; see they wander not; for Dinah, Jacob's daughter,\nwas corrupted by being seen of strangers.\" They affirm no better to\nbe the general event of such conversation.\n\n  [55] Jo. Paul. Per. Hist. Wald. l. 1. in p. 37, 38. Dona nos le\n  nostre pan quotidian. en choi. Memor. Morrel. Vign. Mem. f. 7.\n\n  [56] Thesaur. fed. Ap. Wald.\n\n  [57] Thesaur. fed. Ap. Wald. l. 2, c. 3. Lifill. sign. nassion ali\n  patrons carnals de non esser rendus, &c.\n\nTo which I shall add their judgment and practice concerning\ntaverns,[58] public houses for treats and pleasures, with which the\nland swarms in our days.\n\n  [58] Ibid. l. 2, c. 3.\n\nXVII. \"A tavern is the fountain of sin,[59] the school of the\ndevil; it works wonders fitting the place. It is the custom of God\nto show his power in his church, and to work miracles; that is to\nsay, to give sight to the spiritually blind, to make the lame to\nleap, the dumb to sing, the deaf to hear: but the devil doth quite\ncontrary to all these in taverns, and the like places of pleasure.\nFor when the drunkard goes to the tavern, he goes upright: but when\nhe comes forth, he cannot go at all; he has lost his sight, speech,\nand hearing too.\" \"The lectures that are read in this school of\nthe devil,\" say these poor Waldenses, and first reformers, \"are\ngluttonies, oaths, perjuries, lyings, blasphemies, flatteries, and\ndivers other wicked villanies and pernicious effects, by which the\nheart is withdrawn further and further from God.\" And, as the book\nof Ecclesiasticus saith, the taverner shall not be freed from sin.\n\n  [59] La taverna de maisons de pleisirs es fontana de pecca e schola\n  del diavolo, &c.\n\nBut above other recreations, do but seriously observe, of what\ndanger and ill consequence these first reformers thought dancing,\nmusic, and the like pastimes to be, which are the greatest\ndivertisements of the times, viz.:\n\nXVIII. \"Dancing is the devil's procession,[60] and he that entereth\ninto a dance entereth into his procession, the devil is the guide,\nthe middle, and the end of the dance; as many paces as man maketh\nin dancing, so many paces doth he make to go to hell.[61] A man\nsinneth in dancing divers ways, for all his steps are numbered, in\nhis touch, in his ornaments, in his hearing, sight, speech, and\nother vanities. And therefore we will prove, first by the Scripture,\nand afterwards by divers other reasons, how wicked a thing it is to\ndance. The first testimony that we will produce is that which we\nread in the gospel, where it is said, it pleased Herod so well,\nthat it cost John Baptist his life. (Mark, vi. 22-28; Exodus,\nxxxii. 4-7, 19.) The second is in Exodus, when Moses, coming near\nto the congregation, saw the calf, he cast the tables from him,\nand broke them at the foot of the mountain; and afterwards it cost\nthree thousand of their lives. Besides, the ornaments which women\nwear in their dances, are as crowns for many victories which the\ndevil hath got against the children of God: for the devil hath not\nonly one sword in the dance, but as many as there are beautiful and\nwell-adorned persons in the dance; for the words of a woman are a\nglittering sword. And therefore that place is much to be feared\nwherein the enemy hath so many swords, since that only one sword of\nhis may be justly feared. Again, the devil in this place strikes\nwith a sharpened sword; for women, who make it acceptable, come\nnot willingly to the dance, if they be not painted and adorned;\nwhich painting and ornament is as a whetstone on which the devil\nsharpeneth his sword.--They that deck and adorn their daughters,\nare like those that put dry wood to the fire, to the end it may\nburn the better: for such women kindle the fire of luxury in the\nhearts of men. As Sampson's foxes fired the Philistines' corn, so\nthese women, they have fire in their faces, and in their gestures\nand actions, their glances and wanton words, by which they consume\nthe goods of men.\" They proceed, \"The devil in the dance useth the\nstrongest armour that he hath: for his most powerful arms are women;\nwhich is made plain unto us, in that the devil made choice of the\nwoman to deceive the first man; so did Balaam, that the children of\nIsrael might be rejected of God. By a woman he made Sampson, David,\nand Absalom to sin. The devil tempteth men by women three manner of\nways; that is, by the touch, by the eye, by the ear; by these three\nmeans he tempteth foolish men to dancing, by touching their hands,\nbeholding their beauty, hearing their songs and music.\"--Again,\n\"They that dance break that promise and agreement they have made\nwith God in baptism, when their godfathers promise for them, that\nthey shall renounce the devil and all his pomp; for dancing is\nthe pomp of the devil; and he that danceth maintaineth his pomp,\nand singeth his mass. For the woman that singeth in the dance is\nthe prioress, or chief of the devil, and those that answer are\nthe clerks, and the beholders are the parishioners, and the music\nare the bells, and the fiddlers the ministers of the devil. For,\nas when hogs are strayed, if the hogherd call one, all assemble\nthemselves together; so the devil causeth one woman to sing in the\ndance, or to play on some instrument, and presently gather all\nthe dancers together.\"--Again, \"In a dance, a man breaks the ten\ncommandments of God: as first, Thou shalt have no other God but\nme, &c., for in dancing, a man serves that person whom he most\ndesires to serve, after whom goes his heart; and therefore Jerome\nsaith, 'Every man's god is that he serves and loves best;'[62] and\nthat he loves best which his thoughts wander and gad most after.\nHe sins against the second commandment when he makes an idol of\nthat he loves. Against the third, in that oaths, and frivolously\nusing God's name, are frequently among dancers. Against the fourth,\nfor that by dancing the sabbath-day is profaned. Against the\nfifth, for in the dance parents are many times dishonoured, since\nthereby many bargains are made without their counsel. Against\nthe sixth, a man kills in dancing, for every one that sets about\nto please another, he kills the soul as oft as he persuades unto\nlust. Against the seventh, for the party that danceth, be it male\nor female, committeth adultery with the party they lust after;\nfor he that looketh on a woman to lust after her, hath already\ncommitted adultery with her in his heart. Against the eighth, a\nman sins in dancing when he withdraweth the heart of another from\nGod. Against the ninth, when in dancing he speaks falsely against\nthe truth, and for some little honour, or secret lascivious end,\ndenies what is true, or affirms what is false. Against the tenth,\nwhen women affect the ornaments of others, and men covet the wives,\ndaughters, and servants of their neighbours, which undeniably\nattends all such plays and sports.\"--Again, \"A man may prove how\ngreat an evil dancing is, by the multitude of sins that accompany\nthose that dance; for they dance without measure or number;\" \"And\ntherefore,\" saith Augustine,[63] \"the miserable dancer knows not,\nthat as many paces as he makes in dancing, so many leaps he makes\nto hell. They sin in their ornaments after a five-fold manner:\nFirst, by being proud thereof. Secondly, by inflaming the hearts\nof those that behold them. Thirdly, when they make those ashamed\nthat have not the like ornaments, giving them occasion to covet the\nlike. Fourthly, by making women importunate in demanding the like\nornaments of their husbands: and, Fifthly, when they cannot obtain\nthem of their husbands, they seek to get them elsewhere by sin.\nThey sin by singing and playing on instruments; for their songs\nbewitch the hearts of those that hear them with temporal delight,\nforgetting God; uttering nothing in their songs but lies and\nvanities; and the very motion of the body which is used in dancing,\ngives testimony enough of evil.--Thus, you see that dancing is the\ndevil's procession, and he that enters into a dance, enters into the\ndevil's procession. Of dancing, the devil is the guide, the middle,\nand the end; and he that entereth a good and wise man into the\ndance, if it can be that such an one is either good or wise, cometh\nforth a corrupt and wicked man: Sarah, that holy woman, was none of\nthese.\"[64] Behold the apprehensions of those good old reformers,\ntouching those things that are so much in practice and reputation in\nthese times, with such as profess their religion: thus far verbatim.\nBut I cannot leave off here, till I have yet added the conclusion of\ntheir catechism and direction, and some passages out of one of their\npastor's letters, fit to the present occasion.\n\n  [60] La bal es la proces. del diavol, e qui intra en la bal, &c.\n\n  [61] Sp. Alm. fol. 50-54.\n\n  [62] Jerom. in dec. int. oper.\n\n  [63] August. de Civit. Dei.\n\n  [64] August. l. 2.\n\nThey conclude with this direction, namely, how to rule their\nbodies,[65] and live in this world as becomes the children of God.\nNot to serve the mortal desires of the flesh. To keep their members,\nthat they be not arms of iniquity and vanity. To rule their outward\nsenses. To subject the body to the soul. To mortify their members.\nTo fly idleness. To observe a sobriety and measure in eating and\ndrinking, in their words and cares of this life. To do works of\nmercy. To live a moral or just life by faith. To fight against the\ndesires. To mortify the works of the flesh. To give themselves to\nthe exercise of religion. To confer together touching the will of\nGod: to examine diligently the conscience. To purge and amend, and\npacify the spirit.\n\n  [65] Concl. p. 68. Encaren qual manier fidel debian regir li ler\n  Corps: non servali desirier mort. &c.\n\nTo which I add the epistle of one of their pastors, as I find it\nrecorded amongst other matters relating to these poor afflicted\npeople.\n\nXIX. An epistle of pastor Bartholomew Tertian, written to the\nWaldensian churches of the valley of Pragela, thus translated:\n\n                       \"JESUS BE WITH YOU.\n\n     \"To all our faithful and well beloved brethren in christ jesus,[66]\n     health and salvation be with you all: amen! these are to put you\n     in remembrance, and to admonish you, my brethren, hereby acquitting\n     myself of that duty which i owe unto you all, in the behalf of god,\n     principally touching the care of your souls' salvation, according\n     to that light of the truth, which the most high god hath bestowed\n     on us, that it would please every one of you to maintain, increase,\n     and nourish, to the utmost of your power, without diminution, those\n     good beginnings and examples which have been left unto us by our\n     forefathers, whereof we are no ways worthy. for it would little\n     profit us to have been renewed by the fatherly visitation, and the\n     light which hath been given us of god, if we give ourselves to\n     worldly, carnal conversations, which are diabolical; abandoning the\n     principle which is of god, and the salvation of our souls, for this\n     short and temporal life. for the lord saith, 'what doth it profit\n     a man to gain the whole world, and to lose his own soul?' for it\n     would be better for us never to have known the way of righteousness,\n     than having known it, to do the contrary. let me therefore intreat\n     you, by the love of god, that you decrease not, or look back; but\n     rather increase the charity, fear, and obedience, which is due unto\n     god, and to yourselves, amongst yourselves; and stand fast in all\n     these good principles, which you have heard and understood of god,\n     by our means: and that you would remove from amongst you all vain\n     conversation and evil surmises, troubling the peace, the love,\n     the concord, and whatsoever would indispose or deaden your minds\n     to the service of god, your own salvation, and the administration\n     of the truth, if you desire that god should be merciful to you in\n     your goods temporal and spiritual: for you can do nothing without\n     him; and if you desire to be heirs of his glory, do that which he\n     commandeth: if you would enter into life, keep my commandments.\n     (matt. xix. 17.)\n\n       [66] hist. wald. l. 4, c. 11, p. 55-57.\n\n     \"likewise be careful that there be not nourished among you any\n     sports, gluttony, whoredom, dancings, nor any lewdness, nor riot,\n     nor questions, nor deceits, nor usury, nor discords; nor support nor\n     entertain any persons of a wicked conversation, or that give any\n     scandal or ill example amongst you; but let charity and fidelity\n     reign amongst you, and all good example; doing to one another as\n     every one desires should be done unto him; for otherwise it is\n     impossible that any should be saved, or can have the grace of\n     god, or be good men in this world, or have glory in another. and\n     therefore, if you hope and desire to possess eternal life, to live\n     in esteem and credit, and to prosper in this world, in your goods\n     temporal and spiritual, purge yourselves from all disorderly ways,\n     to the end that god may be always with you, who forsakes not those\n     that trust in him. but know this for certain, that god heareth\n     not, nor dwelleth with sinners, nor in the soul that is given unto\n     wickedness, nor in the man that is subject to sin. and therefore let\n     every one cleanse the ways of his heart, and fly the danger, if he\n     would not perish therein. i have no other things at this present,\n     but that you would put in practice these things; and the god of\n     peace be with you all, and go along with us, and be present among\n     us in our sincere, humble, and fervent prayers, and that he will be\n     pleased to save all those his faithful, that trust in christ jesus.\n\n       \"entirely yours, ready to do you service in all\n       things possible, according to the will of god.\n\n       \"bartholomew tertian.\"\n\nXX. Behold the life and doctrine, instruction and practice, of the\nancient Waldenses.[67] How harmless, how plain, how laborious, how\nexceeding serious and heavenly in their conversations! These were\nthe men, women, aye children too, who, for above five hundred years,\nhave valiantly, but passively maintained a cruel war, at the expense\nof their own innocent blood, against the unheard of cruelties and\nseverities of several princes, nuncios, and bishops; but above all,\nof certain cruel inquisitors, of whom their historians report, that\nthey held it was a greater evil to conceal a heretic than to be\nguilty of perjury; and for a clergyman to marry a wife than to keep\na whore. In short, to dissent, though never so conscientiously, was\nworse than open immorality. It was against the like adversaries\nthese poor Waldenses fought, by sufferings throughout the nations,\nby prisons, confiscations, banishments,[68] wandering from hill to\nvalley, from den to cave; being mocked, whipped, racked, thrown\nfrom rocks and towers, driven on mountains,[69] and in one night\nthousands perished by excessive frost and snow, smothered in caves,\nstarved, imprisoned, ripped up, hanged, dismembered, rifled,\nplundered, strangled, broiled, roasted, burned; and whatsoever could\nbe invented to ruin men, women, and children. These Waldenses, you\nProtestants pretend to be your ancestors: from them, you say, you\nhave your religion; and often, like the Jews of the prophets, are\nyou building their praises in your discourses: but, O look back,\nI beseech you, how unlike are you to these afflicted pilgrims!\nWhat resemblance is there of their life in yours? Did they help to\npurchase and preserve you a liberty and religion, can you think, at\nthe loss of all that was dear to them, that you might pass away your\ndays and years in pride, wantonness, and vanity? What proportion\nbears your excess with their temperance;[70] your gaudiness with\ntheir plainness; your luxury and flesh-pleasing conversations with\ntheir simplicity and self-denial? But are you not got into that\nspirit and nature they condemned in their day; into that carnality\nand worldly mindedness they reproved in their persecutors, nay,\ninto a strain of persecution too, which you seem to hide under a\ncloak of reformation? How can you hope to refute their persecutors\nwhose worst part perhaps was their cruelty, that turn persecutors\nyourselves? What have you besides their good words, that is like\nthem? And do you think that words will send off the blows of eternal\nvengeance? That a little by-rote babble, though of never so good\nexpressions in themselves, shall serve your turn at the great day?\nNo, from God I tell you, that whilst you live in the wantonness,\npride, and luxury of the world, pleasing and fulfilling the lust\nof the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life, (1 John,\nii. 14-17,) God detests you all, and laughs you and your worship\nto scorn. Never tell me, I am too rash; it is the devil that says\nso; he has got two scriptures by the end in these days: one, that\nthere is none that doth good: and why?[71] That he may persuade all\nit is impossible to overcome him: which is the reason so many are\novercome; although glory is promised to none but conquerors. The\nsecond, that we must not judge, lest we be judged: that is, whilst\nwe are guilty of the same things that are equivalent, lest we are\njudged. But away with Satan and his hypocrisy too: I know what I\nsay, and from whom I speak: once more I tell you all, whether you\nwill hear or forbear, that unless you forsake your pride, luxury,\navarice, and the whole variety of vanities, and diligently mind the\neternal light of God in your hearts, to obey it; wrath will be your\nportion for ever. Trust not your souls upon misapplied Scriptures;\nhe that is a child of God must be holy, for God is holy; and none\nare his sons and daughters but those who are adopted by the eternal\nSpirit, and led thereby. (1 Pet. i. 15, 16; Rom. viii. 1-16.) It was\na holy, plain, humble, divine life, these poor suffering Christians\nboth professed and practised, refusing to converse with such as\nlived in the superfluities and excess of the world; for which, if\nyou will believe their very adversaries, they were persecuted:\n\"For,\" says Rainerius,[72] a great writer against them, \"they used\nto teach, first, what the disciples of Christ ought to be, and that\nnone are his disciples but they that imitate his life; and that the\npopes, cardinals, &c., because they live in luxury, pride, avarice,\n&c., are not the successors of Christ; but themselves only, in that\nthey walk up to his commandments; thus,\" says he, \"they win upon the\npeople.\" But if so, that none are Christians but those that imitate\nChrist, what will become of those who call themselves Christians and\nyet live at ease in the flesh, not regarding the work of the holy\ncross of Christ in their hearts, that crucifies them that bear it\nto the world, and the world to them? This was the true ground of\ntheir sufferings, and their loud cries against the impieties of the\ngreatest; not sparing any ranks, from the throne to the dunghill, as\nknowing their God was no respecter of persons. And now, if you would\nfollow them indeed, if you would be Protestants in substance, and\nlearn your enemies a way worth their changing for--else better words\ngo but a little way--if you would obtain the heavenly inheritance,\nand you would be eternally blessed, be ye persuaded to forsake all\nthe pride and pomp of this vain world. O mind the concerns of an\neverlasting rest! Let the just and serious principle of God within\nyou be the constant guide and companion of your minds, and let\nyour whole hearts be exercised thereby, that you may experience an\nentire reformation and change of affections, through the power of\nthat divine leaven which leavens the whole lump, viz. body, soul,\nand spirit, where it is received; to which, and its work in man,\nour blessed Lord likened the kingdom of God which He came to set up\nin the soul: that so having the joys and glory of another world in\nyour view, you may give your best diligence to make your calling and\nelection to the possession of them sure and certain; lest, selling\nthat noble inheritance for a poor mess of perishing pottage, you\nnever enter into his eternal rest. And though this testimony may\nseem too tedious, yet could it by no means be omitted.--To authorize\nour last reason, of converting superfluities into the relief of\ndistressed persons, although one would think it so equal and sober,\nthat it needs no other authority than its own, yet I shall produce\ntwo testimonies so remarkable, that as they ever were esteemed truly\ngood, so they cannot be approved by any that refuse to do the same,\nwithout condemning themselves of great iniquity. Oh, you are called\nwith an high and holy call; as high as heaven, and as holy as God;\nfor it is He that calls us to holiness through Christ, who sent his\nSon to bless us, in turning us from the evil of our ways; and unless\nwe are so turned we can have no claim to the blessing that comes by\nChrist to men.\n\n  [67] Bern de Gir lora. de Hail. Hist. de la Fr. 1. 10. Vesemb. Orat.\n  in Wald. Beza Hist. hom. dig. virer de ver. et fals. Rel. 1. 4, c.\n  13, p. 249, Cat. Test. ve. 334, Vigin, Bibl. Hist. p. 1.\n\n  [68] Vieaux Mem. fol. 6, 7.\n\n  [69] Mut. Par. in Hen. 3, Anno, 1220. Sigonius de Reg. Ital. 1, 7.\n\n  [70] Sernay, c. 47, Chef. 1. 3, c. 7.\n\n  [71] The devil is a Scripturian sometimes.\n\n  [72] Rain. cap. de stud. pervert. alios et modo dicendi. l. 98.\n  Baron. Eccl. Annal. tom. 18, an. 1176, p. 835. Kranz. in Metrop. l.\n  8. sect. 18, and in Sax. l. 8, cap. 16.\n\nXXI. It is reported of Paulinus,[73] bishop of Nola in Italy, that,\ninstead of converting the demesnes of his diocese to particular\nenrichment, he employed it all in the redemption of poor slaves and\nprisoners: believing it unworthy of the Christian faith, to see\nGod's creation labour under the want of what he had to spare. All\nagree this was well done, but few agree to do the same.\n\n  [73] Eccl. Hist. p. 5, 393.\n\nXXII. But more particularly that of Acacius,[74] bishop of Amida,\ngiven us by Socrates Scholasticus, in this manner: \"When the Roman\nsoldiers purposed in nowise to restore again unto the king of\nPersia such captives as they had taken at the winning of Azazena,\nbeing about seven thousand in number, to the great grief of the\nking of Persia, and all of them ready to starve for want of food:\nAcacius lamented their condition, and calling his clergy together,\nsaid thus unto them, 'Our God hath no need of dishes or of cups,\nfor He neither eateth nor drinketh; these are not his necessaries;\nwherefore, seeing the church hath many precious jewels, both of\ngold and silver, bestowed of the free-will and liberality of\nthe faithful, it is requisite that the captive soldiers should\nbe therewith redeemed, and delivered out of prison and bondage,\nand they perishing with famine should therewith be refreshed and\nrelieved.'\" Thus he prevailed to have them all converted into money;\nsome for their immediate refreshment, some for their redemption,\nand the rest for coastage or provision, to defray the charges of\ntheir voyage. Which noble act had such an universal influence, that\nit more famed the Christian religion among the Infidels, than all\ntheir disputes and battles: insomuch that the King of Persia, a\nHeathen, said, \"The Romans endeavour to win their adversaries both\nby wars and favours;\" and greatly desired to behold that man, whose\nreligion taught so much charity to enemies; which, it is reported,\nTheodosius, the emperor, commanded Acacius to gratify him in. And\nif the Apostle Paul's expression hath any force, that \"He is worse\nthan an infidel who provides not for his family;\" (1 Tim. 5;) how\ngreatly doth his example aggravate your shame, that can behold\nsuch pity and compassion expressed to strangers, nay, enemies, and\nthose infidels too, and be so negligent of your own family; (for\nEngland, aye, Christendom, in a sense, if not the world, is no\nmore;) as not only to see their great necessities unanswered, but\nthat wherewith they should be satisfied, converted to gratify the\nlust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life? But\nhowever such can please themselves, in the deceitful daubing of\ntheir mercenary priests, and dream they are members of Jesus Christ,\nit is certain that things were otherwise in the beginning; for then\nall was sold, and put into a common purse, to supply indigences:\n(Acts, iv. 32-37:) not mattering earthly inheritances, further than\nas they might, in some sense, be subservient to the great end for\nwhich they were given; namely, the good of the creation. Thus had\nthe purest Christians their minds and thoughts taken up with the\nbetter things, and raised with the assurance of a more excellent\nlife and inheritance in the heavens, that will never pass away. And\nfor any to flatter themselves with being Christians, whilst so much\nexercised in the vanities, recreations, and customs of the world,\nas at this very day we see they are, is to mock the great God, and\nabuse their immortal souls. The Christian life is quite another\nthing.\n\n  [74] Socrat. Scholast.\n\nAnd lest that any should object, many do great and seemingly good\nactions to raise their reputation only; and others only decry\npleasure, because they have not wherewithal, or know not how to take\nit; I shall present them with the serious sayings of aged and dying\nmen, and those of the greatest note and rank, whose experience could\nnot be wanting to give the truest account, how much their honours,\nriches, pleasures, and recreations, conduced to their satisfaction,\nupon a just reckoning, as well before their extreme moments as upon\ntheir dying beds, when death, that hard passage into eternity,\nlooked them in the face.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXI.\n\n_Serious dying, as well as living testimonies of Men of Fame and\nLearning, viz._\n\n     1. Solomon.--2. Chilon.--3. Ignatius.--4. Justin Martyr.--5.\n     Chrysostom.--6. Charles V.--7. Cardinal Wolsey.--8. Sir Philip\n     Sidney.--9. Secretary Walsingham.--10. Sir John Mason.--11.\n     Sir Walter Raleigh.--12. H. Wotton.--13. Sir Christopher\n     Hatton.--14. Lord Chancellor Bacon.--15. The great Duke of\n     Montmorency.--16. Henry Prince of Wales.--17. Philip III. King\n     of Spain.--18. Count Gondamor.--19. Cardinal Richlieu.--20.\n     Cardinal Mazarine.--21. Chancellor Oxenstiern.--22.\n     Dr. Donne.--23. Jo. Selden.--24. H. Grotius.--25. P.\n     Salmasius.--26. Fran. Junius.--27. A. Rivetus.--28. The late\n     Earl of Marlborough.--29. Sir Henry Vane.--30. Late Earl of\n     Rochester.--31. One of the family of Howard.--32. Princess\n     Elizabeth of the Rhine.--33. Commissioner Whitlock.--34. A\n     Sister of the family of Penn.--35. My own Father.--36. Anthony\n     Lowther of Mask.--37. Seigneur du Renti.\n\n\nI. Solomon, than whom none is believed to have more delighted\nhimself in the enjoyments of the world, at least better to have\nunderstood them; hear what he says, after all his experience:\n(Eccles. ii. 1-11:) \"I said in my heart, Go to now, I will prove\nthee with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure: and behold, this also\nis vanity. I said of laughter, it is mad: and of mirth, what doth\nit? I made me great works, builded houses, planted vineyards, made\ngardens and orchards, planted trees in them of all kinds of fruit: I\ngot me servants and maidens, also great possessions: I gathered me\nsilver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings and provinces;\nalso men and women, singers, and the delights of the sons of men,\nas musical instruments, and that of all sorts. So I was great,\nand increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem, and\nwhatsoever mine eyes desired, I kept not from them: I withheld not\nmine heart from any joy. Then I looked on the works which mine hands\nhad wrought, and behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit.\"\nThe reason he gives in the 18th and 19th verses is, that the time\nof enjoying them was very short, and it was uncertain who should be\nbenefited by them when he was gone. Wherefore, he concludes with all\nthis: \"Fear God, and keep his commandments, for this is the whole\nduty of man: for God shall bring every work into judgment, whether\nit be good, or whether it be evil.\" O that men would lay this to\nheart!\n\nII. Chilon,[75] one of the seven wise men of Greece, already\nmentioned upon another occasion, affords us a dying testimony of\ngreat example. It is related thus by A. Gellius: when his life\ndrew towards an end, ready to be seized by death, he spoke thus to\nhis friends about him: \"My words and actions, in this long term of\nyears, have been, almost all, such as I need not repent of; which,\nperhaps, you also know: truly, even at this time I am certain I\nnever committed anything the remembrance of which begets any trouble\nin me, unless this one thing only: which, whether it were done amiss\nor not, I am uncertain. I sat with two others as judge, upon the\nlife of my friend: the law was such, as the person must of necessity\nbe condemned, so that either my friend must lose his life, or some\ndeceit be used towards the law. Revolving many things in my mind,\nfor relief of a condition so desperate, I conceived that which I\nput in practice to be of all others the most easy to be borne:\nsilently I condemned him, and persuaded those others who judged,\nto absolve him: thus I preserved in so great a business, the duty\nboth of a judge and a friend. But from that act I received this\ntrouble: that I fear it is not free from perfidiousness and guilt,\nin the same business, at the same time, and in a public affair, to\npersuade others contrary to what was in my own judgment best.\" Oh,\ntender conscience! Yet an Heathen's. Where dwells the Christian that\nexcelleth? Hard to be found among the great rabbies of Christendom.\n\n  [75] Severus Apop. p. 175.\n\nIII. Ignatius,[76] who lived within the first hundred years after\nChrist, left this, amongst other things, behind him, who was torn in\npieces of wild beasts at Rome, for his true faith in Jesus, \"There\nis nothing better than the peace of a good conscience;\" intimating\nthere might be a peace to wicked consciences, that are past feeling\nanything to be evil, but swallowed up of the wickedness of the\nworld. And in his epistles to the churches at Ephesus, Magnesia,\nTrallis, and Rome, upon his martyrdom, saith, \"Now I begin to be a\ndisciple, I weigh neither visible nor invisible things, so that I\nmay gain Christ.\" Oh, heavenly-minded man! A blessed martyr of Jesus\nindeed.\n\n  [76] Ignatius Epist. ad Ephes. Mag. Trall. Eus. 1. iii. c. 32, Rom.\n\nIV. Justin Martyr, a philosopher who received Christianity\nfive-and-twenty years after the death of Ignatius, plainly tells us,\nin his relation of his conversion to the Christian faith, that the\npower of godliness in a plain, simple Christian, had that influence\nand operation on his soul, that he could not but betake himself to a\nserious and strict life; and yet, before, he was a Cynic, a strict\nsect: and this gave him joy at his martyrdom, having spent his days\nas a serious teacher, and a good example. And Eusebius relates,\nthat, though he was also a follower of Plato's doctrine,[77] yet\nwhen he saw the Christians' piety and courage, he concluded, no\npeople so temperate, less voluptuous, and more set on divine things:\nwhich first induced him to be a Christian.\n\n  [77] Euseb. Eccl. Hist. 1. 4, c. 8.\n\nV. Chrysostom, another father, so called, lays this down for\nnecessary doctrine, \"To sacrifice the whole soul and body to the\nLord, is the highest service we can pay unto Him. God promiseth\nmercy unto penitent sinners; but He doth not promise them they shall\nhave so much time as to-morrow for their repentance.\"\n\nVI. Charles V. Emperor of Germany, King of Spain, and Lord of the\nNetherlands, after three-and-twenty pitched fields, six triumphs,\nfour kingdoms conquered, and eight principalities added to his\ndominions, a greater instance than whom can scarce be given,\nresigned up all his pomp to other hands, and betook himself to his\nretirement; leaving this testimony behind him, concerning the life\nhe spent in the honours and pleasures of the world, and in that\nlittle time of his retreat from them all: that the sincere study,\nprofession, and practice of the Christian religion, had in it such\njoys and sweetness as courts were strangers to.\n\nVII. Cardinal Wolsey, the most absolute and wealthy minister of\nstate this kingdom ever had, that in his time seemed to govern\nEurope as well as England, when come to the period of his life,\nleft the world with this close reflection upon himself: \"Had I been\nas diligent to serve my God, as I was to please my king, He would\nnot have left me now in my grey hairs.\" A dismal reflection for all\nworldly-minded men; but those more especially, who have the power\nand means of doing more good than ordinary in the world, and do it\nnot; which seems to have been the case and reflection of this great\nman.\n\nVIII. Sir Philip Sidney, a subject indeed of England, but they say\nchosen king of Poland, whom Queen Elizabeth called her Philip; the\nPrince of Orange, his master; whose friendship the lord Brooks was\nso proud of, that he would have it part of his epitaph, \"Here lies\nSir Philip Sidney's friend;\" whose death was lamented in verse by\nthe then kings of France and Scotland, and the two universities of\nEngland; repented so much at his death of that witty vanity of his\nlife, his Arcadia, that, to prevent the unlawful kindling of heats\nin others, he would have committed it to the flames himself: and\nleft this farewell amongst his friends, \"Love my memory, cherish\nmy friends; their faith to me may assure you that they are honest;\nbut above all govern your wills and affections by the will and word\nof your Creator. In me behold the end of this world, and all its\nvanities.\" And indeed he was not much out in saying so, since in him\nwas to be seen the end of all natural parts, acquired learning, and\ncivil accomplishments. His farewell seems spoken without terror,\nwith a clear sense, and an equal judgment.\n\nIX. Secretary Walsingham, an extraordinary man in Queen Elizabeth's\ntime, towards the conclusion of his days, in a letter to his\nfellow-secretary Burleigh, then lord-treasurer of England, writes\nthus: \"We have lived enough to our country, our fortunes, our\nsovereign: it is high time we begin to live to ourselves, and to\nour God.\" Which, giving occasion for some court-droll to visit and\ntry to divert him: \"Ah!\" said he, \"while we laugh, all things are\nserious round about us; God is serious, when He preserveth us, and\nhath patience towards us; Christ is serious when He dieth for us;\nthe Holy Ghost is serious, when He striveth with us; the whole\ncreation is serious, in serving God and us; they are serious in hell\nand in heaven: and shall a man, that has one foot in the grave,\njest and laugh?\" O that our statesmen would weigh the conviction,\nadvice, and conclusion of this great man, and the greatest man,\nperhaps, that has borne that character in our nation! For true it\nis, that none can be serious too soon, because none can be good too\nsoon. Away, then, with all foolish talking and jesting, and let\npeople mind more profitable things.\n\nX. John Mason, knight, who had been privy-counsellor to four\nprinces, and spent much time in the preferments and pleasures of the\nworld, retired with these pathetical and regretful sayings: \"After\nso many years' experience, seriousness is the greatest wisdom;\ntemperance the best physic; a good conscience is the best estate.\nAnd were I to live again, I would change the court for a cloister,\nmy privy-counsellor's bustles for a hermit's retirement, and the\nwhole life I lived in the palace, for one hour's enjoyment of God in\nthe chapel. All things else forsake me, besides my God, my duty, and\nmy prayers.\"\n\nXI. Sir Walter Raleigh is an eminent instance, being as\nextraordinary a man, as our nation hath produced; in his person\nwell descended; of health, strength, and a masculine beauty; in\nunderstanding quick: in judgment sound; learned and wise, valiant\nand skilful; a historian, a philosopher, a general, a statesman.\nAfter a long life, full of experience, he drops these excellent\nsayings, a little before his death, to his son, to his wife, and\nto the world, viz.: \"Exceed not in the humour of rags and bravery,\nfor these will soon wear out of fashion: and no man is esteemed for\ngay garments but by fools and women. On the other side, seek not\nriches basely, nor attain them by evil means: destroy no man for\nhis wealth, nor take anything from the poor; for the cry thereof\nwill pierce the heavens: and it is most detestable before God, and\nmost dishonourable before worthy men, to wrest anything from the\nneedy and labouring soul: God will never prosper thee, if thou\noffendest therein; but use thy poor neighbours and tenants well.\"\nA most worthy saying. But he adds, \"Have compassion on the poor and\nafflicted, and God will bless thee for it: make not the hungry soul\nsorrowful; for if he curse thee in the bitterness of his soul, his\nprayer shall be heard of Him that made him. Now, for the world,\ndear child, I know it too well to persuade thee to dive into the\npractices of it; rather stand upon thy own guard against all those\nthat tempt thee to it, or may practise upon thee; whether in thy\nconscience, thy reputation, or thy estate: resolve, that no man\nis wise or safe but he that is honest. Serve God; let Him be the\nAuthor of all thy actions: commend all thy endeavours to Him, who\nmost either wither or prosper them: please Him with prayer; lest if\nHe frown, He confound all thy fortune and labour, like the drops of\nrain upon the sandy ground. Let my experienced advice and fatherly\ninstructions sink deep into thy heart: so God direct thee in all thy\nways, and fill thy heart with his grace.\"\n\n\n_Sir Walter Raleigh's Letter to his Wife, after his Condemnation._\n\n     \"You shall receive, my dear wife, my last words, in these my\n     last lines. My love I send you, that you may keep when I am\n     dead; and my counsel, that you may remember it when I am no\n     more. I would not, with my will, present you sorrows, dear Bess;\n     let them go to the grave with me, and be buried in the dust:\n     and, seeing that it is not the will of God that I shall see\n     you any more, bear my destruction patiently, and with a heart\n     like yourself. First, I send you all the thanks which my heart\n     can conceive, or my words express, for your many travails and\n     cares for me; which, though they have not taken effect as you\n     wished, yet my debt to you is not the less; but pay it I never\n     shall in this world. Secondly, I beseech you, for the love you\n     bear me living, that you do not hide yourself many days; but\n     by your travails seek to help my miserable fortunes, and the\n     right of your poor child: your mourning cannot avail me, who\n     am but dust. Thirdly, you shall understand, that my lands were\n     conveyed, _bona fide_, to my child; the writings were drawn at\n     Midsummer was at twelvemonth, as divers can witness: and I trust\n     my blood will quench their malice who desired my slaughter,\n     that they will not seek to kill you and yours with extreme\n     poverty. To what friend to direct you, I know not, for all mine\n     have left me, in the true time of trial: most sorry am I, that,\n     being surprised by death, I can leave you no better estate: God\n     hath prevented all my determinations, that great God, which\n     worketh all in all. If you can live free from want, care for\n     no more, for the rest is but a vanity. Love God, and begin\n     betimes; in Him shall you find true, everlasting, and endless\n     comfort: when you have travailed and wearied yourself with all\n     sorts of worldly cogitations, shall you sit down by sorrow in\n     the end. Teach your son also to serve and fear God, whilst he\n     is young, that the fear of God may grow up in him; then will\n     God be a husband to you, and a father to him; a husband and a\n     father that can never be taken from you. Dear wife, I beseech\n     you, for my soul's sake, pay all poor men. When I am dead, no\n     doubt but you will be much sought unto, for the world thinks I\n     was very rich. Have a care of the fair pretences of men; for\n     no greater misery can befal you in this life, than to become a\n     prey unto the world, and afterwards to be despised. As for me,\n     I am no more yours, nor you mine: death has cut us asunder, and\n     God hath divided me from the world, and you from me. Remember\n     your poor child, for his father's sake, who loved you in his\n     happiest estate. I sued for my life, but God knows, it was for\n     you and yours that I desired it: for know it, my dear wife,\n     your child is the child of a true man, who in his own respect\n     despiseth death, and his misshapen and ugly forms. I cannot\n     write much. God knows how hardly I steal this time, when all\n     are asleep, and it is also time for me to separate my thoughts\n     from the world. Beg my dead body, which living was denied you;\n     and either lay it in Sherborne, or in Exeter church, by my\n     father and mother. I can say no more; time and death call me\n     away. The everlasting God, powerful, infinite, and inscrutable,\n     God Almighty, who is goodness itself, the true light and life,\n     keep you and yours, and have mercy upon me, and forgive my\n     persecutors, and false accusers; and send us to meet in his\n     glorious kingdom. My dear wife, farewell; bless my boy; pray for\n     me; and let my true God hold you both in his arms.\n\n     \"Your's that was, but not now mine own,\n\n     \"Walter Raleigh.\"\n\nBehold wisdom, resolution, nature, and grace! How strong in\nargument, wise in counsel, firm, affectionate, and devout! O that\nyour heroes and politicians would make him their example in his\ndeath, as well as magnify the great actions of his life. I doubt\nnot, had he been to live over his days again, with his experience,\nhe had made less noise, and yet done more good to the world and\nhimself. It is a sad thing to consider, that, men hardly come to\nknow themselves or the world, till they are ready to leave it.\n\nXII. Henry Wotton, knight, thought it the greatest happiness in this\nlife, \"to be at leisure to be and to do good;\" as in his latter end\nhe was wont to say, when he reflected on past times, though a man\nesteemed sober and learned, \"How much time have I to repent of, and\nhow little to do it in!\"\n\nXIII. Sir Christopher Hatton, a little before his death, advised\nhis relations to be serious in the search after \"the will of God in\nthe holy word:\" \"for,\" said he, \"it is deservedly accounted a piece\nof excellent knowledge, to understand the law of the land, and the\ncustoms of a man's country; how much more to know the statutes of\nheaven, and the laws of eternity; those immutable and eternal laws\nof justice and righteousness; to know the will and pleasure of the\ngreat Monarch, and universal King of the world: I have seen an end\nof all perfection, but thy commandments, O God, are exceeding broad.\"\n\nWhatever other knowledge a man may be endued withal, could he by a\nvast and imperious mind, and a heart as large as the sand upon the\nsea-shore, command all the knowledge of art and nature, of words and\nthings; could he attain a mystery in all languages, and sound the\ndepth of all arts and sciences; could he discourse of the interests\nof all states, the intrigues of all courts, the reason of all civil\nlaws and constitutions, and give an account of all histories; and\nyet not know the Author of his being, and the Preserver of his life,\nhis Sovereign, and his Judge; his surest refuge in trouble: his best\nFriend; the support of his life, and the hope of his death; his\nfuture happiness, and his portion for ever; he doth but _sapienter\ndescendere in infernum_, with a great deal of wisdom go down to Hell.\n\nXIV. Francis Bacon, lord high-chancellor of England, some time\nbefore his death, confessed, that, to be religious, was to live\nstrictly and severely; for if the opinion of another world be false,\nyet the sweetest life in this world is piety, virtue, and honesty;\nif it were true, there be none so wretched and miserable, as loose,\ncarnal, and profane persons.\n\nXV. The great duke de Montmorency, colleague to the duke of Orleans,\nbrother to the French king, Lewis XIII., in the war by them agitated\nagainst the ministry of Cardinal Richlieu, being taken and convicted\nat Lyons, a little before his beheading, looking upon himself, then\nvery richly attired; \"Ah!\" says he, \"this becomes not a servant of\nthe crucified Jesus! What do I with these vanities about me? He was\npoor, despised, and naked, when He went to the cross to die for my\nsins;\" and immediately he stripped himself of all his finery, and\nput a more grave and modest garment on him: a serious reflection, at\na time when he best knew what was best.\n\nXVI. Henry, Prince of Wales, eldest son to king James I., of whom\nothers say many excellent things, hear what account he gives of\nhimself at last: a person whom he loved, and that had been the\ncompanion of his diversions, being with him in his sickness, and\nasking him how he did, was, amongst many other sober expressions,\nanswered thus: \"Ah, Tom! I in vain wish for that time I lost with\nthee and others in vain recreations.\" So vain were recreations, and\nso precious was time to a prince, and no ordinary one neither, upon\na dying bed. But why wished he with others for more time, but that\nit might be better employed? Thus hath the just principle and holy\nSpirit of God in men, throughout all generations, convinced them of\ntheir vanity and folly upon their dying beds, who before were too\nmuch taken up to mind either a dying bed, or a vast eternity; but\nwhen their days were almost numbered, when mortality hasted on them,\nwhen the revelation of the righteous judgment was at the door, and\nthat all their worldly recreations and enjoyments must be parted\nwith, and that eye for ever shut, and flesh turned to worm's-meat,\nthat took delight therein; then, O then, was it the holy witness had\nroom to plead with conscience: then nothing but a holy, strict, and\nsevere life was valuable; then all the world for a little time, who\nbefore had given all their time for a little of a vain world. But if\nso short a representation of the inconsistency of the vanities of\nthe world with the Christian life, could make so deep an impression;\noh! to what a noble stature and large proportion had they been grown\nin all pious and heavenly knowledge; and how much greater had\ntheir rewards been if they contentedly had foregone those perishing\nentertainments of the world betimes, and given the exercise of their\nminds to the tuition and guidance of that universal grace and Holy\nSpirit of God, which had so long shined in darkness, uncomprehended\nof it, and was at last but just perceived to give a sight of what\nthey had been doing all their days.\n\nXVII. Philip III. King of Spain, seriously reflecting upon the\nlife he had led in the world, cried out upon his death-bed, \"Ah!\nhow happy were I, had I spent these twenty-three years that I have\nheld my kingdom, in a retirement.\" Crying out to his confessor, \"My\nconcern is for my soul, not my body. I lay all that God has given\nme, my dominion, power, and my life, at the feet of Jesus Christ my\nSaviour.\" Would kings would live, as well as die so!\n\nXVIII. Count Gondamor, ambassador in England for that very king,\nand held the ablest man of his time, took great freedom as to his\nreligion in his politics, serving his ends by those ways that would\nbest accomplish them. When, towards his latter end, he grew very\nthoughtful of his past life, and after all his negotiations and\nsuccesses in business, said to one of his friends, \"I fear nothing\nin the world more than sin;\" often professing, he had rather endure\nhell than sin: so clear and strong were his convictions, and so\nexceeding sinful did sin appear to him, upon a serious consideration\nof his ways.\n\nXIX. Cardinal Richelieu, after having been first minister of state\nof Europe, as well as of France, confessed to old Peter de Moulin,\nthe famous Protestant of that country, that, being forced upon many\nirregularities by that which they call reason of state, he could not\ntell how to satisfy his conscience for several things, and therefore\nhad many temptations to doubt and disbelieve a God, another world,\nand the immortality of the soul, and thereby to relieve his mind\nfrom any disquiet, but in vain. So strong, he said, was the notion\nof God on his soul, so clear the impression of Him upon the frame\nof the world, so unanimous the consent of mankind, so powerful the\nconvictions of his own conscience, that he could not but taste the\npower of the world to come, and so live as one that must die, and\nso die as one that must live for ever. And being asked one day why\nhe was so sad, answered, \"Monsieur, Monsieur, the soul is a serious\nthing; it must be either sad here for a moment, or be sad for ever.\"\n\nXX. Cardinal Mazarin, reputed the most cunning statesman of his\ntime, and who gave great proofs of it in the successes of the French\ncrown, under his ministry: his aim was the grandeur of the world,\nto which he made all other considerations submit: but, poor man! he\nwas of another mind a little before his death: for, being awakened\nby the smart lashes of conscience, which represented his soul's\ncondition very dismal, with astonishment and tears he cried out,\n\"Oh, my poor soul, what will become of thee! Whither wilt thou go?\"\nand spake one day thus to the Queen-mother of France, \"Madam, your\nfavours have undone me. Were I to live again, I would be a Capuchin,\nrather than a courtier.\"\n\nXXI. Count Oxenstiern, chancellor of Sweden, a person of the first\nquality, station, and ability in his own country, and whose share\nand success, not only in the chief ministry of affairs in that\nkingdom, but in the greatest negotiations of Europe during his\ntime, made him no less considerable abroad. After all his knowledge\nand honour, being visited in his retreat from public business, by\ncommissioner Whitlock, ambassador from England to Queen Christiana,\nin the conclusion of their discourse, he said to the ambassador, \"I\nhave seen much, and enjoyed much of this world, but I never knew how\nto live till now. I thank my good God that has given me time to\nknow Him, and to know myself. All the comfort I have, and all the\ncomfort I take, and which is more than the whole world can give,\nis feeling the good Spirit of God in my heart, and reading in this\ngood book,\" holding up the Bible, \"that came from it.\" And further\naddressed himself thus to the ambassador: \"You are now in the prime\nof your age and vigour, and in great favour and business; but this\nwill all leave you, and you will one day better understand and\nrelish what I say to you; and then you will find that there is more\nwisdom, truth, comfort, and pleasure, in retiring and turning your\nheart from the world, to the good Spirit of God, and in reading the\nBible, than in all the courts and favours of princes.\" This I had,\nas near as I am able to remember, from the ambassador's own mouth,\nmore than once. A very edifying history, when we consider from\nwhom it came; one of the greatest and wisest men of his age, while\nhis understanding was as sound and vigorous, as his experience and\nknowledge were great.\n\nXXII. Dr. Donne, a great poet, taking his farewell of his friends,\non his dying bed, left this saying behind him, for them to measure\ntheir fancies and their actions by: \"I repent of all my life, but\nthat part of it I spent in communion with God, and doing good.\"\n\nXXIII. Selden, one of the greatest scholars and antiquaries of his\ntime: one who had taken a diligent survey of what knowledge was\nconsiderable amongst the Jews, Heathens, and Christians; at last\nprofesseth this toward the end of his days, in his conference with\nBishop Usher, that, notwithstanding he had been so laborious in\nhis inquiries, and curious in his collections, and had possessed\nhimself of a treasure of books and manuscripts, upon all ancient\nsubjects; yet he could rest his soul on none, save the Scriptures,\nand above all that passage lay most remarkably upon his spirit,\n(Titus ii. 11-15,) \"For the grace of God, that bringeth salvation,\nhath appeared unto all men, teaching us, that, denying ungodliness\nand worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly\nin this present world: looking for that blessed hope, and glorious\nappearing of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave\nHimself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and\npurify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works: these\nthings speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority.\" And indeed\nit is one of the most comprehensive passages in the Scripture; for\nit comprises the end, means, and recompense of Christianity.\n\nXXIV. Hugo Grotius, than whom these latter ages think they have not\nhad a man of more universal knowledge, \"a light,\" say the statesmen;\n\"a light,\" say the churchmen too; witness his Annals, and his Book,\nDe Jure Belli et Pacis; also his Christian Religion, and elaborate\nCommentaries. He winds up his life and choice in this remarkable\nsaying, which should abate the edge of other men's inordinate\ndesires after what they falsely call learning; namely, \"I would\ngive all my learning and honour for the plain integrity of Jean\nUrick, who was a religious poor man, that spent eight hours of his\ntime in prayer, eight in labour, and but eight in meals, sleep, and\nother necessaries.\" And to one that admired his great industry, he\nreturned this by way of complaint: \"Ah! I have consumed my life in\nlaboriously doing nothing.\" And to another, that inquired of his\nwisdom and learning, what course to take, he solemnly answered,\n\"Be serious.\" Such was the sense he had, how much a serious life\nexcelled, and was of force towards a dying hour.\n\nXXV. To whom I join Salmasius, that famous French scholar, and the\nother's contemporary, who after his many volumes of learning, by\nwhich he had acquired great veneration among men of books, confessed\nso far to have mistaken true learning, and that in which solid\nhappiness consists, that he exclaimed thus against himself: \"Oh! I\nhave lost a world of time; time, that most precious thing in the\nworld; whereof, had I but one year more, it should be spent in\nDavid's Psalms, and Paul's Epistles. Oh, Sirs,\" said he to those\nabout him, \"mind the world less, and God more: the fear of the Lord,\nthat is wisdom; and to depart from evil, that is understanding.\"\n\nXXVI. Francis Junius, an ingenious person, who hath written his own\nlife, as he was reading Tully de Legibus, fell into a persuasion,\n_Nihil curare Deum, nec sui, nec alieni_; till in a tumult in Lyons,\nthe Lord wonderfully delivered him from imminent death; so that\nhe was forced to acknowledge a divine Providence therein, and his\nfather hearing the dangerous ways that his son was misled into,\nsent for him home, where he carefully and piously instructed him,\nand caused him to read over the New Testament; of which himself\nwriteth thus: \"When I opened the New Testament, I first lighted upon\nJohn's first chapter, \"In the beginning was the word,\" &c. I read\npart of the chapter, and was suddenly convinced, that the divinity\nof the argument, and the majesty and authority of the writing, did\nexceedingly excel all the eloquence of human writings: my body\ntrembled, my mind was astonished, and was so affected all that day,\nthat I knew not where and what I was. Thou wast mindful of me, O my\nGod, according to the multitude of thy mercies, and calledst home\nthy lost sheep into the fold.\" And, as Justin Martyr of old, so he\nof late professed, that the power of godliness in a plain simple\nChristian wrought so upon him, that he could not but take up a\nstrict and a serious life.\n\nXXVII. A. Rivetus, a man of learning, and much reverenced in the\nDutch nation, after a long life of study, in search of Divine\nknowledge, upon his death bed, being discoursed by his friend of\nheavenly things, brake forth in this manner: \"God has learned me\nmore of himself in ten days' sickness, than I could get by all my\nlabour and studies.\" So near a way, so short a cut it is to the\nknowledge of God, when people come into the right way, which is to\nturn, in their minds and hearts, to the voice of God, and learn of\nHim, who is a Spirit, to be taught of Him, and led by Him: For in\nrighteousness such shall be established, and great shall be their\npeace.\n\n     _A Letter from James, Earl of Marlborough, a little before his\n     Death, in the Battle at Sea, on the Coast of Holland, &c._\n\nXXVIII. \"I believe the goodness of your nature, and the friendship\nyou have always borne me, will receive with kindness the last\noffice of your friend. I am in health enough of body, and, through\nthe mercy of God, in Jesus Christ, well disposed in mind. This I\npremise, that you may be satisfied that what I write proceeds not\nfrom any fantastic terror of mind, but from a sober resolution of\nwhat concerns myself, and earnest desire to do you more good after\nmy death, than mine example (God of his mercy pardon the badness of\nit!) in my lifetime may do you harm. I will not speak aught of the\nvanity of this world; your own age and experience will save that\nlabour: but there is a certain thing that goeth up and down in the\nworld, called religion, dressed, and pretended fantastically, and\nto purposes bad enough, which yet by such evil dealings loseth not\nits being. The great good God hath not left it without a witness,\nmore or less, sooner or later, in every man's bosom, to direct\nus in the pursuit of it; and for the avoiding those inextricable\ndisquisitions and entanglements our own frail reasons would perplex\nus withal, God in his infinite mercy hath given us his holy word, in\nwhich, as there are many things hard to be understood, so there is\nenough plain and easy to quiet our minds, and direct us concerning\nour future being. I confess to God and you, I have been a great\nneglecter, and, I fear, despiser of it: God of his infinite mercy\npardon me the dreadful fault! But when I retired myself from the\nnoise and deceitful vanity of the world, I found no true comfort in\nany other resolution than what I had from thence: I commend, from\nthe bottom of my heart, the same to your, I hope, happy use. Dear\nHugh, let us be more generous, than to believe we die as the beasts\nthat perish; but with a christian, manly, brave resolution, look to\nwhat is eternal. I will not trouble you further. The only great God,\nand holy God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, direct you to a happy end\nof your life, and send us a joyful resurrection! So prays your true\nfriend,\n\n  \"Marlborough.\"\n\nXXIX. The late Sir Henry Vane must be too fresh in memory to need a\ncharacter; but it is certain, his parts were of the first rate, and\nsuperior to the generality of men; but he would often say, he owed\nthem to religion. In his youth he was much addicted to company, and\npromised little to business; but in reading a book, called, \"The\nSigns of a Godly Man,\" and being convicted in himself that they were\njust, but that he had no share in any one of them, he fell into that\nextreme anguish and horror, that for some days and nights he took\nlittle food or rest, which at once dissolved his old friendships,\nand made those impressions and resolutions to religion, that\nneither university, courts, princes, nor parents, nor any losses\nor disappointments that threatened his new course of life, could\nweaken or alter. And though this laid him under some disadvantages\nfor a time, his great integrity and abilities quickly broke through\nthat obscurity; so that those of very differing sentiments did not\nonly admire, but very often desired him to accept the most eminent\nnegotiations of his country, which he served according to his own\nprinciples with great success, and a remarkable self-denial. This\ngreat man's maxim was, Religion was the best master, and the best\nfriend; for it made men wise, and would never leave them that never\nleft it; which he found true in himself: for as it made him wiser\nthan those that had been his teachers, so it made him firmer than\nany hero, having something more than nature to support him: which\nwas the judgment as well of foreigners as others, that had the\ncuriosity to see him die. Making good some meditations of his own,\nviz.: \"The day of death is the judge of all our other days: the very\ntrial and touch-stone of the actions of our life. It is the end that\ncrowns the work, and a good death honoureth a man's whole life.\nThe fading corruption and loss of this life is the passage into a\nbetter. Death is no less essential to us, than to live or to be\nborn. In flying death, thou fliest thyself; thy essence is equally\nparted into these two, life and death. It is no small reproach to\na Christian, whose faith is in immortality, and the blessedness of\nanother life, to fear death much, which is the necessary passage\nthereunto.\"\n\nXXX. The late earl of Rochester was inferior to nobody in wit, and\nhardly anybody ever used it worse, if we believe him against himself\nin his dying reflections; an account of which I have had from some\nthat visited him in his sickness, besides that larger one, made\npublic by the Bishop of Salisbury. It was then that he came to think\nthere was a God, for he felt his lashes on his conscience, and that\nthere was such a thing as virtue, and a reward for it. Christianity\nwas no longer a worldly or absurd design; but Christ, a Saviour, and\na most merciful one; and his doctrines plain, just, and reasonable,\nand the true way to felicity here and hereafter. Admiring and\nadoring that mercy to him, which he had treated with so much\ninfidelity and obstinate contempt: wishing only for more life to\nconfute his past one, and in some measure to repair the injuries he\nhad done to religion by it; begging forgiveness for Christ's sake,\nthough he thought himself the most unworthy of it for his own,--thus\ndied the witty Lord Rochester, and this retreat he made from the\nworld he had so great a name in. May the loose wits of the times, as\nhe desired, take warning by him, and not leave their repentance to a\ndying bed!\n\nXXXI. A noble young man of the family of Howard, having yielded too\nmuch to the temptations of youth, when upon his sick bed, which\nproved his dying bed, fell under the power and agony of great\nconvictions, mightily bewailing himself in the remembrance of his\nformer extravagancies; crying strongly to God to forgive him,\nabhorring his former course, and promising amendment, if God renewed\nlife to him. However, he was willing to die, having tasted of the\nlove and forgiveness of God; warning his acquaintance and kindred\nthat came to see him to fear God, and forsake the pleasures and\nvanity of this world: and so willingly yielded his soul from the\ntroubles of time, and frailties of mortality.\n\nXXXII. The late princess Elizabeth of the Rhine of right claimeth a\nmemorial in this discourse, her virtue giving greater lustre to her\nname than her quality, which yet was of the greatest in the German\nempire. She chose a single life, as freest of care, and best suited\nto the study and meditation she was always inclined to; and the\nchief diversion she took, next to the air, was in some such plain\nand housewifely entertainments as knitting, &c. She had a small\nterritory, which she governed so well, that she showed herself fit\nfor a greater. She would constantly, every last day in the week,\nsit in judgment, and hear and determine causes herself; where her\npatience, justice, and mercy were admirable; frequently remitting\nher forfeitures, where the party was poor, or otherwise meritorious.\nAnd what was excellent, though unusual, she would temper her\ndiscourses with religion, and strangely draw concerned parties to\nsubmission and agreement; exercising not so much the rigour of her\npower, as the power of her persuasion. Her meekness and humility\nappeared to me extraordinary; she never considered the quality,\nbut the merit of the people she entertained. Did she hear of a\nretired man, hid from the world, and seeking after the knowledge\nof a better, she was sure to set him down in the catalogue of her\ncharity, if he wanted it; I have casually seen, I believe, fifty\ntokens sealed and superscribed to the several poor subjects of her\nbounty, whose distances would not suffer them to know one another,\nthough they knew her, whom yet some of them had never seen. Thus,\nthough she kept no sumptuous table in her own court, she spread\nthe tables of the poor in their solitary cells; breaking bread\nto virtuous pilgrims, according to their want, and her ability.\nAbstemious in herself, and in apparel void of all vain ornaments.\n\nI must needs say, her mind had a noble prospect; her eye was to a\nbetter and more lasting inheritance than can be found below: which\nmade her often to despise the greatness of courts, and learning of\nthe schools, of which she was an extraordinary judge. Being once at\nHamburgh, a religious person, whom she went to see for religion's\nsake, telling her it was too great an honour for him, that he\nshould have a visitant of her quality come under his roof, that\nwas allied to so many great kings and princes of this world, she\nhumbly answered: \"If they were godly as well as great, it would be\nan honour indeed; but if you knew what that greatness was as well as\nI, you would value less that honour.\" Being in some agony of spirit,\nafter a religious meeting we had in her own chamber, she said, \"It\nis a hard thing to be faithful to what one knows: Oh, the way is\nstrait! I am afraid I am not weighty enough in my spirit to walk in\nit.\" After another meeting, she uttered these words: \"I have records\nin my library, that the Gospel was first brought out of England\nhither into Germany, by the English, and now it is come again.\"\nShe once withdrew, on purpose to give her servants the liberty\nof discoursing with us, that they might the more freely put what\nquestions of conscience they desired to be satisfied in; for they\nwere religious: suffering both them, and the poorest of her town,\nto sit by her in her own bedchamber, where we had two meetings. I\ncannot forget her last words, when I took my leave of her: \"Let\nme desire you to remember me, though I live at this distance, and\nthat you should never see me more: I thank you for this good time;\nand know and be assured, though my condition subjects me to divers\ntemptations, yet my soul hath strong desires after the best things.\"\nShe lived her single life till about sixty years of age, and then\ndeparted at her own house in Herwerden, in the year 1680, as much\nlamented as she had lived beloved of the people: to whose real\nworth, I do, with a religious gratitude, for her kind reception,\ndedicate this memorial.\n\nXXXIII. Bulstrode Whitlock, has left his own character in his\n\"Memoirs of English affairs;\" a book that shows both his employments\nand greater abilities. He was almost ever a commissioner and\ncompanion with those great men that the lords and commons of\nEngland, at several times, appointed to treat with King Charles\nI. for a peace. He was commissioner of the great seal, ambassador\nto the crown of Sweden, and sometimes president to the council: a\nscholar, a lawyer, a statesman; in short, he was one of the most\naccomplished men of the age. Being with him sometimes at his own\nhouse in Berkshire, where he gave me that account I have related of\nchancellor Oxenstiern, amongst many serious things he spoke, this\nwas very observable, \"I have ever thought,\" said he, \"there has\nbeen one true religion in the world, and that is the work of the\nSpirit of God in the hearts and souls of men. There have been indeed\ndivers forms and shapes of things, through the many dispensations\nof God to men, answerable to his own wise ends, in reference to the\nlow and uncertain state of man in the world; but the old world had\nthe Spirit of God, for it strove with them; and the new world has\nhad the Spirit of God, both Jew and Gentile, and it strives with\nall; and they that have been led by it, have been the good people\nin every dispensation of God to the world. And I myself must say,\nI have felt it from a child to convince me of my evil and vanity,\nand it has often given me a true measure of this poor world, and\nsome taste of divine things; and it is my grief I did not more\nearly apply my soul to it. For I can say, since my retirement from\nthe greatness and hurries of the world, I have felt something of\nthe work and comfort of it, and that it is both ready and able to\ninstruct, and lead and preserve those that will humbly and sincerely\nhearken to it. So that my religion is the good Spirit of God in my\nheart; I mean, what that has wrought in me and for me.\" And after\na meeting at his house, to which he gave an entire liberty for all\nthat pleased to come, he was so deeply affected with the testimony\nof the light, spirit, and grace of Christ in man, as the gospel\ndispensation, that after the meeting closed in prayer, he rose up,\nand pulled off his hat, and said, \"This is the everlasting gospel I\nhave heard this day: and I humbly bless the name of God, that He has\nlet me live to see this day, in which the ancient gospel is again\npreached to them that dwell upon the earth.\"\n\nXXXIV. A sister of the family of Penn, in Buckinghamshire, a young\nwoman delighting in the finery and pleasures of the world, was\nseized with a violent illness that proved mortal to her. In the\ntime of her sickness she fell into great distress of soul, bitterly\nbewailing the want of that inward peace which makes a death-bed\neasy to the righteous. After several days' languishing, a little\nconsolation appeared after this manner. She was some hours in a\nkind of trance; she apprehended she was brought into a place where\nChrist was; to whom, could she but deliver her petition, she hoped\nto be relieved. But her endeavours increased her pain: for as she\npressed to deliver it, he turned his back upon her, and would not\nso much as look towards her. But that which added to her sorrow,\nwas, that she beheld others admitted: however, she gave not over\nimportuning him. And when almost ready to faint, and her hope to\nsink, he turned one side of his face towards her, and reached forth\nhis hand, and received her request: at which her troubled soul found\nimmediate consolation. Turning to those about her, she repeats what\nhad befallen her, adding, \"Bring me my new clothes, take off the\nlace and finery;\" and charged her relations, not to deck and adorn\nthemselves after the manner of the world: for that the Lord Jesus,\nwhom she had seen, appeared unto her in the likeness of a plain\ncountryman, without any trimming or ornament whatever; and that his\nservants ought to be like Him.\n\nXXXV. My own father, after thirty years employment, with good\nsuccess, in divers places of eminent trust and honour in his own\ncountry, upon a serious reflection, not long before his death,\nspoke to me in this manner: \"Son William, I am weary of the world:\nI would not live over my days again, if I could command them with a\nwish: for the snares of life are greater than the fears of death.\nThis troubles me, that I have offended a gracious God, that has\nfollowed me to this day. Oh, have a care of sin: that is the sting\nboth of life and death. Three things I commend to you. First,\nLet nothing in this world tempt you to wrong your conscience; I\ncharge you, do nothing against your conscience, so will you keep\npeace at home, which will be a feast to you in the day of trouble.\nSecondly, Whatever you design to do, lay it justly, and time it\nseasonably; for that gives security and dispatch. Lastly, Be not\ntroubled at disappointments; for if they may be recovered, do it;\nif they cannot, trouble is vain. If you could not have helped\nit, be content; there is often peace and profit in submitting to\nProvidence, for afflictions make wise. If you could have helped\nit, let not your trouble exceed instruction for another time:\nthese rules will carry you with firmness and comfort through\nthis inconstant world.\" At another time he inveighed against the\nprofaneness and impiety of the age; often crying out, with an\nearnestness of spirit, \"Woe to thee, O England! God will judge thee,\nO England! Plagues are at thy door, O England!\" He much bewailed\nthat divers men in power, and many of the nobility and gentry of the\nkingdom, were grown so dissolute and profane; often saying, \"God\nhas forsaken us; we are infatuated; we will shut our eyes; we will\nnot see our true interests and happiness: we shall be destroyed!\"\nApprehending the consequences of the growing looseness of the age\nto be our ruin; and that the methods most fit to serve the kingdom\nwith true credit, at home and abroad, were too much neglected:\nthe trouble of which did not a little help to feed his distemper,\nwhich drew him daily nearer to his end: and as he believed it, so\nless concerned or disordered, I never saw him at any time; of which\nI took good notice: wearied to live, as well as near to die, he\ntook his leave of us, and of me, with this expression, and a most\ncomposed countenance: \"Son William, if you and your friends keep to\nyour plain way of preaching, and keep to your plain way of living,\nyou will make an end of the priests to the end of the world. Bury me\nby my mother: live all in love: shun all manner of evil: and I pray\nGod to bless you all: and He will bless you.\"\n\nXXXVI. Anthony Lowther, of Mask, a person of good sense, of a sweet\ntemper, a just mind, and of a sober education; when of age to be\nunder his own government, was drawn by the men of pleasure of the\ntown, into the usual freedoms of it, and was as much a judge as\nanybody of the satisfaction that way of living could yield; but\nsome time before his sickness, with a free and strong judgment, he\nwould frequently upbraid himself, and contemn the world for those\nunreasonable as well as unchristian liberties that so much abound\nin it; which apprehension increased by the instruction of a long\nand sharp sickness, he would often despise their folly, and abhor\ntheir guilt; breathing, with some impatience, after the knowledge of\nthe best things, and the best company; losing as little time as he\ncould, that he might redeem the time he had lost; testifying often,\nwith a lively relish, to the truth of religion, from the sense he\nhad of it in his own breast: frequently professing, he knew no joy\ncomparable to that of being assured of the love and mercy of God;\nwhich, as he often implored with strong convictions, and a deep\nhumility and reverence, so he had frequently tastes thereof before\nhis last period; pressing his relations and friends, in a most\nserious and affectionate manner, to love God, and one another more,\nand this vile world less. And of this he was so full, it was almost\never the conclusion of his most inward discourses with his family;\nthough he sometimes said, he could have been willing to have lived,\nif God had pleased, to see his younger children nearer a settlement\nin the world; yet he felt no desire to live longer in the world, but\non the terms of living better in it. For that he did not only think\nvirtue the safest, but the happiest way of living: commending and\ncommanding it to his children upon his last blessing.\n\nI shall conclude this chapter of retired, aged, and dying persons,\nwith some collections I have made out of the life of a person of\ngreat piety and quality of the French nation.\n\nXXXVII. Du Renti, a young nobleman of France, of admirable parts,\nas well as great birth, touched with a sense of the vanity of\nthe world, and the sweetness of a retired and religious life,\nnotwithstanding the honours and employments that waited for him,\nabandons the pride and pomp of the world, to enjoy a life of more\ncommunion with God: do but hear him: \"I avow,\" saith he, \"that I\nhave no gust in anything where I find not Jesus Christ; and for\na soul that speaks not of Him, or in which we cannot taste any\neffect of grace flowing from his Spirit, (which is the principle of\noperations, both inward and outward, that are solidly Christian,)\nspeak not to me at all of such an one: could I, as I may say, behold\nboth miracles and wonders there, and yet not Jesus Christ, nor\nhear any talk of Him, I count all but amusement of spirit, loss of\ntime, and a very dangerous precipice. Let us encourage ourselves\nto lead this life unknown, and wholly hid from men, but most known\nto and intimate with God; divesting ourselves, and chasing out of\nour minds all those many superfluities, and those many amusements,\nwhich bring with them so great a damage, that they take up our mind,\ninstead of God. So that when I consider that which thwarts and cuts\ninto so many pieces this holy, this sweet, and amiable union, which\nwe should have continually with God, it appears, that it is only\na monsieur, a madame, a compliment, and chatting, indeed a mere\nfoolery; which notwithstanding doth ravish and wrest from us the\ntime that is so precious, and the fellowship that is so holy, and so\ndesirable. Let us quit this, I pray you, and learn to court it with\nour own Master; let us well understand our part, our own world, as\nwe here phrase it, not that world I mean, which we do renounce, but\nthat wherein the children of God do their duties to their Father.\nThere is nothing in this world so separate from the world, as God;\nand the greater the saints are, the greater is their retirement into\nHim. This our Saviour taught us whilst He lived on earth, being in\nall his visible employments united to God, and retired into the\nbosom of his Father. Since the time that I gave up my liberty to\nGod, as I told you, I was given to understand to what a state of\nannihilation the soul must be brought, to render it capable of union\nwith Him: I saw my soul reduced into a small point, contracted and\nshrunk up to nothing: and at the same time I beheld myself, as if\nencompassed with whatsoever the world loves and possesseth; and, as\nit were, a hand removing all this far from me, throwing it into the\nocean of annihilation.\n\n\"In the first place, I saw removed all exterior things, kingdoms,\ngreat offices, stately buildings, rich household-stuff, gold and\nsilver, recreations, pleasures; all which are great encumbrances\nto the soul's passing on to God, of which therefore his pleasure\nis, that she be stripped, that she may arrive at the point of\nnakedness and death, which will bring her into possession of solid\nriches and real life. Assure yourself, there is no security in any\nstate, but this of dying and annihilation; which is to be baptized\ninto Christ's death, that we live the life of mortification. Our\nbest way is therefore to divest ourselves of all, that the holy\nchild Jesus may govern all. All that can be imagined in this lower\nworld is of small concernment, though it were the losing of all our\ngoods, and the death of all the men in it; this poor ant-hill is\nnot worthy of a serious thought. Had we but a little faith, and a\nlittle love, how happy should we esteem ourselves in giving away\nall, to attend no more, save on God alone; and to say, _Deus meus et\nomnia_; my God, and my all! 'Being,' saith he, 'in a chapel richly\nwainscotted, and adorned with very excellent sculpture, and with\nimagery, I beheld it with some attention, having had some skill in\nthese things, and saw the bundles of fleurs-de-luce, and of flowers\nin the form of borders, and of very curious workmanship; it was on\na sudden put into my mind, The original of what thou seest would\nnot detain thee at all in seeing it. And I perceived, that indeed\nall these, and those flowers themselves, not in pictures, would\nnot have taken me up; and all the ornaments which architecture and\nart invent are but things most mean and low, running in a manner\nonly upon flowers, fruits, branches, harpies, and chimeras, part\nwhereof are in their very being but things common and low, and part\nof them merely imaginary; and yet man, who croucheth to everything,\nrenders himself amorous and a slave of them; no otherwise than as\nif a good workman should stand to copy out, and counterfeit some\ntrifles and fopperies. I considered by this sight how poor man was\nto be cheated, amused, and diverted from his sovereign good. And\nsince that time, I could make no more stand to consider any of these\nthings; and if I did it, I should reproach myself for it, as no\nsooner seeing them in churches or elsewhere, but this presently put\nupon my spirit. The original is nothing; the copy and the image is\nyet less; each thing is vain, except the employment of ourselves\nabout God alone. An absolute abnegation will be necessary to all\nthings, to follow in simplicity, without reserve or reflection, what\nour Saviour shall work in us, or appoint for us, let it be this or\nthat. This way was showed me, in which I ought to walk towards Him:\nand hence it is, that all things to me ordinarily are without any\ngust or delight. I assure you, it is a great shame to a Christian\nto pass his days in this world more at ease than Jesus Christ here\npassed his: ah! had we but a little faith, what repose could we take\nout of the cross!'\"\n\nI will conclude his sayings with his dying blessing to his surviving\nchildren.\n\n\"I pray God bless you, and may it please Him to bless you, and to\npreserve you by his grace from the evil of the world, that you may\nhave no part therein: and, above all, my children, that you may live\nin the fear and love of God, and yield due obedience to your mother.\"\n\nExpressions of that weight and moment to the immortal good of man,\nthat they abundantly prove to all sensible readers, that the author\nwas a man of an enlightened mind, and of a soul mortified to the\nworld, and quickened to some tastes of a supernatural life: let his\nyouth, let his quality, adorned with so much zeal and piety, so much\nself-denial and constancy, become exemplary to those of worldly\nquality, who may be the readers of this book. Some perhaps will hear\nthat truth from the several authors I have reported, whose names,\ndeath, and time have recovered from the envy of mess that would\nhardly endure it from me, if at all from the living. Be it as it\nwill, I shall abundantly rejoice, if God shall please to make any\npart of this discourse effectual to persuade any into the love of\nholiness, without which, certain it is, no man shall see the Lord:\nbut the pure in heart shall behold Him for ever.\n\nTo conclude, I cannot pass this reflection upon what is observed\nof the sayings of dying men, and which to me seems to have great\ninstruction in it, viz.: All men agree, when they come to die,\nit is best to be religious; to live a holy, humble, strict, and\nself-denying life; retired, solitary, temperate, and disencumbered\nof the world. Then loving God above all, and our neighbours as\nourselves, forgiving our enemies, and praying for them, are solid\nthings, and the essential part of religion, as the true ground of\nman's happiness. Then all sin is exceeding sinful, and yields no\nmore pleasure: but every inordinate desire is burthensome, and\nseverely reproved. Then the world, with all the lawful comforts in\nit, weighs light against that sense and judgment, which such men\nhave between the temporal and the eternal. And since it is thus with\ndying men, what instruction is it to the living, whose pretence for\nthe most part is a perpetual contradiction? O that men would learn\nto number their days, that they might apply their hearts to wisdom!\nof which, the fear of the Lord is the true and only beginning. And\nblessed are they that fear always, for their feet shall be preserved\nfrom the snares of death.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXII.\n\n     1. Of the way of living among the first Christians.--2. An\n     exhortation to all professing Christianity, to embrace the\n     foregoing reasons and examples.--3. Plain dealing with such as\n     reject them.--4. Their recompenses.--5. The author is better\n     persuaded and assured of some: an exhortation to them.--6.\n     Encouragement to the children of light to persevere, from a\n     consideration of the excellency of their reward; the end and\n     triumph of the Christian conqueror. The whole concluded with a\n     brief supplication to Almighty God.\n\nTHE CONCLUSION.\n\n\nI. Having finished so many testimonies as my time would give\nme leave, in favour of this subject, No Cross, No Crown; no\ntemperance, no happiness; no virtue, no reward: no mortification,\nno glorification: I shall conclude with a short description of the\nlife and worship of the Christians, within the first century or\nhundred years after Christ: what simplicity, what spirituality,\nwhat holy love and communion, did in that blessed age abound among\nthem! It is delivered originally by Philo Jud\u00e6us, and cited by\nEusebius Pamphilius, in his Ecclesiastical history;[78] that those\nChristians renounced their substance, and severed themselves from\nall the cares of this life; and forsaking the cities, they lived\nsolitarily in fields and gardens. They accounted their company who\nfollowed the contrary life of cares and bustles, as unprofitable\nand hurtful unto them, to the end that with earnest and fervent\ndesires, they might imitate them which led this prophetical and\nheavenly life--\"In many places,\" says he, \"this people liveth, for\nit behoveth as well the Grecians as the Barbarians, to be partakers\nof this absolute goodness; but in Egypt, in every province, they\nabound: and especially about Alexandria. From all parts the\nbetter sort withdrew themselves into the soil and place of these\nworshippers, as they were called, as a most commodious place,\nadjoining to the lake of Mary, in a valley very fit, both for its\nsecurity and the temperance of the air. They are further reported\nto have had meeting-houses, where the most part of the day was\nemployed in worshipping God: that they were great allegorizers of\nthe Scriptures, making them all figurative; that the external show\nof words, or the letter, resembleth the superficies of the body; and\nthe hidden sense or understanding of the words seem in the place of\nthe soul; which they contemplate by their beholding names, as it\nwere, in a glass.\" That is, their religion consisted not chiefly in\nreading the letter, disputing about it, accepting things in literal\nconstructions, but in the things declared of the substance itself,\nbringing things nearer to the mind, soul, and spirit, and pressing\ninto a more hidden and heavenly sense; making religion to consist\nin the temperance and sanctity of the mind, and not in the formal\nbodily worship, so much now-a-days in repute, fitter to please\ncomedians than Christians. Such was the practice of those times: but\nnow the case is altered; people will be Christians, and have their\nworldly-mindedness too; but though God's kingdom suffer violence\nby such, yet shall they never enter: the life of Christ and his\nfollowers hath in all ages been another thing; and there is but one\nway, one guide, one rest; all of which are pure and holy.\n\n  [78] Philo Jud\u00e6us, of the worship of Egypt and Alexandria. Euseb.\n  Pam. Eccl. Hist. 1. 2. c. 17.\n\nII. But if any, notwithstanding our many sober reasons, and\nnumerous testimonies from Scripture, or the example or experience\nof religious, worldly, and profane living and dying men at home and\nabroad, of the greatest note, fame, and learning in the whole world,\nshall yet remain lovers and imitators of the folly and the vanity\ncondemned: if the cries and groans, sighs and tears, and complaints,\nand mournful wishes of so many reputed great, nay, some sober men;\n\"O that I had more time! O that I might live a year longer, I would\nlive a stricter life! O that I were a poor Jean Urick! All is vanity\nin this world! O my poor soul! whither wilt thou go? O that I had\nthe time spent in vain recreations! A serious life is above all:\"\nand such like. If, I say, this by no means can prevail, but if yet\nthey shall proceed to folly, and follow the vain world, what greater\nevidence can they give of their heady resolution, to go on impiously\nto despise God, to disobey his precepts, to deny Christ, to scorn,\nnot to bear his cross, to forsake the examples of his servants, to\ngive the lie to the dying serious sayings and consent of all ages;\nto harden themselves against the checks of conscience, to befool\nand sport away their precious time, and poor immortal souls to woe\nand misery? (Exod. xxxii. 6; Amos, vi. 3-6; Ephes. iv. 17, 24.) In\nshort, it is plain to discover, you have neither reason to justify\nyourselves, nor yet enough of modesty to blush at your own folly;\nbut as those that have lost the sense of one and the other, go on\nto eat and drink, and rise up to play. (Matt. xix. 16-22.) In vain,\ntherefore, is it for you to pretend to fear the God of heaven, whose\nminds serve the god of the pleasure of this world: in vain is it\nto say, you believe in Christ, who receive not his self-denying\ndoctrine: and to no better purpose will all you do avail. If he\nthat had loved God and his neighbour, and kept the commandments\nfrom his youth, was excluded from being a disciple, because he sold\nnot all, and followed Jesus; with what confidence can you call\nyourselves Christians, who have neither kept the commandments, nor\nyet forsaken anything to be so? And if it was a bar betwixt him and\nthe eternal life he sought, that, notwithstanding all his other\nvirtues, love to money and his external possessions could not be\nparted with, what shall be your end, who cannot deny yourselves many\nless things, but are daily multiplying your inventions to please\nyour fleshly appetites? Certainly, much more impossible is it to\nforsake the greater. Christ tried his love, in bidding him forsake\nall, because he knew, for all his brags, that his mind was rivetted\ntherein: not that if he had enjoyed his possessions with Christian\nindifferency, they might not have been continued; but what then is\ntheir doom, whose hearts are so fixed in the vanities of the world,\nthat they will rather make them Christian, than not to be Christians\nin the use of them? But such a Christian this young man might have\nbeen, who had more to say for himself than the strictest Pharisee\nliving dare pretend to; yet he went away sorrowful from Jesus.\nShould I ask you, if Nicodemus did well to come by night, (John,\niii. 1-5,) and be ashamed of the great Messiah of the world? and if\nhe was not ignorant when Christ spake to him of the new birth? I\nknow you will answer me, he did very ill, and was very ignorant; but\nstay a while; the beam is in your own eyes: you are ready doubtless\nto condemn him, and the young man, for not doing what you not only\nrefuse to do yourselves, but laugh at others for doing. Nay, had\nsuch passages not been writ, and were it not for the reverence\nsome pretend for the Scriptures, they would both be as stupid as\nNicodemus in their answers to such heavenly matters, and ready to\ncall it canting to speak so, as it is frequent for you, when we\nspeak to the same effect, though not the same words: just as the\nJews, at what time they called God their Father, they despised his\nSon; and when He spake of sublime and heavenly mysteries, some\ncried, He has a devil; others, He is mad; and most of them, These\nare hard sayings, who can hear them?\n\nIII. And to you all that sport yourselves after the manners of the\nworld, let me say, that you are of those who profess you know God,\nbut in works deny Him; living in those pleasures which slay the\njust in yourselves. (Tit. i. 16.) For though you talk of believing,\nit is no more than taking it for granted that there is a God, a\nChrist, Scriptures, &c. without further concerning yourselves to\nprove the verity thereof to yourselves or others, by a strict and\nholy conversation: which slight way of believing is but a light\nand careless way of ridding yourselves of further examination; and\nrather throwing them off with an inconsiderate granting of them to\nbe so, than giving yourselves the trouble of making better inquiry,\nleaving that to your priests, ofttimes more ignorant, and not less\nvain and idle than yourselves, which is so far from a gospel faith,\nthat it is the least respect you can show to God, Scriptures, &c.\nand next to which kind of believing, is nothing, under a denial of\nall.\n\nBut if you have hitherto laid aside all temperance, reason, and\nshame, at least be entreated to resume them now on a matter of\nthis importance, and whereon no less concernment rests, than\nyour temporal and eternal happiness. Oh, retire, retire; observe\nthe reproofs of instruction in your own minds: that which begets\nsadness in the midst of mirth, which cannot solace itself, nor be\ncontented below immortality, which calls often to an account at\nnights, mornings, and other seasons: which lets you see the vanity,\nthe folly, the end and misery of these things; this is the just\nprinciple and holy Spirit of the Almighty within you: hear Him, obey\nHim: converse with them who are led by Him, and let the glories of\nanother world be eyed, and the heavenly recompense of reward kept in\nsight. Admit not the thoughts of former follies to revive; but be\nsteady, and continually exercised by his grace, to deny ungodliness\nand worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly in\nthis present world: (Tit. ii. 12:) for this is the true and heavenly\nnature of Christianity, to be so awakened and guided by the Spirit\nand grace of God, as to leave the sins and vanities of the world,\nand to have the affections regenerated, the mind reformed, and the\nwhole man so baptised into purity and faithfulness towards God and\nman; as to act with reverence, justice, and mercy: to care for very\nfew things; to be content with what you have: to use all as if you\nused them not; and to be so disentangled from the lusts, pleasures,\nprofits, and honours of the world, as to have the mind raised to\nthings above, the heart and affections fixed there: that in all\nthings you may glorify God, and be as lights set on a hill, whose\nshining examples may be conducing to the happiness of others, who,\nbeholding such good works, may be converted, and glorify God the\nFather of lights, in whom you all would be eternally blessed.\n\nIV. But if the impenitence of any is so great, their pursuit of\nfolly so earnest, and notwithstanding what has been thus seriously\noffered to reclaim them, they are resolved to take their course, and\nnot to be at leisure for more divine things, I have this further\nto leave with them from the Almighty, who first called me to this\nwork: that tribulation, anguish, and sorrow, (Rom. ii. 4, 5, 6,\n9,) shall make their dying beds; indignation and wrath shall wind\nup their days, and trouble and vexation of mind and spirit shall\nbe the miserable fruits which they shall reap, as the reward of\nall their wretched folly and rebellion! Be not deceived, God will\nnot be mocked: (Gal. vi. 4-8,) it is so irreversibly decreed,\nWhatever is sown here, shall be reaped hereafter. And just is the\nAlmighty, to make good his determinations upon such, who, instead of\nemploying the time given them to work out their salvation with fear\nand trembling, have spent it in the pleasures of the flesh, which\nperish; as if their heaven were here. Nor can it seem unreasonable,\nsince He hath thus long waited with remission of sins, and eternal\nlife in his hand, to distribute to them that repent: that if\nsuch will not, to recompense so great obstinacy and love of this\nperishing world, with everlasting tribulation. (Rev. iii. 20, xxi.\n27, xxii. 13-15.)\n\nV. But I am otherwise persuaded of many: yes, I am assured the\nmercies of the everlasting God have been so extended to many, that\nthis will prove an effectual call to bring them out of the ways\nand customs of this corrupted and corrupting world; and a means of\nestablishing such, who hitherto have been unfaithful to what they\nhave been already convinced of. And you, my friends, whose minds\nhave received the alarm, whose hearts have truly heard the voice of\none crying in the wilderness, where you have been straying from the\nLord, Repent! repent! To you, in the name of the great and living\nGod, I speak, I cry, Come away, come away: ah! what do you do there?\nWhy are you yet behind? That is not your rest; it is polluted with\nthe sins and vanities of a perishing world: gird up your loins: eye\nyour light, one in all, Christ Jesus, the same yesterday, to-day,\nand for ever: who hath enlightened every one: (John, i. 9:) follow\nHim, He will lead you to the city of God, that has foundations, into\nwhich the wicked cannot enter.\n\nVI. Mind not the difficulties of your march; great and good things\nwere never enterprised and accomplished without difficulty, which\ndoes but render their enjoyment more pleasant and glorious in the\nend. Let the holy men and women of old be your examples: remember\ngood old Abraham, (Gen. xii. 1, 2,) the excellency of whose faith\nis set out by his obedience to the voice of God, in forsaking his\nfather's house, kindred, country, &c. And Moses, that might in\nprobability have been made a king, by faith in God leaves Egypt's\nglory and Pharaoh's favours, and chooses rather a sojourn and\npilgrimage with the despised, afflicted, tormented Israelites in the\nwilderness, than to enjoy the pleasures of that great court for a\nseason; esteeming Christ's reproaches greater riches than Egypt's\ntreasures. (Heb. xi. 24-27; Isaiah, liv. 3.) But above all, how\ngreat was the reproach, how many the sufferings, how bitter the\nmockings, which Jesus suffered at the hands of his enemies! Yet\nwith what patience, meekness, forgiveness, and constancy, did He\nin all his actions, demean himself towards his bloody persecutors,\ndespising the shame, enduring the cross, for the joy that was set\nbefore him! (Heb. xii. 12.) And hath left us this glorious example,\nthat we should follow his steps; (1 Peter, ii. 22, 23;) which hath\nin almost every age been imitated by some. The apostles sealed their\ntestimonies with their blood, and multitudes after the example of\ntheir constancy, esteeming it the greatest honour, as it was always\nattended with the signal demonstration of the Divine presence. How\nmemorable was that of Origen: \"If my father were weeping upon his\nknees before me, and my mother hanging about my neck behind me, and\nall my brethren, sisters, and kinsfolk lamenting on every side, to\nretain me in the life and practice of the world, I would fling my\nmother to the ground, run over my father, despise all my kindred,\nand tread them under my feet, that I might run to Christ.\" Yet it\nis not unknown, how dutiful and tender he was in those relations.\nNot much unlike to this was that noble and known instance of latter\ntimes, in Galeacius Carraciolus, marquis of Vico, who abandoned his\nfriends, estate, and country, resolutely saying with Moses, that\nhe would rather suffer afflictions with the first reformers and\nProtestants, than enjoy his former plenty, favours, and pleasures,\nwith his old religion. (2 Tim. iii. 12; 1 Peter, iv. 1-5.) Nor is\nit possible for any now to quit the world, and live a serious,\ngodly life in Christ, without the like suffering and persecution.\nThere are among us also some who have suffered the displeasure of\ntheir most dear and intimate relations and friends; and all those\ntroubles, disgraces, and reproaches, which are accustomed to attend\nsuch as decline the honours, pleasures, ambition, and preferments\nof the world, and that choose to live a humble, serious, and\nself-denying life before the Lord: but they are very unequal to the\njoy and recompense that follow. For though there be no affliction\nthat is not grievous for the present, yet, what says the man of God?\nit works a far more exceeding weight of glory in the end. This has\nbeen both the faith and experience of those, that in all ages have\ntrusted in God, who have not fainted by the way; but enduring, have\nobtained an eternal diadem.\n\nWherefore, since we are compassed about with so great a cloud of\nwitnesses, let us lay aside every weight and burden, and the sin\nand vanities that do so easily beset us, and with a constant holy\npatience run our race, having our eye fixed upon Jesus, the Author\nand Finisher of our faith, not minding what is behind; (Heb. xii.\n1; Rom. v. 1-4;) so shall we be delivered from every snare. No\ntemptations shall gain us, no frowns shall scare us from Christ's\ncross, and our blessed self-denial. (Phil. iii. 13; Rom. ii. 7.)\nAnd honour, glory, immortality, and a crown of eternal life shall\nrecompense all our sufferings in the end.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nO Lord God! thou lovest holiness, and purity is thy delight in\nthe earth; wherefore I pray thee, make an end of sin, and finish\ntransgression, and bring in thy everlasting righteousness to the\nsouls of men, that thy poor creation may be delivered from the\nbondage it groans under, and the earth enjoy her sabbath again: that\nthy great Name may be lifted up in all nations, and thy salvation\nrenowned to the ends of the world. For thine is the kingdom, the\npower, and the glory, for ever. Amen.\n\n\n\n\nINDEX.\n\n     THE NAMES OF THOSE PERSONS THAT ARE CITED IN FAVOUR OF THE\n     VIRTUE AND TEMPERANCE MAINTAINED IN THE FOREGOING DISCOURSE.\n\n\n  I. HEATHEN KINGS, EMPERORS, AND RULERS, AMONG THE\n  GREEKS AND ROMANS.\n\n              Page.\n\n  Adrian, 250\n\n  Agasicles, 240\n\n  Agesilaus, ibid.\n\n  Agathocles, 234\n\n  Agis, 241\n\n  Alcamenes, ibid.\n\n  Alexander Severus, 256\n\n  Alexandrides, 242\n\n  Anaxilas, ibid.\n\n  Antigonus, 235\n\n  Archidamus, 242\n\n  Aristides, 236\n\n  Ariston, 242\n\n  Artaxerxes Mnemon, 234\n\n  Augustus, 249\n\n  Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, 251\n\n  Cato, 248\n\n  Cleomenes, 243\n\n  Clitomachus, 238\n\n  Cyrus, 233\n\n  Demosthenes, 239\n\n  Dersyllidas, 243\n\n  Dioclesian, 257\n\n  Epaminondas, 238\n\n  Hippodamus, 243\n\n  Leonidas, ibid.\n\n  Lysander, 244\n\n  Laced\u00e6monian Customs, 245\n\n  Lycurgus, 247\n\n  Pausanias, 244\n\n  Pericles, 237\n\n  Philip of Macedon, 234\n\n  Phocion, 237\n\n  Ptolemy, 235\n\n  Themistocles, 236\n\n  Theodosius, 257\n\n  Theopompus, 244\n\n  Trajan, 250\n\n  Vespasian, ibid.\n\n  Xenophanes, 235\n\n\n  II.--HEATHEN PHILOSOPHERS.\n\n\n  Anacharsis, 267\n\n  Anaxagoras, ibid.\n\n  Antisthenes, 275\n\n  Aristotle, 281\n\n  Bias, 264\n\n  Bambycatii, 266\n\n  Bion, 278\n\n  Chilon, 263\n\n  Cleobulus, 265\n\n  Crates, 281\n\n  Democritus, 270\n\n  Demonax, 278\n\n  Diogenes, 279\n\n  Epictetus, 288\n\n  Gymnosophist\u00e6, 343\n\n  Gyn\u00e6cosmi & Gyn\u00e6conomi, 266\n\n  Heraclitus, 268\n\n  Hippias, 266\n\n  Mandanis, 282\n\n  Periander, 264\n\n  Pertinax, 256\n\n  Pescennius, ibid.\n\n  Pittacus, 265\n\n  Plato, 274\n\n  Pythagoras, 258\n\n  Scipio Africanus, 249\n\n  Seneca, 285\n\n  Socrates, 271\n\n  Solon, 259\n\n  Thales, 258\n\n  Xenocrates, 277\n\n  Zeno, 282\n\n\n  III.--VIRTUOUS HEATHEN WOMEN.\n\n  Cornelia, 292\n\n  Hipparchia, 291\n\n  Penelope, 290\n\n  Plotina, 292\n\n  Pompei Plautina, ibid.\n\n\n  IV.--CHRISTIAN TESTIMONIES OF\n\n  Acacius Bishop of Amida, 322\n\n  Ambrose, 307\n\n  Augustine, 308\n\n  Cardan, ibid.\n\n  Clement Romanus, 305\n\n  Council of Carthage, 308\n\n  Gratian, 309\n\n  Gregory, 306\n\n  Jerome, 119\n\n  Luther, 128\n\n  Machiavel, 306\n\n  Malorat, 118\n\n  Ouzelius, 305\n\n  Paulinus, Bishop of Nola, 322\n\n  Tertullian Chrysostom, 306\n\n  Theoph. Greg. Nazianzene, 396\n\n  William Tindall, 163\n\n  Bartholomew Tertian, 316\n\n  Waldenses, 309, 318\n\n  ---- of Taverns, 312\n\n  ---- Dancing, ibid.\n\n  Bacon, Lord Chancellor, 334\n\n  Charles V., 328\n\n  Chrysostom, ibid.\n\n  Dr. Donne, 338\n\n  Princess Eliz. of the Rhine, 344\n\n  Hugo Grotius, 339\n\n  Count Gondamor, 336\n\n  Henry Prince of Wales, 335\n\n  One of the family of Howard, 344\n\n  Sir Christopher Hatton, 333\n\n  Ignatius, 327\n\n  Justin Martyr, ibid.\n\n  Francis Junius, 340\n\n  James, Earl of Marlborough, 341\n\n  Anthony Lowther, 350\n\n  Sir John Mason, 330\n\n  Cardinal Mazarine, 337\n\n  The Great Duke de Montmorency, 334\n\n  Count Oxenstiern, 337\n\n  Philip III. King of Spain, 336\n\n  A Sister of the family of Penn, 347\n\n  Sir William Penn, 348\n\n  Sir Walter Raleigh, 330\n\n  Cardinal Richelieu, 336\n\n  Du Renti, 351\n\n  Earl of Rochester, 343\n\n  A. Rivetus, 340\n\n  Solomon, 325\n\n  Sir Philip Sidney, 329\n\n  Selden, 338\n\n  Salmasius, 339\n\n  Sir Henry Vane, 342\n\n  Secretary Walsingham, 329\n\n  Sir Henry Wotton, 333\n\n  Cardinal Wolsey, 328\n\n  Bulstrode Whitlock, 346\n\n\nTHE END.\n\n\nJoseph Rickerby, Printer, Sherbourn Lane.\n\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nTranscriber's note:\n\nMinor typographical errors have been corrected without note.\nIrregularities and inconsistencies in the text have been retained as\nprinted.\n\nMismatched quotes are not fixed if it's not sufficiently clear where\nthe missing quote should be placed.\n\nThe cover for the eBook version of this book was created by the\ntranscriber and is placed in the public domain.","title":"No cross, no crown : $b a discourse shewing the nature and discipline of the holy cross of Christ","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":121642}