A booke of christian ethicks or moral philosophie containing, the true difference and opposition, of the two incompatible qualities, vertue, and voluptuousnesse. Made by William Fulbecke, maister of Artes, and student of the lawes of England.
About this Item
Title
A booke of christian ethicks or moral philosophie containing, the true difference and opposition, of the two incompatible qualities, vertue, and voluptuousnesse. Made by William Fulbecke, maister of Artes, and student of the lawes of England.
Author
Fulbeck, William, 1560-1603?
Publication
At London :: Imprinted by Richard Iones, dwelling at the signe of the Rose and Crowne neere Holborne bridge,
1587.
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Subject terms
Christian ethics -- Early works to 1800.
Cite this Item
"A booke of christian ethicks or moral philosophie containing, the true difference and opposition, of the two incompatible qualities, vertue, and voluptuousnesse. Made by William Fulbecke, maister of Artes, and student of the lawes of England." In the digital collection Early English Books Online. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/A01286.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed May 15, 2024.
Pages
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
The true diffe∣rence
betweene Vertue,
and Voluptuousnes.
THere be seauen Artes whose
Principles are principallye
learned and practized of volup∣tuous
liuers: the art of dissem∣bling,
the Arte of blaspheming: the
arte of deceiuing: the art of flattering:
the arte of disdaining: the arte of lo∣uing:
the arte of dicing: seuen heades
of Hydra, seuen lewde sisters, and se∣uen
illiberall artes, not worthie the
name of artes, fith their best profes∣sors
are the baddest men: & they are
so much better in their artes, by how
much they ar worse in their maners:
being therefore impudent, because in
vanitie they are arteficial: and there∣fore
vaine, because in their arts they
are impudent. These be not the Mu∣ses
inuentions, because they are con∣ioyned
with great dishonestie, & haue
a ranke smell of a lothsome impietie:
these be ye daughters of lady pleasure,
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
nestled in Pandoras boxe, and sent••
like Harpaies ouer the face of ye earth,
to take away from vs our wholsome
foode, and with their owne dunge to
defile ••ur trenchers, being throughly
instructed of Circe to change men in∣to
beastes, mens mindes into brutish
appetites, mens inuentions into foo∣lish
dreames, and the reason of man
into a brutish passion. Circe drinketh
of these pottes to the worldlings, that
thirst after pleasures: but vertue hath
made a wall of partition betwixt the
pottes of Circe, & the mouthes of the
vertuous: betwixt these Panther-like
odoures, and the nostrelles of her fol∣lowers:
betwixt these Cupids coun∣terfeyting
Ascanius, and the closette
of their mindes in whome vertue is
resident. There is greate difference
betwixt Apollo his Schole, & an olde
wiues Cottage, betwéen the Temple
of vertue, & the Theater of pleasure.
Pleasure hath sent abroad not long a∣go
thr•••• pretious works, and three de∣lightful
cōments: the court of Venus,
the Castle of fancy, & the Paradice of
pleasure: books in which, ther is much
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
wit, and little vertue: whose ripeness••
heretofore, the frequent vse in former
times, did sufficiently argue: whose
rottennesse at this present, is by the v∣niuersall
loathing and surfet of those
that before were delighted with them
aboundantly testified. This is the pro¦perty
of a voluptuous minde, when it
is ful gorged with honny, to cast it vp
like galle: & therefore it seemeth that
pleasures iunkets would not haue tur¦ned
into any good blood, or wholesome
nourishment. Diuers Poets haue
written for delight, but they haue also
written for profite: but many of their
readers being inchanted by pleasures,
haue from their flowers gathered poi∣son
like the spider, not honny like the
Bee: whereas contrariwise, the well
meaning mindes haue of these flow∣ers
made soueraign preseruatiues: let
yeTroyan history be deliuered to a so∣ber,
wise, & discreet scholler, he reapes
much honny, much delight, much cō∣moditie
by the reading thereof: if he
be examined what is the sentēce, sub∣stance,
marrow, & iuce of that history?
he wil answer wisely & sincerely.
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
The story which reports the Graekish wa••
gainst Barbary, for Paris loue vneleane:Doth strange euents of Troian folly shewe,
and fruites of vlissean pollicy containe.
But if the sence and signification of
that historie be demaunded of some
delicate stripling, of some Ouidiā A∣contius,
an intēperate youngman, an
impure spider, & a second Catiline: he
wil answere boldely, briefly, & badly.
I am not wont sir Paris to reproue,Or any man that playes the man in loue.
Beholde what aboundance of poyson,
what store of galle, what dregs of fil∣thinesse
this spider sucketh out of the
flowers of this historie, with gréedye
& vncōsecrate lips. First, he gathereth
that the loue of Paris was not to bee
reprehended: next, that al they which
imitate the woeing of Paris are men:
they are men I graunt in name, but
in nature, they are lecherous goates,
and rutting Leopards: But as Alex∣ander
the greate, did then most of all
tearme himselfe a God, when he was
most estranged frō God, namely whē
hee was drunken: so these Acontij,
these s••ctators of Paris, these men doe
then especially boast of their māhood,
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
whē they become most brutish: what
thanks therefore, and what sufficient
glorie can be rendred to vertue, that
preserueth her scholers from such pe∣stilent
poysons, and such froth of vi∣ces,
by godly admonitions, graue
preceptes, and solemne institutes?
perswading them by sound reasons,
whereof euery one is as strong as A∣chilles,
that an history is not as it is
taken of the voluptuous, the trumpet
of Cupid, and the kalender of Venus:
but the library of knowledge, the vn∣souldresse
of treacherye, the lanterne
of pollicy, ye doctresse of behauiour, the
register of antiquity, the glasse of iu∣stice:
But when ye voluptuous know
the bent of pleasures bow, her browe
I would say, they are ready with full
saile, & swift course to try these waies
that pleasure hath chalked out & pre∣scribed
vnto them, spending all their
rents, reuenues & reuersions vpon
the seruantes of Bacchus, vpon pur∣pled
Apes, painted beggers, coun∣terfaiting
R••scij Graduates in the
Epicures Schoole, horseleeches of
money, the dogges of Verres, the
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
bloodhoundes of Fortune, which ran∣sacke
euerie corner for coyne, ha∣uing
apte noses for the smelling of
Golde and Siluer, and when they are
instructed and lessoned by such hun∣gry
Gnatoes, professors of all impudē∣cie,
and practisers of all impiety, they
are matriculated, and nursed in these
delightes, in which, none are conuer∣sant
but Venusses pullets and Neroes
whelps, politike, delicate, gallant ten∣derlings,
which are fast linked to ple∣sure,
and vse her at their lust, but they
knowe not her disease, they know not
her companion, they knowe not her
sauce. Her disease is impuritie, her cō∣panion
is penaltie, her sauce is sor∣row:
they may for a while sing those
Caroles ytPenelopes woers did sing,
wresting the sweetnesse of their Cy∣tharne,
to the losse of their time, & their
owne disprofite: as Horace reporteth
of certaine young men which were
wonte to sléepe till midday, and Ad
strepitū cytharae cessatū ducere curā.
By sound of harpe, to bring their cares to rest.
But this dittye will be closed vppe
with a dumpe.
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
Nocet empta dolore voluptas.
The pleasure is nought that is bought with
payne. This I doe not speake to dis∣proue
the delightfull harmony of mu∣sike,
which I accompt most commen∣dable,
but to glaunce at the idle life of
luxurious personnes, whose eares are
continually fedde with the hearing of
such soundes. Orpheus his harp is not
to be dispraised, which did draw men
frō death to life, but ye foulers whistle
is not to be heard, which allureth the
hearers to the snares of death, & ye pit
of destructiō: Euterpes pipe deserueth
audience, because it is the pipe of one
of the Muses: but the pipe of Leucosia
is to bee debarred from our eares, be∣cause
the piper is a Syren: the harpe of
Achilles sounded with grauity, and
was a kinde of motiue to the war∣like
courage: but on the effeminate
harpe of Paris, nothing was played
but amatorious sonnets, and ridicu∣lous
Iigges. Poetrie in former times
made a progresse through the worlde,
being desirous to heare the soundes
of the Instrumentes, that in those
dayes were vsed, and beeing
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
accompaned with the nine Muses, she
listned to their melodye, shee hearde
Pan puffing on a reed: the Arcadians
creaking with whistles: Triton ro∣ring
with a shell, in steede of a trum∣pette:
the shepheardes of Scithia,
winding an oaten strawe: she heard
the Coribants tinckling on their bra∣sen
Basons: shee hearde the Moena∣des
shouting in the aire with a clama¦rous
bellowing: Poetrie partlye ta∣king
pittie, & partlye being ashamed
of this deformed and barbarous mu∣sike,
gaue to mankinde, for the pipe
of Pan, the histories of Clio: for the
whistles of the Arcadians, the trage∣dies
of Melpomene: for Tritons shel,
the Cōmedies of Thalia: for the shep∣heards
oaten strawe, the pipe of Eu∣terpe:
for the brasse of the Coribants,
ye harp of Therpsicore: for ye howling
of the Moenades, the verses of Calli∣ope:
which she did not bestowe in cō∣sideration
of the Epicures fansie, nei∣ther
to inchaunt ye mindes of lasciui∣ous
persons with a senceles securitie,
neither did she make thē y• idle mans
Ephemerides, whereby he might de∣ceiue
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
the long & irksome time, the redēp∣tion
of which, cannot by any value bee
procured.
Nulla coelum reparabile gazâ.No golde can time reuerse.
The losse of which, if it were throughly
cōsidered, would make vs loath our stale
musike in comparison of the sweet soun∣ding
melodie of time: which is the re∣porter
of things most desired, the Corner
of trueth, whose descāt, though it be som∣what
crabbed, yet, that to which we ap∣ply
our attendance, we wish shoulde ra∣ther
be true, then forged: rather a matter
of certainty, then a flying fable. But the
secure & voluptuous Epicure careth not
for this aduātage of time, so he may rest
himselfe in his Ladies lappe, and haue
his eares throughly tickled with a musi∣call
concordance: he is content that the
circle of the Sun should be rouled back∣ward
& forward, so that he continue still
in iolitie, without anye interruption of
his pleasures: Scilicet hoc est viuere: but
when the date of his time is almost expi∣red,
& arriued at the point, from which it
took ye beginning, then he stādeth bouud
before the tribunall seat of time, and he
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
thus accuseth him: vnfruitfull sluggard
didst thou wake or sleep all thy life time?
If thou didst wake, what worke haste
thou left behinde thée either visible to the
eie or memorable to the minde? where
be the monuments of thy labours? wher
be the gaines of thy trauailes? where
are the fruites of thy life? If thou didst
sleep, and thy actions were only a dream,
that dreame was a passion but of action:
thou hast not a print to shewe, but that
thou mayest sée the bounty and riches of
time: awake out of thy sléepe, wash thine
eies, and thou shalte clearelye beholde
what opportunities haue escaped thee.
Thou seest on thy right hand, the fieldes
into the which thou didst wander some∣time,
but I alway presuppose as in a
dreame: thou didst there onely suruay
the colours of flowers, thinking perhaps
of the transmutation of them into flow∣ers,
whom the panges of loue did con∣sume:
thou didst rest on the gréene grasse
as on a cushion, hauing a minde so dead
and destitute of the intellectuall facultie,
that thou didst hide and burie thy selfe
vnder the shadowes of trées: not know∣ing
that the gréene Liceum was the
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
Schole of the Peripatetikes, and Vm∣brifera
Academia, the Schoole of the A∣cademikes:
but thou, wishing that all
thy body were changed into an eye, like
Argus, that thou mightest all thy lyfe
time, haue nothing els but coloures in
veiwe, or els wishing that all thy bo∣dye
were made a nose, as Catullus desi∣red,
that thou mightest spende•• all thie
daies in smelling to the fragrant flow∣ers,
and perfuming hearbes, didst make
a pause in these fancies: if thou haddest
bended thine eies but a litle from these
these things, thou mightest haue espied ye
seely Ant or Pismire, of wich thou migh∣test
haue learned to haue takē paines, to
haue liued by thy pains, to haue reioyced
after thy paines: to haue takē paines by
seeing thē martch in the pathway to the
fieldes for their sustenāce, carrying their
burthens on their shoulders, hastning &
returning wt great spéed, notwithstāding
the great waight: to haue liued by thy
paines, by séeing thē to be so carefull of ye
nipping winter, hurding vp the corne in
the graniers, piling it in the barnes, cut∣ting
it into partes, yt it maynot grow: to
haue reioiced after thy paines, in that
thou hast preuēted the sharpnes of hūger
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
and in that thou hast sufficient to satisfie
natures demand: but look what shineth
ouer thy head, the glistering heauen, the
starrie firmament, which thou didst ga∣ther
to be nothing els then the candle∣sticke
of the world, made to none other
end, then to giue light, & to discouer the
dennes of Moldwarpes in the earth: not
considering that by the accesse, & depar∣ture
of the Sun, things increase and de∣crease:
that by the waine and full of the
Moone, the Sea ebs and flowes: that by
the particular influence of particular
Starres, such and such alterations are
framed in the earth: the diuers motions
and effectes of those causes, might haue
led thée by the hand, to the first mouer, in
whose ample gouernment of all things,
thou mightest haue hadde a bottomlesse
consideration of pearelesse value, that
would hane stirred vp an admiration in
thy minde, admiration would haue cau∣sed
inquisition, & inquisition would haue
engendred knowledge: which wold haue
bene a great ornament vnto thée, and a
great ••urtherāce to further matters: but
now that thou art ignoraunt, blame not
me, wrich haue often giuē thée warning
to call thy wittes together: When thou
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
wast tending from youth to manhoode, ••
drewe lines in thy visage, which signifi∣ed,
that thy life did waste: and by them
I writ vpon thy face, the seconde age:
when, from manhood thou wast twining
to old age, thy den••s and riueled chéeks,
thy toothlesse chaps, thy white and hoary
heares▪ I sent as messengers vnto thee,
wherby I foreshewed the third age, that
was approching: now therefore, blush at
thine owne sluggishnesse, be ashamed of
thy lingring, and sith there be no signes
or lineaments, of former knowledge in
thee, I propose thy dotage as a spectakle
to be laughed at. This sharpe reprehen∣sion
may perhappes, leaue prickles in
the mindes of sluggards, but the remorse
quickly vanisheth. Icarus doth not feare
his fall, til the greatest part of his wings
be melted, and his bodie do kisse the face
of the water: but of all the knowledge
that ouerpasse them, the misticall know∣ledge
of their saluation being hidden frō
their eies, & debarred from their hartes:
is with a whole Ocean of teares to bee
lamented, if out of a Flinte any water
may be wrested. It may be comprehen∣ded
in two lines, and yet the fleshlie E∣picure
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
could not afforde halfe an howers
study to the repetition and rehearsal of it
in his minde, that it might be a perpetu∣all
monumēt imprinted in his memory:
God did appear in the flesh, was iustified
in the spirite, was séen of Angels, was
preached to nations, was beléeued in the
worlde, was receiued in glorie. This be∣ing
perfectly had wtout booke, wold haue
bene a soueraign retentiue frō the lustes
of the flesh: but pleasure, being a swéet &
flattering Enchauntresse, doth smoothlie
insinuate her self into the mindes of mē,
& there dwelleth as Helena dwelt in the
Citty of Troy: who pleased the Troyans
but to theire miserye: whoe soung de∣lightfully,
but was too delightfully hard:
for the honny of words, is a poison to the
heart: & a swéet sound in the a••re, is a Si∣ren
in the eare: Thus it is euident that
the study or exercise wherunto voluptu∣tuous
& effeminate persons, do wholy ad¦dict
thēselues, is nothing els but ye whet∣stone
of vanity, the mistres of misdeme∣nour,
& cossin germane to idlenes. Nowe
it remaineth to be discussed, what other
abuses they haue in the cōmon course of
their life.Salust did generally discribe ye
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
gluttony of delicate trēchermen, whē he
did particularly discipher the inordinate
appetite of the Romanes: the Romanes
(saith he) to satisfye their bellies, sought
out al thinges yt could be found either in
sea, or on the earth: they did not tarry til
hunger or thirst ouertook thē, but they did
preuēt these by an arteficial appetite: be∣fore
the diluge, the onely treasure on the
earth was wine, the people did eate and
drinke, maried & gaue in mariage, rise vp
to play, and vsed all kinde of dalliance e∣uen
vntill the daye wherein the win∣dowes
of Heauen were opened vpon
them, till the waters had oueflowed and
disfigured the earth, that the very shard
of a drinking cuppe could not be séene in
the worlde: It is a verye vnnaturall
thing that the belly béeing made by na∣ture,
a place of excrements, shoulde bee
made an Idol: but it is a greater shame
that the Idoll of the beastlie Cyclops
shoulde be made a God to Christians,
which the true GOD will at the
length confounde, together with all
them also that make it a God.
It is straunge to sée the appetite of
man: that whereas beasts are contented
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
with that food which nature hath appoin¦ted
for them, and take no more thereof,
then that quantity which nature hath a∣lotted
vnto them: man should so far sur∣passe
the limits of reason, and reuerence
due to nature: that with an vnsatiable de¦sire
he followeth those things, which are
discommodious, pernitious, and pestilent
vnto him. And although in the kinde of
beasts, the Lion is most i••cōtinent, most
rauenous, and gréedy of his pray: and be
••ide this, hath ā excessiue appetite, which
cannot be stanched without great super∣fluitie
of nourishmēt: yet for the space of
thrée daies, or at the least two two daies
after, he is fully satisfied: & the Wolues
when they are gaunted with hunger, do
eat rather earth and clay, then they will
violentlie rush vpon the beastes of their
owne kinde. This abstinence is greater
then Mirianis, who though she were of
singular behauiour amongst the Iewes,
yet could not abstain from gnawing the
bones of her owne childe: and man to
augment the gréedy worm whereof he is
possessed, doth inuent and vse daily, sau∣ces,
sirupes, brothes, mixtures: that may
pricke his stomacke forwarde, to craue
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
more then it may well containe, wherby
there ariseth such superfluitye, and such
superabundance of naughty humours in
the bodie, that there bee more then fiftie
kindes of diseases ingendred in the eies:
and by such varietye of tastes, wee are
prouoked to drinke so much, that a great
nūber of diseases: as Catarres, rewmes,
swellinges, goutes, dropsies, doe shake
the foundation of our healthe, and the
whole frame of our bodie, and if the bo∣dy
were only cloyd with the inconueni∣encies
that arise of surfeiting, the riot of
banquets, were more tollerable and lesse
reprouable: but sith Corpus onustum
Hesternis vitijs,animū quò{que} praegrauat
ipsum. The bodie stuft with hosterne cates,
doth ouercharge the minde.
Our trenchers are to be washed with
our teares, our tables whereat we sitte
drinking, beluing, and carousing, are to
be accounted engines and snares, laid by
the deuils subtiltie, to intrap our soules:
our costly viandes are to be accompted
the lures of gluttonie: our musicall and
swéete sounding instruments which are
prepared to make the minde more cheer∣full
and frollicke: are no better to bee e∣steemed
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
then alluring Sirens, which eate
them whom they delight, and kill them
with their téeth, whom they haue called
with their tongues. It were infinite to
number the greate mishappe that hath
chaunced, & the outragious crueltie that
hath bin committed, after that the minde
hath bene ouercast with the miste or ex∣halation
that riseth from the stomacke
surcharged with delicates. The Cittie of
the Troyans was drowned in wine, be∣fore
it was burnt by fire: Hierusalem
was ouerflowen of gluttonie and drun∣kennesse,
before it was ouerrun of the
Romanes and Turkes: the Aegiptians
were not so much ouercom'd by armed
men, as by the banquettes of Cleopatra:
Catiline did besiege Rome with a troope
of pleas••res, before he did threaten it
wt an army of souldiers: Dido was first
inchanted of Liber Pater, before she was
bewitched of the boy Cupid: Nero was fil¦led
with the wines of Campania before
he was poysoned wt the counsail of Ani∣cetus,
& ther was in his stomack a flood of
Nectar, before ther was Furor in mente
or Ferrū in manu: ye principal cause why
yePersians were enemies to the Lidians,
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
was because of the good cheere that they
found iu Lidia. Now if any man thinke
that the mind being a substance immate¦riall
cannot be infected by any contagiō
procéeding frō the body, he shal perceiue
his iudgement to be erronious, both by
cause, & by example: the soule I graunte
might liue-like an angell in the body, & it
doth as yet shine in the corporall lumpe,
but tanquam coelum in coeno. Like an hea∣uen
in a dunghill. It is so nigh the bankes
and borders of this earthly Tabernacle:
nay, it is so inclosed within the walles &
gates thereof that it must of necessitie be
defiled with the dust that ariseth within
the walles: but to finde out the reason I
will vse a very briese discourse, which
notwithstanding, shall carrye some taste
of Philosophie. There be some thinges
that belong to the soule alone, as reason,
meditation, reminiscence: some thinges
to the bodie alone, as heauinesse, aug∣mentation,
diminution, and that strēgth
which the Latines call Robur, the Grae∣cians
Ischus One thinge there is which
is common both to the soule and the bo∣dy,
and that is, Appetitus or vis con∣cupiscentiae,
The appetite or force of con∣cupiscence
which being an ambidexter or
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
parasite both to the soule & body, inueag∣leth
the soule by the senses of the body, &
deceiueth ye body by the liking of ye soule:
for, when the minde hath made ye maior
proposition of the sillogisme: Whatsoeuer is
pleasant and sweet, is to be liked of: the bodie
by the force & vertue of ye senses, maketh
the minor proposition: (Dainty cheare is plea¦sant
and sweet,) the appetite doth straight∣way
conclude: Ergo, Dainty cheare is to be
liked off. the natural & carnal mā, hauing
learned this lesson, triūpheth in his own
conceit, & is both waies bent, either to cō¦fute
ye Stoicke, or defend ye Epicure. but
ye modest & wel iudging mind, can make
a distinction of pleasant thinges, as also
of pleasure: there is a pleasure that is,
Dulcis & decocta, Sweet and liquid, which
melteth as soone as it féeleth the heat of ye
mouth, & is digested as soone as it is de∣uoured:
so that being not able to abide ye
stamp of ye téeth, it is rather to be accoū∣ted
superfluous drosse, thē substātial met∣tel.
Ther is another plesure: y• is, Auste∣ra
& solida, Sincere and sound: which though
it be not as pleasant as spice, yet it is as
necessary as salte, & though it do not slide
through the bodye as through a conduite,
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
yet it descendeth into the minde as y• eue¦ning
shower into the caues of the earth:
the true pleasure is neither painted with
colours, nor blanched wt cookery, neither
sod in a pot, nor roasted on a spit, but the
dew thereof droppeth from heauen, & the
fruitefull effectes thereof are euident to
the view of euery Christian cogitation.
Now that we haue shewed the reason of
this Simpathy: it remaineth that some
examples be sent for to illustrate this
treatise: to know therefore, that the diet
of the body doth leaue some colour, & im∣pression
in the minde, consider ye diet and
dispositiō of y•Gothes, & Tartarians, who
because they are ••ed with mans bloode, &
drink the gore of their ancestors, in the
skuls of their ancestors: are therfore cru∣ell,
vnmercifull, & sauage: thirsting after
mans bloode, and sucking at the skin for
blood, as the childe at his mothers dugs
for milke. The Parthians that licke wa∣ter
like dogges, are couragious in war∣fare,
& no whit effeminate: the Turkes
measuring, & deuiding their cōmons by
waight and ballance, haue their wit and
magnanimitye fresh against the furie of
the enemies▪ but the Indians because
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they are continually nourished with spi∣res,
which kind of nourishment▪ is verie
slender: therfore they are melsh hearted,
fearful, & fugitiue, to whom I may right¦ly
compare the men of Saba, which coun¦trey
is very fruitful of sumptuous deli∣cates,
but very barren of good souldiers:
like vnto these are the Agrigutini, whose
mindes, whether prosperity flatter, or ad¦uersity
threatē, are continually in Pati∣nis:
the ancient Britons are reported to
haue bin very valiant & victorio••s, but
they are also reported to haue liued very
hardly, to haue vsed roots for their bread,
hearbes for their meat, the rawe iuice of
wilde fruites for their oyle, water for
wine, trées for houses, & y• foggy vapors
of fennish groundes, for the smell of per∣fumes.
And geuerally it is alwaies seene
y• in the coldest Climates & frozen Alpes
which afforde no banquetting cheere, the
best souldiers haue giuē a notise of their
valiant courage. Now when the belly is
wel warmed with swéet iunkets, then
Venus spreadeth a delightful carpet, vn∣to
which the eie and affection giue a dili∣gent
attendance, the mind beginneth to
burn in lust▪ & to make excursion beyond
the limits of reason: Solomon who had
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
had experience of both, affirmeth y• same.
Look not vpon wine (saith he) when it glittereth
and the colour therof shineth in a glasse:it goeth
in with delight, but in the end it wil bite like a
snake, & like the••cockatrice it wil sprinkle poisō
Thus far of glottony: but how doth Ve∣nery
follow, Thine eies (saith Solomon)
shal behold strange women, and thy heart shall
vtter peruerse things, thou shalt be like one that
sleepeth in the midst of the sea, and like a sleepie
gouernour hauing lost the healme. Sith ther∣fore
by the iudgemēt of this King, whose
minde was ful fraught with wisedome:
these two instruments, made of the deuil
to seduce men from good behauiour to E∣••icurisme,
are linked & conioyned. Mise∣••able
is ye state of these, y• make pleasure
the mother of these two) their Goddesse,
〈◊〉〈◊〉 think no life happy, vnlesse it be swéet∣••ed
wt the sugured iuice of a carnal dele∣••ation,
ye seek for heauen in the center of
••ell, & care not how brutish they become,
••o they be not couered with the hides &
••orns of beasts: but let him that mindeth
••o sée good daies, & followe Christe (which
ought to be y• principal profession of chri∣stiās)
make a couenāt wt his eies & eares
frō beholding & hearing of vanity: when
the epicures banquet is as bitter to our
tast as gall, & the swéet sauour of fragrāt
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
pouders as lothsome as y• hēlock, then is
an arriual made at y• hauē of christian se¦curity,
thē are we entred into y• straight
way which is indéed a large field of hap∣pinesse.
But yet when we haue attayned
this many incūbrāces wil be apposed a∣gainst
our quietnes, and the better our
stats is, the more is the deuils enuy and
hatred: but this must not discomfort vs.
None can climbe to the toppe of heauen
wtout sweating: & God (as Plato sayth) sel¦leth
his benefits for labour and trauaile.
Wée must consider that the worlde will
neuer cease to be deceitfull, the deuill ne∣uer
to be malitious, and the flesh wil ne∣uer
intermit his combat & conflicte with
the spirit, as long as we are in this pain∣full
pilgrimage. We must suffer the blu∣stering
tempest of aduersitie, the sharpe
edge of temptation, and the fiery dartes
of the deuil, we fight against powers and
principalities, and therfore may be woū∣ded,
if not ouercome. Our affections may
become perfidious vnto vs, betraying vs
to our enemies, and therefore being in
daunger both of forraine and of domesti∣call
foes: we had néed to be very vigilant
& circumspect, least conspiracy accoōplish
that, which violēce could not bring to pas
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
When a Christian is besieged with
temptation, let him reioyce, for the
Lorde proueth before hee approoueth,
and trieth before he trusteth, whom he
loueth them he chastiseth, and his gold
is tryed in the middest of the furnace.
If we may obtaine glory by victory,
then we must fight to obtaine the vic∣tory.
No man is crowned before he o∣uercommeth,
and no man ouercōmeth
but hee that lawfully striueth, let him
think as he is prouoked to fight, so hee
may be prouoked to a crowne of glory.
Yea, one can not misse of the promoti∣on,
vnlesse he willingly forsake it: his
hart cannot faint, his strength cannot
fayle, except he wyll. To be willing to
fight, is to fight couragiously, and as
long as that will continueth, God will
countenaunce that courage. O the ex∣céeding
felicitye of a Christian manne,
whose onely wyll béeing directed by
Gods will, is more pearceable then
stéele, and more impenetrable then the
strong Rocke, whose wishe atchiueth
the victorye, and whose victorye is far
beyonde his wyshe. If wee suruey the
affaires of the world, we shall find that
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
there is no lucre so vile, nor any gayne
so grosse, but ere wee can compasse it,
we muste stretch ioyntes and sinewes,
we must sweate and breath, vse restles
and endles laboure, which when it is
purchased, vanisheth like a smokie ex∣halation,
and like a bubble in the wa∣ter,
riseth and faleth in an instant. The
Merchant man thinketh himself a Mo∣narche,
and vaunteth of his increase,
when after a tenne yeeres nauigation
after a thousand discommodities, daun∣gers
and disaduantages, he hath gotten
a little more treasure then hee had be∣fore.
The Souldier when he hath tasted
the bitter fruites of warfare, when he
hath worne his bodie, altered hys com∣plexiō,
diminished his health, lost some
principall member of hys bodie, howe
large soeuer his stipend bee, yet he is
like a dead Truncke that hath lost the
brauerie of his boughes. In séeking the
fauour of noble men, in getting and
reteyning the frendship of equalles, in
the ambitious labouring for honours
and dignities, in y• whording of coyne,
and scraping of commoditie, in closing
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
and disclosing, digging and deluing, tur¦ning
areable into pasturable, and pa∣sturable
into areable, woodes into wa∣stes,
and wastes into woodes, in buil∣ding
and battering, in turning square
into round, and triangles into quadran¦gles,
is such an infinite labour, and a
world of busines, that he which waigh∣eth
in a ballance bothe the care and the
commoditie, shall find an ounce of com∣moditye
for a pounde of care, and hee
that putteth these thinges in practise,
shall lyke a peruerse Al••umist, distill
a pennie out of a portague. Therefore
let him that mindeth to be a true Chri¦stian,
despise these transitory, corrupti∣ble
and contemptible things, for which
the worldly myzer giueth no truste to
his eyes, hath the byrdes of the ayre in
suspition, feareth least his owne be∣hauiour
doo bewray his base and bar∣barous
affections. Let him erecte and
life vp his mind to the celestiall and di∣uine
solaces, which neither eye hath
séene, nor eare hath heard, nor the hart
of man is able to imagine, to the pursu∣ing
of which, the mindes of worldly
Mammonistes are slowe footed, droo∣ping
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
and continually dreaming of the
eternitie of their barnes, when the ve∣ry
Weasels before their eyes doo de∣uoure
theyr corne, and euen against
theyr wylles they are drawne of God
to heauenly and spirituall things: vp∣on
which they looke as Cerberus looked
vpon the sunne, when he was drawne
out of hell, verie straungly & vn••••thly:
and in déede theyr blea••ed eyes cannot
long behold the brightnes of the diuine
Maiestie. Nowe if the worldly felici∣tie
could be attained without labour, as
it were in a traunce, & as if we should
let it in at a windowe: or if Fortune
would throw into our nets our selues
sléeping, as shee is fayned to haue dealt
with her loue Polycrates, then there
might be a kinde of reason framed by
our fancye, and it might perhappes bee
beléeued with an vncircumcised credu∣lity,
that it were a great deale better to
serue the world then God: but if there
be more wearines in walking, as a
worldling, thē labouring as a Christi∣an,
if to be choaked and strangled with
the cares of this world, be an infinite
torment: if to sée the conscience besie∣ged
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
with an hundred hels, and to feele
the racking and renting thereof, as it
were with a thousande fleshhookes, be
an intollerable griefe, then happie and
thrise happy is the mortified Christian
that is satisfied with the swéete content
of a meane estate, and the moderate
portion that God hath allotted him. If
we be no where lesse troubled then
in the wayes of God, and no where
more wearied then in the way of sin∣ners,
as that voice of damned persons
beareth witnes: Lassati sumus in via
iniquitatis,we were wearied in the way
of wickednes: is it not an extreame
madnes, rather to bestow our labours,
landes and life vppon those thinges
from which wee must very shortly de∣part,
not into a newe Paradise, but in∣to
an eternall dungeon, where there is
continuall g••ashing of teeth, and the
worme neuer dieth, then to consecrate
our liues and liuinges vnto the Lorde,
and for his sake to abide the vttermost
brunt of tribulatiō, whē for our paines
wee shall haue a surpassing reward:
for the honour that wee héere loste, an
vnchaungeable honour, for the pleasure
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
that héere we forsake, an inestimable
felicitie? besides all this, what a singu∣ler
peace, and what a delicate banquet
is a good conscience, not wexing pale
with villanous cogitations, which is
better then all the Epicures delights,
then all transitory pleasures, then all
curious & exquisite inticements, wher∣with
the iugling worlde doth sophisti∣cally
delude vs. What pleasure can
there bee in the riches of this worlde,
which before they are purchased, doo
weary vs, when they are possessed, doo
infatuate vs, and when they are loste,
doo excruciate vs. Without question,
the soules of the wicked are tossed he∣ther
and thether, with perpetual cares,
with moste intricate perplexities, and
griefes innumerable. Thys the Lorde
hath affirmed, who as he cannot de∣ceiue,
so he cānot be deceiued,Cor impii
quasi mare feruens, the hart of a wicked
man is like a raging Sea, that can take
no rest: Nothing is quiet vnto them,
nothing peaceable, the trenchers wher∣on
t••ey cutte theyr meate with trem∣bling
handes can beare witnesse, the
meate yt stayeth in••theyr chaps whilst
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
they are thinking mischiefe, can beare
witnes, their slow & imperfit digestion
may beare witnes: the leanes, palenes,
and wannes of their chéekes may beare
witnes. They are affraid of all things,
suspect all things, and euerye thing is
a messenger of death vnto them. Who
would therefore aemulate them, or im∣mitate
theyr manners. Who hauing
forgotten theyr dignitie, their heroycal
nature, and theyr heauenly Monarche,
béeing made frée men are become bond∣slaues
to the worlde, lyuing miserably,
dying more miserably, and most mise∣rably
like to be afflicted wyth eternall
flames. There is none, but he seeth
these things, as cleerely as hee behol∣deth
the Meridian Sunne: but there is
not one amongst a thousande that doth
these thinges, which he knoweth are to
be practised, but we cleaue as yet to the
durt, wallow in the myre, and though
the loathsome satietie of pleasures doo
breede a surfeit vnto vs, yet cure we
the poyson of pleasures with the hem∣locke
of obstinacie, and though our
myndes doo sometime reclayme vs
from such vanities, or rather impie∣ties,
yet such cogitations are soone ex∣tinet.
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
We assigne the regiment of our
mindes to a foolish Phaeton, namely to
the secure sensualitye of an appetite
charmed with pleasures. Let a Christi∣an
man consider, what a daungerous
thing it is, to liue amongst them day
and night, whose life is not onely an
inticement to sin, a wicked May-game
and a moste pernitious example, but
doth wyth al endeuour, bende it selfe to
the ouerthrowe of vertue, vnder the
Emperour Beliall, vnder the standerde
of death, and vnder the stipende of hel,
wageing battail against heauē, against
the Lord and against his annoynted.
These are they whom God hath de∣liuered
into passions of ignominie, into
a reprobate sence, to doo those thinges
which are vndecent, ful of all iniquitie
full of enuy, hatred, deceite, malignity,
poysenfull, blasphemers of God, con∣tumelious,
proude, disdainfull. inuen∣tors
of mischiefe, vnwise, dissolute, dis∣orderly
without affection, without mer¦cye,
who though they sée the iustice of
God, yet wyll not acknowledge it bee∣ing
so far from excuse, that they which
seeke to cloake and colour theyr impu∣ritie,
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
are the seauenfolde sonnes of the
deuill, & are worthy to be racked wyth
wilde horses till they confesse ye truth.
And therefore let them which are zea∣lous
in the Lordes wayes, seperate
themselues from the company of such
to whom the name of God is odious,
vertue vnpleasant, Religion a base pro¦fession,
godlines a symple gyft, honestie
a straunge monster, and charitie a foo∣lish
affection. Let a certayne holie am∣bytion
possesse our myndes, and let vs
disdayne to take precepts of them,
which therefore offende because they
lacke the vse of godly precepts. It were
better farre that they taking example
of the godlie, by lyuing wel, may learn
to be Christians, then that the godly o∣mitting
theyr good purpose shoulde by
lyuing as they doo, bee transformed
to beastes. Let them bee assured, that
pleasure when it moste delighteth is at
an ende, that it falleth head-long into
the bosome of sorrow, and that the grea¦test
pleasures wyll at the last be tur∣ned
into sharpest tormēts. Gluttony is
the mother of cruditye in the stomack,
drunkennes breedeth the ache of the
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
sinewes venereous practises bréed pal∣sies,
stifnes of ioyntes, and a roaring
ventositie in the entralles. Pleasures
are not sound nor faythfull, they salute
vs with a fayre face, but behind theyr
backes is a grim desolation. And there∣fore
let thē be shaken off in time: they
embrace fréendly, that they may stran∣gle
trayterously, and whosoeuer per∣formeth
this admonition, let him be∣thinke
himselfe to what a number of
bad companions he hath gyuen a fare∣well.
Hys bodye is free from ougly dis∣eases,
his mind is deliuered from igno∣rance,
his appetite from sensualitie,
hys estate from daunger, hys house
from dyscorde, hys soule from ye secrete
pange of a griping conscience, al things
shall then turne to the beste vnto him,
hys afflictions to preseruatiues, hys
sorrowes and brinish teares, to an ac∣ceptable
sacrifice: and the great vncon∣stancie
of fréendes, to a great confidence
in God. I am plunged in a déepe and
vnspeakable sorrowe, when I thinke
vpō the fancies, or rather furies of mē,
which I can better deplore, then de∣scribe,
and rather meruaile at then a∣mend.
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
Is it not a great madnes, not to
beleue the word of God, whose trueth
is published by the bloode of Martyrs,
resounded by the voyce of the Apostles
proued by myracles, confirmed by rea∣son,
witnessed by counselles, by the hea¦uens
declared, and by the deuils confes∣ed.
But is it not an excéeding madnes,
for a man not to doubt of the trueth of
the Gospel, and yet so to liue as though
there were no doubt, but it were false?
If yt bee true which is sayd in the Gos∣pell.
It is harder for a rich man to en∣ter
into the kingdome of heauen,then
it is for a Cammell to passe through a
needles eye, why doo wee so gape for
rytches, why doo wee dedicate all our
labour to vniust Mammon, making
golde our patron and protector, as
though life & death were in the vaynes
of that vile mettall: but here some pro∣fessors
of cauills wyll take thys excep∣tion.
Ryches are in the number of good
thinges, and are the blessinges of God,
and therfore there can bee no excesse of
them, because there is no excesse of a
good thing. Thys reason because it is
so well pytcht on the heads of worldly
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
cormorants, that they take it for a hel∣met,
must be wyth great considerati∣on
confuted. Ryches I graunt are the
blessynges of God, and a cleare light of
his fauourable countenance, neyther is
there any excesse in the Lordes bestow¦ing,
who dealeth vnto euery one accor∣ding
to weight and measure: but the
excesse of riches procéedeth from ye out∣ragious
appetite of man, as the hea∣thens
dyd prefigure by ye couetous de∣sire
of Midas: by the infinite desire of A∣lexander
Magnus, who imagined a plu¦ralitie
of worldes, for the better in∣structing
of whō I am of opinion that
Aristotle did especially wryte hys first
Booke de caelo. It is (I say) of the inor¦dinate
appetite of man, which because
it is excessiue, it must of force prosecute
an excesse of riches. And thus it may be
prooued, that it hath such an obiecte to
worke vpon. Euery thing whē it hath
gotten a sufficient and proper matter
to worke vppon, employeth his force to
that thing onely, as hauing a taske pre∣scribed
to it of nature. Therefore if ry∣ches
were the proper obiect and mat∣ter
of worldly desire, then hauing got∣ten
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
the wealth that it firste desired, and
fully proposed, as a cōtentation til the
end of lyfe, it would rest in yt as in an
hauen & be contented wt that only was
sought for contentation: but we see the
contrary, for it flyeth frō sufficiencie to
superfluity, in such fugitiue maner, that
it séemeth nothing wyll satisfy it, but
excesse of ryches, and to that (indéede) al
the cogitations of ye couetous are ben∣ded,
euer labouringe, longing and
compassing, till they haue aspired to an
excessiue substaunce: Ouermatching
him whom the Romaines thought
matchles in hys kind, the wealthy M.
Crassus. Much like to these rauening
affections were the chaungeable ima∣ginations
of the Heathens, who placed
at first in theyr Olympus but a fewe
Gods, yet when they wext so haughtie
that euery one would haue a God, for
himselfe, and himselfe a God, theyr
heauen wext so full of hée Gods and she
Gods, that as Iuuenall saith,Atlas
hath a heauie burthen, or to make hys
meaning more plaine, a knauish loade.
Nowe if excesse be the obiect of coue∣tousnes,
couetousnes must of necessitye
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
be a vice, for all excesse and defect pro∣perly
taken is a vice, and al excesse and
defert as Aristotle saith, is to bee shun∣ned.
Ryches therefore are abused by
the vntamed concupiscence of man, and
are often wrested by a sinister interpre¦tation
to abuse.
It is not to be doubted, but the ry∣ches,
wherewith God aduaunced Iob,
were very singular, and the rare bles∣singes
of the Almighty, but the deuill
that erronious Serpent, vsed them as
a bayte and snare to intrappe the soule
of Iob. For he imagining that his ry∣ches,
had lulled him in securitie, and
intangled his conscience, thought that
the spoyle of Iob hys ryches, woulde
haue béene the sacking of the soule. So
riches were an instrument of abuse to
the father of lyes. And though the pa∣trimony
of Naboth, were ye ordinary
meane of God to serue the vse of Na∣both,
yet the same was an instrument
of abuse to the deuill against the soule
of Achab. So likewyse riches were v∣sed
of God for the allurement of Na∣buchadnozer,
to the acknowledging of
of his mercies, but the deuill wrought
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
in him a discontented desire, & brought
him to this absurditie, that hee thought
Babilon was a Heauen, and himselfe a
God.
There is nothing in the worlde so
precious, but it may be abused, as a gly∣stering
Pearle, may bee placed in a
Swines snoute: the abuse of ryches, is
the excesse of riches in mans minde,
which because it is an abuse, it must
not be vsed, and because it is an excesse,
it must not be coueted, least swelling
with Esops Frogge, to become as byg
as a Bull, we burst at length with de∣sire,
and vanish into nothing. The like
may be spoken touching the abuse of
honours.
It is no doubt, but they are the En∣signes
of Iustice, and the honourable
rewardes of vertue, but yet we sée how
by ambition they haue béene abused,
and how by corriuall passions of migh∣tie
menne, common. Weales haue
béene brought to great wrack. Was
not the gréeuous distresse of Thebes to
be lamented, when Eteocles & Polyni∣ces
issuing out of the same wombe, dyd
violentlie rush into the bowels of their
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
Countrey, as a Lyon and Leoparde:
when they, which by birth were equal:
by blood, were brethren: neither distant
by wombe, nor disseuered by Country:
they against the prescript of nature,
whose sinewous perswasion doth ex∣céede
all the brauery of Rhetoricke a∣gainst
the Lawe of Nations, against
the lawe of Armes, against all right
and reason: chose rather mutually to
afflict themselues, then not to despise
one another, as though contempt
had beene the crowne of Princes, and
as though to despise had béene as much
as to touche Heauen with theyr fin∣gers.
If yée will haue a witnesse more
nigh vnto your memorie, looke vppon
Rome: which was so wasted and con∣sumed
by the immoderate contempt of
equalles, and did so languish by the ex∣cessiue
conflict of noble Péeres, that it
séemed rather to bee a shamble to the
carkasses of vertuous Cittizens, thē a
prison to the voluptuous, and a graue
to the riotous. Pompeie did plesantly
iest at Caesar, Caesar did more esteeme
the paring of his nayles, then the honor
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
of Pompeie, both theyr swordes were
drawne against the naked common
Weale, one Shéepe was committed to
two Wolues, and the final end of their
contempt, was the funerall of theyr
common Weale. These actions did fo∣lowe
and immitate the contentions of
Marius and Sylla. Marius made little
estimation of all the Nobility, Sylla
did take Marius for a vile & base borne
creature, as an abiect or forlorne per∣son:
but this light contempt was of
great waight, and the scalefire of pryde
could not be extinguished or repressed
without the downefall of the common
Weale.Marius béeing constrayned fled
to Carthage, in whose ruines and re∣liques
whilst he lodged, Marius behol∣ding,
defaced Carthage, Carthage be∣holding,
disgraced Marius, one of them
might haue béene a comfort to the o∣ther.
Thus were honours peruerslye
drawne from their proper ende, to the
pursuing of an vnlawfull tyranny, and
yet it is most certaine, that they bee
God his speciall benefites and signes of
his iust approbation. Saul was inue∣sted
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
of God with most excellent honor,
but the deuill racked the power of Saul
to the tyrannical persecution of Dauid.
It is best therefore to séeke the glorye
that is of God, and not that which is of
men. Why doo we hang so vpon the
estimation of man? Why doo wee fa∣shion
our selues to this worlde? Why
doo we seeke to be cōmended for rych
and wealthie, howsoeuer wee bee dys∣commended
as ignoraunt and way∣warde?
In nakednes we appeared at
first, and our last appearaunce shall be
in nakednes: therfore to care for the
morrow, which perhaps wee shall not
see, or cramme our Barnes, of whose
fatnes we shall not eate, is it not a fol∣lie,
a miserie, and a madnes? If it be
true, that the righteous shall inhabite
the earth, and the simple minded shall
continue in it. If the vngodly shall bee
wiped from the face of the earth,
and they that worke wyckednes
shall be taken from thence. Why doo
we liue in pleasures, sith wee cannot
continue in them, because we liue in
pleasures. If we haue any faith in vs,
why doo we not beléeue that the Lorde
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
wyll sometime say: goe ye cursed in∣to
euerlasting fire, and contrariwise,
Come ye blessed, possesse the kingdom
that was prepared for you, from the
beginning of the world? Why doo we
feare nothing lesse then hell? And why
doo we hope for nothing lesse then the
kingdome of God? Why are wee in
name Christians & not indéede? Why
cry we Lord, Lord, but doo him no ser∣uice?
Awake worldlings, cast the fog∣gie
mist from your eyes, sée and say the
truth, giue pleasures theyr pasporte if
they fawne vpon you, beléeue them not
they are the fore-runners of death, and
they haue clapped hands with destruc∣tion.
Endeuour to enter at the nar∣rowe
Gate, be not obstinate, because ye
are manie. Know that but a fewe shal∣be
crowned, and it is as great a glory
to be crowned wyth fewe, as it is a
shame to bee condemned with manie.
But that they may the better bee per∣swaded
by mee, and giue more credite
to these assertions which I haue sette
downe, I will by the grace of God, vn∣folde
the swéete treasures of a solitarie
life, ioyning therevnto an exhortation,
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
whereby they may be mooued, though
not mended, & loath their vices though
not leaue them: But heere at my first
entraunce, they will trippe mee wyth
this obiection. Woulde you haue vs
goe into the Wildernes, that is a place
for Hermites: to the Forrest, where
Palmers doo macerate themselues: to
the Hylles and Valleyes, where solita∣rie
Shéepe heardes doo abide: or to the
Woodes and Groues, where Out∣lawes
hide their heads? Their pati∣ence
in such sorte I meane not to of∣fende,
because I wyll not touche that
string whereon they harpe so much.
The continuaunce of this dyscourse
shall make manifest, that as I ayme at
a fayrer marke, so I meane to take my
standing on a better ground. But for
the excusing of the Hermites life, thus
much I doo aunswere: not as greatlie
vrging it, but as aunswering fooles ac∣cording
to their folly. The Hermite
hauing nothing, hath nothing to bee
robbed of, is not with cares ouer prest,
nor with the multitude of the vniust
ouercrowded. The rich personages,
in whose houses swarme troopes of
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
fréendes and seruauntes, haue so many
moathes commonly féeding vpon theyr
bagges, vnles they be altogether ex∣penceles
Eoclioes, that the siluer fal∣leth
out of them before it can well bee
spared. And in such varietie of freends,
whereof some be cholericke, some me∣lancholicke,
some sage, some voluptu∣ous,
some humble, some proude, some
mercilesse, some pittifull, some enui∣ous,
some faithfull, and this last some
is the least some: in such discorde of
affections, disagréement of inclinati∣ons,
dissent of motions, contrarietie of
humores, whether or whom wyll hee
please that hath shuffled himselfe wyth
so manie: and entred into a league
with men so diuersly disposed. If hee
be a dauncer, his Stoicall fréendes are
at his elbowe, with a payre of pinsors
to kéepe him in tune. If he be no daun∣cer,
his Epicureall fréendes thynke
straight way that hee is in a traunce,
that he is dyspossest of his liuely spy∣rites,
that he is inflamed with a foolish
zeale, that he is allured by Pulpet per∣swasions,
as if they should say, that hée
were tempted of God: and when he is
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
thus estraunged from their fashions,
they are ready to be at defiaunce wyth
his fréendship.
Charus erit Verri, qui Verrem tempore quo vult,Accusare potest.
Verres amongst his freendes doth onely him recyteThat beeing his confederate may him of crimes indite.
Now there is an other sort which
be of the meane pitche, and they alowe
to theyr fréend some kind of dauncing,
but some they abiudicate, hauing that
saying of Aristotle for a principle: Om∣nis
saltatio non est illicita,quemadmodum
nec omnis motus. All dauncing is not
vnlawfull, no more then euery moti∣on.
There is a fourth sorte, and they
can not abide their fréende to gyue hys
minde to anie thing, to which they doo
not addict themselues, though they doo
not mislike the qualitie wherein he de∣lighteth,
saying that a fréende must bee
alter idem, so like, that if he spitte after
an other sort, hee is to bee accounted a
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
Schismatike. Amongst so many heads,
sences, and sentences, such chaunge and
mutability doth ensue, that euery mor∣ning,
wherein a man so distracted by
diuers perswasions ariseth out of hys
bedde, he ariseth with an other minde,
and as an other man like to these ani∣matio
diaria, and horaria which conti∣nue
in their estate but for an howre
or a day: or like to Heraclitus his horse,
which going into a Ryuer, did neuer
returne out of the Ryuer, ye same horse
that he was when he went in Though
this be an inconuenience, yet it is sea∣soned
with this cōmoditie, that a man
in companie is merry, and passeth a∣waie
the time by some recreation or o∣ther.
Sée how wee triumph in our fol∣lie.
We laugh as loude as Iupiter dyd,
when he was heard to laugh from the
heauen to the earth: but it is vnpossi∣ble
that our myrth should not be ouer∣cast,
with a clowde of sorrow. Euerye
foresight of some mischiefe being at the
dore readie to arrest vs, or remem∣braunce
of some sorrow, hauing latelie
past by, and frozen our hartes with hys
stormie countenaunce, daunteth our
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
chéere, interrupteth our myrth, chaun∣geth
our Commedie into a Tragedye,
and our laughter into lamentation. E∣uerie
doubtfull rumor of a perillous
thing, maketh our hart to sobbe, our
minde to feare, and smiteth the whole
man with such an vniuersall extasie,
that we feele as it were a worme, fée∣ding
on our hartes, and a threatning
that maketh vs to shake, and all our
ioyntes to tremble. How soone might
a man discharge himselfe of this bur∣then,
if he would professe a solitary and
chaste life: which I will first illustrate
by a similitude, and afterward by rea∣sons
and examples. When a man ma∣keth
his Testament, he renounceth the
worlde, and in a little paper hee dooth
orderly and conueniently dispose euery
thing. When he is dead, he is neuer
more likely to be troubled againe wyth
such cares, or with any worldly busi∣nes,
which is the fountaine of sorrow,
of which, as often as we thinke, wee
cannot choose but sighe. If a man wold
ordayne his will, take his leaue of hys
carnall fréendes, byd the worldly cares
and cogitations adewe, and betake him
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
selfe to a solitary or sober life, I meane
amongst men, not amongst beastes: a∣mongst
men also, not as seperated from
their company, but as sequestred from
their contagion, hee should not in any
wise enioy lesse quietnes and tranqui∣litie,
then if he were in his graue, the
doore whereof is alwayes shutte, that
no euill tydinges may enter. He that
sitteth on the throne of wealth, com∣passed
with a large circle of freendes,
hath (as long as the sun-shyne of For∣tune
doth warme his bagges, and as
long as his glistering substaunce, ma∣keth
euery man to cast vppe hys eyes)
a great multitude of fréends, but when
Fortune beginneth to wage battayle
wyth him, when his riches be melted,
and his authority eclipsed, then euerye
fréende flincheth from him, and then he
is as wylling for shame and sorrow to
forsake hys freendes, béeing then by
compulsion enforced to leade a solitarie
life. And ha••de he not béene better to
haue chosen a solitary life at the first,
that is, not to haue reposed his confi∣dence
in freendes, but to haue wholye
relyed vpon his God, trusting freendes
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
as mistrusting them, and so determi∣ning
of them, as hauing a doubt of thē?
To be chained to a fréende, is a serui∣tude,
and to follow him in all things, is
to leape beyond the line, to raunge out
of the way, and to leaue God for man.
Nowe, when after our pleasures com∣meth
a chaunge, and after the dawning
of our ioy, ensueth a blacke and gloomy
night of care and sorrow, then we wish
for death: but that desire which encro∣cheth
vpon vs, by the violence of aduer∣sitie,
is nothing so welcome vnto vs, as
that we willingly admit. If the man
so debased, and throwne from the toppe
of a prosperous estate, had at the first
gyuen himselfe to solitarines, he had
wanted, I graunt many pleasures, but
he had lacked also manie sorrowes, and
he had escaped that extreame sorrowe,
into the bottome of which, aduersitye
hath throwne him, and howe can it bee,
but that such a life should be better, thē
a life ledde in pleasures, when he wy∣sheth
after the ende of his delights, ne∣uer
to haue enioyed them, saying some
tyme as Augustus said: O vtinam caelebs
vixissem, orbusque periissem. I woulde I
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
had neuer beene a husbande, I woulde
I had neuer beene a father: sometime
with a tragicall tune lamenting,durū
est seruire, cum didiceris dominari: It is
an harde thing to learne seruitude af∣ter
soueraignty. Sometime with dys∣contented
Cicero exclayming:Cum nō
sis qui fueris, non est cur velis viuere. Sith
thou canst not enioy thy lyuing, why
wouldest thou enioy thy life? If thou
haddest beene solitarie Cicero, thou
haddest not drunke of the poysonfull
cuppe of enuy, thou haddest escaped the
swordes of Antonius and Herennius,
carrying thy heade vppon the poynt of
his sworde, should not haue made the
Romaines to haue gazed vppon it, as
Children stand wondring at a Puppet
erected on a pinnacle. Much eloquence
we had lacked, if thou haddest not béene
in Fortunes fauour: but yet many ho∣nour
thy eloquence, that care not for
thy fortune. If thou haddest declay∣med
against a Piller of thine owne
house, within thy priuate walles, and
haddest imagined it to haue béene An∣tonie,
and haddest engrauen therevp∣pon,
thy Philippicall Orations, neither
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
had we lost the eloquence which we
contained in them, nor thou the dignity
in which thou diddest pronounce them.
Let euerie one consider, to what course
of life he committeth himselfe. If hee
make pleasures his companions, hys
money cannot long keepe him compa∣nie:
if he make moneie his companion
he shall not lacke copartners. Hys Pe∣nelope
can not be without fiftye woo∣ers,
a companie of good felowes, com∣monly
called théeues, will bee ready ad
conciliandam beneuolentiam, of his ar∣genteall
assemblie, gathered together
from diuers coastes and quarters of the
world. If he séeke one lie to haue the
applause and approbation of the com∣mon
people, as a perpetuall Perithous
vnto him, hee followeth after flying
Byrdes, and beateth the winde wyth
his breath. The people is a chaungea∣ble
societie, and hee must bee a perfitt
Chamaeleon that retaineth their fa∣uour.
Demosthenes did thinke that the
Athenians good will, had béene for his
singuler eloquence in the highest degrée
toward him, and I thinke it was: but
as it is the vse of humaine thinges,
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
which fall when they are at the high∣est.
Diogenes holding vppe his scrip
on his staffe, whilst Demosthenes dyd
with an oratoricall discourse allure the
eares of the Athenians, withdrewe
from Demosthenes all his auditors,
and turned all their eyes to a vaine
spectacle, verifying that which he dyd
before speake of them, that they were
Bellua multorum capitum, A beaste of
many heades, to vse a more ciuill in∣terpretation,
men of many mindes.
Now he that ••ancieth so much the peo∣ples
fauour, must either serue theyr
humors, or els they will vtterly reiect
him: if he folow their affections, hee
must be a slaue to their wylles, and so
not be ledde by his owne reason, which
is proper to man: and in him contra∣rye
windes must blowe at the same
time, which combat is against nature.
He must holde with some of the people
one thing, and with other some y• con∣trary:
and so in inward affection. Hee
shall fight for himselfe against himself,
béeing diuersly distracted, making a
Met••us Suffetius of his owne minde,
plunged in the hell of doubtes, and a
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
galla-mafrie of his conscience, which if
he wounde, that is an other hell, and if
he die without repentaunce, hee must
looke for the third hell. But he wyll so
prouide, that he be in great fauor wyth
some honourable personage, and so ha∣uing
gotten a golden vizarde to a badde
face, he thinketh hee may maske in al
kind of pleasurs, without any stayning
of his credite: for as for conscience, that
is the least question, he thinketh his e∣stimation
can neuer be impayred by a∣ny
chaunge of fortune, imagining that
he is secundus a Ioue,the next to Iupi∣ter,
and like a foolish Weather-cocke,
turneth to euery proude imagination,
as his fancie windeth him, but he must
not thinke, that his minde can be faber
fortunae suae, the carpenter of his owne
fortune. He may imagine that he hath
golden Mountaynes, that he is a Cit∣tizen
of the siluer world, that he is the
sonne of the white Henne, and manye
such gloses he may make vpon a phan∣tasticall
text. But Fortune cannot bee
faithfull, shee is onely stedfast in vn∣stedfastnes,
rowling continually hither
and thither, according to the circute of
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
her whéele. Plautianus was in hygh fa∣••our
with Seuerus, but his estimation
was nothing so great as his ruine, hys
aduersitie by many degrées excéeded his
authority: if he had not béene knowne
too manie, manie had not known hys
fall: if the light of the Moone were not
very great, who would watch halfe a
night to behold the eclipse. To lose at
one clappe the credite which he did pur¦chase
by so great seruice, and so conti∣nuall
attendaunce, that hee did euen
serue out a seruitude to purchase a
kingdome, which bothe to obtayne and
lose, almost in one moment, to chaunge
hys honney for poyson, and hys blysse
for bale, muste of force be a great an∣guishe
to Plautianus. A whetstone to
his myseries, a wormewood to hys re∣membraunce,
and a canker to his hart.
If he hadde dwelt in a meane Village,
vnder the name of a poore Gentleman,
he should haue beene loued of his neigh
bours, but not enuied: and though hee
had beene a scandall vnto his enemies,
yet he should not haue beene vnto them
a ridiculous spectacle. It is not my
meaning, to perswade any manne to
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
dwell in Diogenes hys Tubbe, or Cle∣archus
hys Truncke, to liue onelye
by eating the ayre, or to repose hys
cheefest delight in the buzzing of a Bée,
but to exhorte euery one, that he single
and seuerre his desire from the worldly
delicates, to estraunge hys cogitations
from the allurements of the eye, to re∣straine
hys appetite from the deuills
triangle, Bacchus, Cupid, and Venus.
That is, not to be accounted a chaste
and contemplatiue life, which is con∣sumed
in corners vpon a melancholicke
passion, or continued in desertes vpon
an amorous desperation, or which is
spent to loathing the societie of menne,
but not in forsaking and renouncing
the company of vices. They which so
passe the time, that the print of theyr
foote-steppes cannot bee perceiued, to
tend eyther toward the Courte of Ver∣tue,
or to the Court of Venus, but stand
still in the méeting of these two waies,
are rather to be accounted Neutralles
thē Christians, rather sluggish drones,
then eyther godly Eremites, or celesti∣all
Eunuches, or solitarie Virgins, ha∣ting
rather men with Tymon, then
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
the sinne of Man with S. Augustine.
The popish Monks make a gooly show
euery one of them liuing solus cum sola,
I would haue said solo, but that they
serue not Bona Dea, and therefore they
vse not her precept.
Non intret faemina limen.
These are not the true professors of
a solitarie and vertuous life, béeing no∣thing
els but the Popes Adamant, not
to drawe yron, but coyne vnto him.
But they onely are accounted the per∣fitte
Solitaria••ns, and they onely are pre∣cious
in the sight of God, which behaue
themselues in this world like Straun∣gers
and Pilgrims, béeing as it were
••ncarnate Angels, hauing their mindes
fixt on the heauenly delightes, and on
the heauenly knowledge: which are
base in the sight of Men, fooles to the
Stoikes, blockes to the Epicures, cast a∣wayes
to the contemptuous, and to ex∣presse
all in one worde, wormes and
not men. They are like Beacons vp∣on
hilles, which stande in a solitarye
place, and yet giue light to the whole
Country rounde about, at whom euery
worldling doth gaze, as at a Stranger,
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
or outlandish person, meruailing whēce
he came, whether he will, or what
course he meaneth to take: but these
straungers of the world, stand at a bay
with pleasures, at a defiance with the
deuill: hauing crucified themselues to
the worlde, and the worlde vnto them,
they put a great distinction betwéene
the Harpe of Paris, and the Harpe of
Dauid, betwixt the dauncing of Debo∣ra,
and the Iewish women, and y• daun∣cing
of Venus, and Lycomedes hys
Daughters, béeing neuer merrie, but
when it is said vnto them, Come let vs
go into the house of the Lord,because
their feete shall stand within the gates
of Ierusalem, neuer delighted to throng
with the multitude, but when they goe
ad domū dei cum frequentia,to the house
of the Lord with a great assembly.
They séeke not to haue theyr names
blazed by the Trumpet of the common
people, they doo not watch, nor care, nor
trauaile for a popular fréendship, they
doo not hauke nor hunt for lucre and
gaine, but if it please the Lord to place
them in seates of honour, they take it
as a frée gift, not as a merited reward,
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
vsing their honor to the Lordes honor,
ready at al times to resigne it, when it
shall please him to remooue it: and if it
please the Lord to kepe thē in a low e∣state,
& to barre them frō the waight of
honours, they are contented with his
grace, and making fréendes of the wic∣ked
Mammon, vppon whom they doo
not relie, because they must not make
such a base matter their Bulwark, but
charitablie dispensing their substaunce,
to the vse of their néedie Brethren, to
the discharge of their owne want, and
to the glorie of God: they so vse y• world
as not abusing the world. But in these
dayes, vnlesse a man be frollicke, and
dissolute, he is accounted melancholick:
vnlesse he haue a round inuention to
returne a quippe, he is accounted lu∣naticke:
if he cannot cozen, he is a sott:
if hee bée simple, hée is a foole:
if he be solitarie, hee is a 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, but
if he be a familiar companion, one that
is taught to the game, and a confede∣rate
in venereous practises, such a one,
as Ouid describeth. Qui canit arte ca∣nat,
qui bibit arte bibat: he is accounted
immediatly a good fellow, a flowre of
this age, and he is inuested with such
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
sible titles, that he followeth the race of
them that praise him, as the Ape dooth
the steps of them that trace him. The
solitarie man hath fewe fréendes, and
therfore fewe enemies: he taketh no
partes▪ and therefore is partaker of no
harmes. Cicero was once determined
to prosecute his studie, and not to med∣dle
in the ciuill warre, betwixt Caesar
and Pompeie, but alas he drewe hys
féete too late out of the myre, wherein
so long he had bedawbed them: for
shewing before a fréendly countenance
to Caesar, and professing great fréend∣ship
to Pompeie, such like affections to
persons so diuersly affectioned, he was
looked for of the one, and longed for of
the other: the one claymed him, the o∣ther
chalenged him: Caesar was iea∣lious
of him, and set Scoutes to prye
whether he applyed himselfe any way
to the pleasuring of Pompey, and Pom¦pey
also watched him very narrowlie,
with an attentiue héede, examining his
procéedings, and doubting that hee dyd
more estéeme of Caesar then of him: so
that Cicero then beginning to bee soli∣tarie,
was debarred from his intent,
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
and the more close and solitarie that hée
was▪ the more diligently and circum∣spectly
was he watched: so that it is
not enough to shake of partialitie and
affection, and goe to his studie, & there
betroth himselfe to his Minerua, ha∣uing
the worlde before him, in a Cos∣mographicall
Mappe, and the state of
the common Weale in the parliament
of his cogitations, but he must set vp∣on
his doore in the first yere of his Man
hoode: Hic situs est Vasias: Vasias ly∣eth
buried heere: as though he hadde
lost his life, and had entred into a new
worlde. For if a man be halfe alyue
and halfe dead, to this wicked worlde,
full of contentions and cares, he pur∣chaseth
to himselfe the name of Am∣phibion,
a beast that lyueth bothe on
water and on land, and such a munke
is like to the bare scalpe of a Monkes
head, that is halfe an heade, and halfe a
skul: such demi-worldlinges should bee
vsed like the Batte, which was thruste
both from beastes and byrdes, and haue
a garment shaped after two fashions,
that he may learne of his coate what
deformitie there is in his mind, but the
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
linges are so charmed with the sweete
coniuration of pleasure, that they think
their delightes shal neuer haue an ebb,
that there shalbe no intermixion of so∣row,
no chaunge of fortune: that they
shall intreate age with a congie, death
with a kisse, the hellish tyranny with a
deuoute placebo, and the God that ma∣keth
the Temples of Heauen to shake
with thunder, by powring out a fewe
wordes in forme of a prayer. Syth
they haue aboundaunce of all thinges,
ioculiaritie at wyll, pleasure in theyr
hands, pouerty vnder their féete, welth
in a chayne, which they plucke in, or let
out, as it shall please their fansies: they
are fullie perswaded, that they shal ne∣uer
taste the cuppe of sorrow, that they
shall neuer be pricked with thornes:
that they shall neuer behold the sworde
of vengeaunce. These voluptuous
Thrasoes, thinke that they shine lyke
the greater starres, which obscure the
lesse. And indéede they shine in a kind
of brauery: but how? Euen as y• glim∣mering
of a glassie substaunce, which is
darkened as soone as it appeareth, and
from the Orient to the Occident there∣of
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
is a very short space, and a little di∣stance.
In ye darke clowdes of miserie,
in the ruine of prosperitie, in ye wayne
of fortune, in the confusion of states,
and the conuersion of times: where bée
these sparkling starres Hector, Troy∣lus,
Deiphobus, Paris, and Priamus?
where is the pompe & maiestie of that
great kingdome? where be these gor∣gious
Women, Andromache, and
Hecuba? where be these diuine walles,
built, erected, & established, by y• hands
of Neptune & Apollo? where is there a
monument, print or signe of y• large
and famous region, which was called
Dardania? Troy is not in so good case
that it is turned into standing Corne,
as the Poet imagined, when he sayde
Iam seges est vbi Troia fuit:but the
corne is cutte, and the stubble remay∣neth.
These same starres haue nowe
lost their light, and are couered wyth
the mantle of darknes. They may say,
we were Troians, but now are ashes:
we were starres, but now are car∣kasses:
we were Grapes, but now are
dregges: we were the honour of Troy,
but now are the footestoole of the Gre∣cians.
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
O wonderfull chaunge, importu∣nate
times, and crooked fortune. The
Sheepeheardes doo sing in the field, the
conquest of the Troians, and the Troian
warre is the Sheepeheards caroll. O
slipperie dignities, headlong honoure,
fugitiue glory: which in one moment
lighted vpon them and rebounded from
them. But these were mighty menne
that bare too high a sayle, and therfore
had iustlie such a stripe gyuen them,
and such a penalty inflicted, let it bee
so: But shall Hector die, and Astianax
liue? Shall the thunderbolt of Ioue
strike downe the Giants, and shal Pha∣eton
that proude boy scape the force
thereof? Shall the trees fall, and shall
not the leaues be mooued? Shall Cit∣ties
be shaken with earthquakes, and
shall cotages stande, it is impossible,
and incredible: but what is this against
the voluptuous? Troy was deceitfullie
ouercome by the Greekish craft, & per∣iurie:
but Troy was firste bathed in
Wine, before it was circumuented by
fraude, and drenched in blood.
Inuadunt vrbem vino somnoque
sepultam.
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
The Greekes inuade a careles drunkē
Towne.
When I cal to mind, how the sump∣tuous
buildings, which the Romaines
did consecrate to pleasure, are turned
to nothing, how their Theaters, Am∣phitheaters,
Circi & delightfull bathes
are withered with a light drynes, dis∣solued
with a little blast, and rowlde
downe as it were with Fortunes da••∣liance.
I meruaile that the Epicures
are so secure, that they thinke theyr
ioyes shall alway continue, or if they
thinke on death, yet they imagine, that
after their death they shall be renow∣med
for some rare Trophee of plea∣sure:
when death hath once seysed vp∣pon
them, all such thinges are disconti∣nued,
neither can they looke backe to
their former pastimes: the Idolles of
of their Epicurisme shall bee throwne
downe by the breath of his mouth, be∣fore
whose face, the Idols of the Gen∣tles
were dissundred into dust, and now
in dust are they buried. Let them ther∣fore
before their death thinke of their
death, let them before they be embarc∣ked,
meditate both of the Hauen, which
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
is the Porte of happines, and of the
Rocke, which is the receptacle of the
vnhappy: and let them in mind foresée
the grim and blustering countenaunce
of the terrible and threatning day, in
which the Axletrées of the world shall
flie in sunder, the starres shall fall from
the heauens, when the Sunne shall be
ouercast with an yron colour, hyding
his head because he hath lost his light,
and the moone béeing depriued of her
light, shall stand astonished, when the
reuenging fire shall droppe from Hea∣uen,
and the sparkes of the lightning
shall kindle in the stonye Rockes: whē
the Seas and fountaines shall burne,
when the ayre shall be inflamed wyth
burning clowdes: when this auncient
forme of the world shall bee chaunged.
Let them thinke of y• miserable Dun∣geon,
which contayneth the powers of
darknes, that loathsome lake of hell,
where the deuills are plunged, as in a
swallowing gulphe, out of which there
is no egresse, buried in the bottome of
a vaste fornace, and breathing out of
their nostrelles the smoake of venge∣aunce,
out of their mouthes an eter∣nall
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
fire, to torment the distressed: with
one hande they stretche out bright fire∣brandes,
in the other they holde theyr
thrée forked fuskins, both of them as fit
instruments of theyr tyrannous cruel∣tie.
There is continuall gnashing of
téeth, sighing and sorrowing, both of the
deuill himselfe, and those whom hee
scourgeth, with whips that will neuer
be worne, scorcheth with fire that wyl
neuer be extinguished, fettereth wyth
chaynes that will neuer be loosed, and
teareth with wilde Bulls that will ne∣uer
be wearied, consumeth with a
worme that will neuer be filled, dys∣ioynteth
with rackes which will neuer
be broken. The Prince of darknesse
howleth, because he hath lost the hea∣uenly
mansion, wherein before hee had
the vse of inestimable ioyes. And they
because they left the happines, y• was
offered vnto them, if they woulde haue
left the waies that ledde to destruction.
Let them to whom God permitteth
the fruition of this vitall ayre, thinke
of these thinges, and lay them vp déepe∣lie
in their hartes, let them lift vp their
eyes to heauen, and their hartes to the
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
heauenly comfortes, let them long to
be placed in the Parradise of blisse, and
to be cladde with the robes of glorye, to
be crowned with the garland of victo∣rie,
to be initiated into the misteries,
and admitted into the secrete treasure
of that diuine contemplation, which is
not by any mans spéeche, or thought
counteruailable, by the benefit of which
they shall behold the shyning gates of
the heauenly Ierusalem, the walles
stréetes, and dwellings thereof, y• troope
of Cittizens and theyr mightye Mo∣narche:
whose Towres are of preci∣ous
stones, whose buildinges are ador∣ned
with Saphire and Smaragdi: Then
they shall sée the Sacrifice of their re∣demption,
the pure, holy, and immacu∣late
Lambe, with the quyre of Angels,
they shall glorifie God, amidst ye blessed
number of Prophets, Apostles, Mar∣tyrs,
& Confessors, with the righteous
Men and Matrons, with the innocent
Virgins and Children. Wherefore
let them desire to bee deliuered from
these fleshly bondes, let them be wyl∣lingly
content to leaue their Tentes of
Ceder, that dwelling with Cherubins
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
and Seraphins, and the happy soules
of the Saintes, they may triumphant∣lie
sing these hymnes vnto the Lorde,
which are vsed in Sion. Let them adde
to these thrée, three other contemplati∣ons,
very necessary and conuenient, let
them déepely I say deliberate of these
three thinges: First, howe base our
estate is in this life. Secondly, howe
discommodious this worlde is vnto vs.
Thirdlie, how short and momentarye
this life is. For the first, let them enter
into the consideratiō of mans original,
who when he commeth into the world,
doth with great weakenes, imbecillity,
feare and trembling, enioy the earth▪
and receiue the ayre: hee shrinketh,
quaketh, and quauereth, stagereth and
starteth backe, as though hee woulde
gladly returne, and reenter into the
closette of his mothers wombe. And for
the euident demonstration of his mys∣liking
of this world, he beginneth to
weepe, and cry out in most rufull and
pittifull manner, with a skréeking and
dolefull gen••thliacon, which ••s so pro∣per
to the nature of man, when it first
sprouteth in this world, that the lear∣ned
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
Mirandula not vnwisely sayd, that
a Child as soone as he is borne, giueth
out no signe, which is proper to man,
but onely weeping: and hath hee not
good cause of weeping, when hee com∣meth
into the Theater wherein Mali∣ciousnes
playeth her prize, when hee
commeth into a vayle of myseries, into
a deserte full of vncleane byrddes, into
the world (I meane) possessed of white
deuills and blacke deuils, into a place
that receiued him being actually inno∣cent,
but wyll send him backe, béeing
ouerflowne of vices, and when hee
groweth in age, he groweth like a ten¦der
hearbe, vnto which hee hath often
beene, and may well bee compared, not
for any internall power, wherein hee
resembleth the herbes of the fielde, but
for an internall impotencie, for hys
fraltie, tendernes and weakenes, for
his great néede of vnderpropping, che∣rishing
and defending, subiect to the
coldnes of the ayre, subiect to the par∣ching
of the Sunne, subiect to rage and
violence, and when he is euen at the
toppe of his perfection, how farre is he
excelled in many thinges of the brute
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
beastes, which he taketh vppon him to
mannage, to vse at his pleasure, and
with a lyon-like looke to despise. All
temporall and worldly delight, consi∣steth
in three thinges: in perceiuing
thinges present, which are delightfull
vnto vs: in remembring thinges past,
which haue béene pleasant vnto vs: and
in hoping for thinges to come, which
may be pleasant vnto vs. In these
three thinges, Man may challenge the
victory: but quietnes consisteth in thrée
other thinges. In perceiuing thinges
pleasaunt, without hurt: in remem∣bring
thinges past, without greefe: in
looking for thinges to come, wythout
feare. And in these three thinges, Man
is ouercomed of the brutish creatures.
Varietie likewise consisteth in three
thinges: in enioying many thinges:
aunswering to many affections: in
finding out helpes to nature: in know¦ing
many thinges: in those thrée, Man
is the victor. But contentation is repo∣sed
in three other things: in being fre••
from mutabilitie of desires, in beeing
satisfied with that which natures boun¦tie
doth exhibite, in knowing nothing
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
that might be wyshed to bee knowne:
and heerein the sauage beastes haue
preheminence. There bee foure small
thinges in the earth sayth Salomon,
and yet they are wyser then men that
bee wyse.The Antes a people not
strong, yet prepare they theire meate
in the Summer. The Connies, a peo∣ple
not mighty, yet make they theyr
houses in the Rockes. The Grashop∣pers
haue no kinges, and yet they goe
all foorth by bandes. The Spider hol∣deth
with her hand, and is in kinges
pallaces. So the Lorde that hee myght
shewe howe weake mans power is,
beeing compared to other creatures,
that hys owne power might cleerelye
shyne in the creation and gouernment
of them, dooth thus expostulate wyth
Iob.Who hath sett the wilde Asse at
libertie, or who hath loosed his bands?
It is I which haue made the wildernes
his house, and the salt places his dwel∣linges.
Hee mocketh the multitude of
the Cittie, hee heareth not the crye of
the dryuer. And againe. Hast thou gy∣uen
the horse strength, or couered hys
neck with neyghing, he diggeth in the
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
valley, and reioyceth in his strength,
he goeth foorth to meete the harnest
man, he despyseth feare, and turneth
not his backe from the sword. Iob bée∣ing
greatly apalled and daunted, wyth
these and such like spéeches, doth con∣fesse
his imbecillitie, acknowledgeth
his basenes, and remooueth from hys
mind all opinion of statelines, & wyth
great humilitie, méekenes, and lenitye
of mind, frameth this aunswere to the
Lorde. Beholde I am vile, what shall
I aunswere thee, I wyll lay my hande
vpon my mouth.
Thys may sufficiently argue mans
ignobilitie and contemptible estate in
thys life: if we rest onely in the natu∣rall
manne, and goe no further: but
this notwithstanding he will scarce be∣léeue,
that this worlde is discommodi∣ous
and daungerous vnto him, sith
hee tasteth the fruites of most accepta∣ble
fréendshippe, and hath such a large
title to so many freendes. By that
recorde I wyll be tryed, and as the
iudgement of freendshypp is registred
in the hartes of wise men, let definitiue
sentence bee giuen. The discoloured
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
and mutable affection of fréendes hath
driuen many to that exigent, that they
haue beene ready to aduowe and be∣take
themselues to a voluntary exile,
whereof Vmbricius the Romaine was
one, who made this protestation.
Thither I meane to hie
Whither the wearied Dedalus constrai∣ned
was to flye.
And he giueth afterward a substanti∣all
reason.
Quis nunc diligitur, nisi conscius, & cui feruensAestuat occultis animus semper{que} tacendis.What man is nowe beloued,but he whose guilty mindDooth feele the flames of secrete sins,and can no comfort find.
Salomon did much lament the de∣fect
of charitie, and the coldnes thereof,
when he considered that the poore and
innocent manne was fréendles and suc∣courlesse.
I behelde (sayth Salomon) the
••eares of the innocent, and there was
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
none to comfort him, and hee coulde
not resist the violence of aduersaries,
beeing destitute of all mens ayde. Ther¦fore I praysed them that were deade,
more then them that were lyuing, and
happier then bothe did I iudge him
that was not yet borne. As it was in
Salomons time, so is it nowe, and I
feare worse. What cruelty is daylye
committed of neighbour against neigh∣bour,
brother against brother, fréend a∣gainst
freende?
non hospes, ab hospite tutus,Nec socer a genero, fratrum quoque gra∣tia
rara est
nor hoste his guest doth spare.
Nor sonne in lawe the father in lawe,
and brothers loue is rare.
There is nothing more common in
these dayes, then fréendly salutations,
sugered spéeches, large promises, fau∣ning
faces, fauourable wordes, the fide∣litie
of the forehead, and the charity of
the countenaunce.
But a fréende that will take his hart
out of his brest, and gage it for thy safe∣tye,
to whom thy teares be as greeuous
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
as the droppes of hys own blood, which
accounteth thée his owne déere worth,
though thou be deformed by pouertye:
such a fréend is the beauty of the world
and his fréendship is a rare mysterie to
the cōsideratiō of man. But such fréend
ship is ye imagined fréendship of Aristo∣tle,
which is (so haue we corrupted & al¦tered nature) an accident but not inhae¦rent in any subiect: an excellent thing,
& diuinely described. But ye good Phi∣losopher
(peace be to his cinders) coulde
not giue an instance of a perfit freend,
though hee gaue many rules and docu∣ments,
which may direct to fréendship.
Nothing tinckleth more in the eares of
men, then the name of society, and the
profession of amitie, nothing seemeth
more delectable vnto vs, then the name
of fréendship, nothing more detestable
then the name of enimitie: yet in the
common practise of our life, that which
by wordes we doo so greatly dyscom∣mend▪
by déedes we doo confirme and
approoue, and in our hartes enimitye
hath a francke tenement: freendshyp
is tenaunt at wyll, which in euerye
cholericke furie, we are ready to ex∣trude.
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
This is the cause that freendship
is so clowded by anger, so diminished
by suspition, so weakened by emulati∣on,
so corrupted by enuie, so supplan∣ted
by trechery, so solde for commodi∣tie,
so chaunged with nouelty, so farre
distant from constancie, that this onely
remaineth to a mā to beast of in fréend∣shyppe,
that he is not deceiued nor be
trayed by his fréendes. Now if fréends
be so disprofitable, and fréendshyppe so
daungerous a thing in this Worlde,
what are then our foes in this worlde
our sworne foes, our bitter enemies,
such as are neuer satisfied, tyll theyr
eies be glutted with beholding a whole
Ae••na of miseries falling vppon vs. Let
him loath therefore this world, let hym
loath this life, let him desire to leaue
this carkasse. This life is indéede a
death, and this carkasse but a Tombe
and Sepulcher of a shry••ed soule. Let
him desire to bee dissolued, and to bee
with Christ, for that is the best with∣out
comparison. Let him lastly call to
account the shortnes of thys life. Let
him marke howe the Feathers are al∣most
as soone molten as they beginne
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
to growe.
Man (sayth Iob) is of a short conti∣nuaunce,
and full of trouble, hee bud∣deth
as a flowre, and is soone cutte
downe▪ he vanisheth also as a shaddowe
and continueth not. Though a man
(sayth Dauid) shoulde passe the com∣passe
of a thousand yeeres, they are
but as yesterday with thee, and as a
watch in the night. Thou takest them
away, as it were in the flowing of the
sea, they are as a dream. They are in the
morning as grasse, that vadeth away,
which vadeth in the fame morning
wherein it flowrisheth, in the euening
it is cutte vppe, and withereth away:
all our dayes, passe away from vs by
thine anger, we spende our yeeres, and
they are like vnto a tale, in the daies of
our life, be but seauentie yeeres, and
if we bee most healthfull, but eyghtye
yeeres, the greatest excellency of them
is troublesome and greeuous, which
when it passeth away wee doo imme∣diatly
vanish. Let vs therefore make
great account how we spend ye dayes of
our peregrination in this worlde, and
the longer we liue, let vs liue the bet∣ter,
descriptionPage [unnumbered]
God will not bee wanting to our
wyll, if our will be not wanting to our
selues, let the worldling weigh in hys
mynde, the reasons and precepts that
of the sacred worde of God I haue bor∣rowed.
If he thinke them to burthe∣nous,
let him thinke of the reward that
he shall haue for the carriage. The
weight wherewith he is charged, is the
waight of pearles, not of quarry si••nes.
Euery ounce hath a pound of commo∣ditie:
and let the godly Christian take
this poeticall clause, not as poetical but
true, and as a fréendly farewel of a con∣templatiue
Christian.
Hîc sumus extorres, alienaque regna tene∣mussub grauis exilii seruitii{que} iugo:Est illîc natale solum, sedes{que} penatum,Regnat vbi magno maximus orbe pater.
Heere vnder heauy yoke of seruitude,Like banisht men, we runne a pilgrims race,There is our Country and our onely God,Where onely God doth beare imperial mace.