The French academie Fully discoursed and finished in foure bookes. 1. Institution of manners and callings of all estates. 2. Concerning the soule and body of man. 3. A notable description of the whole world, &c. 4. Christian philosophie, instructing the true and onely meanes to eternall life. This fourth part neuer before published in English. All written by the first author, Peter de la Primaudaye, Esquire, Lord of Barre, Chauncellour, and Steward of the French Kings house.

That it is necessary for vs to leaue the sixt folly, which is to giue more credit to our enemies, then to our friends. Chap. 7.

1. Man is naturally inclined to credit and beleeue three great enemies.

We reade in Ecclesiastes this notable aduertisement, saying, Aske no counsell of religion, of a man that is without religion; nor of iustice, of him that hath no iustice; nor of a woman touching her of * 1.1 whom shee is ielous; nor of a coward, of matters of warre; nor of a Merchant, concerning exchange; nor of the buyer for the sale; nor of an enuious man touching thankefulnesse; nor of the vnmercifull, touching kindnesse; nor of an vnhonest man, of honestie; nor of the slothfull, for any labour; nor of an hireling, for the finishing of a worke, nor of an idle seruant, for much businesse: hearken not vnto these many maner of counsell. Now if it be a folly to beleeue the aduice and counsell of a man, not so much an enemy vnto vs, as a friend vnto himselfe, in that wherein hee may haue any consideration, and respect of his owne person and actions. It is a much greater and vnexcusable folly to beleeue and to giue credit to the counsell of our enemies, which onely seeke and pretend our vtter ruine and decay. A certaine wise man saith, That as the industrious Bees, out of the bitter herbe Time, sucke and gather the most sweet and driest hony: so a wise, proui∣dent, and vertuous man, knowes how to draw profit and commoditie from his enemies. But that is not, by beleeuing them, but rather by beeing wary and fearefull to faile and erre in his vocation, and more earnest industrious, and diligent, to mannage his actions wisely, and to reforme the imperfections, whereunto he findeth himselfe inclined: being well assured, that an enemy is like a spy towards him whom hee hateth, and ready to publish and make knowne, what imperfection or vice soeuer he findeth to be in him. But the question here, is not of any such, but rather of three principall enemies, which are so much the more dange∣rous, as they are either in vs or about vs, and which is worse, whom naturally wee are much enclined to beleeue. The first is, the loue of our selues, (or as the Scripture commonly cal∣leth it,) of our flesh, and the concupiscences thereof, The second the world: and the third the diuell.

2. The flesh and the concupiscences thereof, the first, and a great enemy to man.

Man is borne with a disordered, and a kind of blinde loue of himselfe, which maketh him inclined, and thrusteth him forward to consent vnto the desires and affections of his heart, so much corrupted by sinne which dwelleth in him, that he can produce and bring foorth nothing but wicked concupiscences, which only tend vnto euil, & are aduersaries and ene∣mies that lodge within his body, that seeke to seduce him, and that continually fight and striue against his saluation. For which cause Saint Paul aduertiseth all the faithfull to cast * 1.2 of the old man, that is corrupt, through deceiuable lusts; & S. Peter willeth vs to abstaine from carnall desires, which war against the Soule. Our flesh is a most dangerous and perni∣cious enemy. For as Saint Paul saith, The wisedome of the flesh is death and enmttie against God, whom they that are in the flesh cannot please. For which cause Saint Iames compareth concupis∣cence to a wicked mother, conceiuing and bringing foorth sinne, and consequently death of the soule to eternall damnation. For (as the Apostle saith in an other place) the wages of sinne is death, but the gift of God is eternall life, through Iesus Christ our Lord. Whereupon also he exhorteth the Romanes, that sinne should not raigne in their mortall bodies, to obey

it in the lustes therof. Neuerthelesse, wee are so foolish and sencelesse, to hearken vnto, and to beleeue our flesh more then God; whose loue towards vs, is certaine and incomprehen∣sible. But what are the counsels of the flesh, but only to couet and desire those false riches, * 1.3 whereof wee will speake heereafter, to get and obtaine wealth, by what meanes soeuer wee can, to aspire to honors and dignities of the world, to excell others therein, and to followe pleasures, delights, and other such like affections. When in the meane time we know, that God condemneth all such wicked and damnable counselles; declaring and shewing by * 1.4 his holy word, That the root of all euils, is couetousnesse and desire of riches, which ma∣keth men fall into diuers temptations and snares, by many foolish and hurtfull thoughts, which bring them to misery, and vtter destruction: That it is not the duetie of Christians to be couetous of vaine glory: That whosoeuer shall exalt himselfe, shall be brought low: * 1.5 That whosoeuer will be great and chiefe among vs, shall be our seruant: That it is he that scattereth the proude in the imagination of their hearts: That loue is not enuious, loue doeth not boast it selfe, loue is not puffed vp: That the pleasures of this world hinder and let a man from reaping any fruite by the word of God: That it is the Lord that will iudge fornicatorus, and adulterers. And to bee short, the holy Ghost admonisheth vs, through∣out the whole Scriptures, to mortifie our flesh, to cast it off, to renounce it, and all the de∣sires thereof, as an enemy that counselleth vs to doe that which is euill.

Now if euery one will examine his owne conscience, and looke into the ordinary and common course of man: Iudgement will soone bee giuen, and resolued vpon, that all men in generall haue a desire to inrich themselues, to become great, and of higher authoritie then others, that they enuy those which exceed them in such vanities: that they hunt after carnall pleasures and delights of the flesh, and that they rather and sooner beleeue the coun∣sell of the flesh, then of God. Experience sheweth it too manifestly, and the onely example and open confession of S. Augustine, a man endowed with great pietie and holinesse, shall serue to ouerthrow and conuince vs therein, who speaking of couetousnes, ambition, pride, * 1.6 pleasures, and other concupiscences, and affections of the flesh: saith, I haue an army of traytors within me, who vnder pretence and shadow of friendship, are mine enemies, neuer∣thelesse, they are the same, with whom I haue liued from my youth vpwards, whom I haue sought to please, and whom I haue beleeued: These are the friends whom I cherished, and made much of; the masters to whom I obeyed, the Lords whom I serued, the domesticall neighbours among whom I dwelt, and the counsellers in whom I put my whole trust and confidence.

3. The world an other great enemy to man.

Our second great enemy, whom wee too lightly and too soone beleeue, is the world, not the beautifull and great frame of the vniuersall globe, whereof the diuinitie, order, and e∣quall firmenesse of all the seuerall parts, together with one perfect harmony, obeying the gracious and soueraigne gouernment of their Creator, by good right deserue to bee called pure, for without so excellent a disposition, there would be nothing els but an vncleane, and polluted disorder and confusion. For the world so taken & expounded, signifieth no other thing, but an ornament, or an order of things well disposed and set together. But to the contrary, in this place, as we meane & vnderstand the world, and according to the ordinary stile of the holy Scriptures, it is the corruption and vniuersall disorder found to bee in all men, who commonly and by nature, addict themselues to euill, staying and setling their thoughts and imaginations vpon this present life, little thinking vpon, nor caring for the kingdome of heauen. As Saint Paul calleth the world euill. And Saint Iohn saith, that all the world lyeth in wickednes: whereof he propounds certaine examples, saying, for that which * 1.7 is in the world, that is, the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eies, and the pride of life, is not of our heauenly Father. For by the lusts of the flesh, hee vnderstandeth, a desire to liue deli∣cately at our ease, with all terrestriall commodities; by the lusts of the eies, the vanities of vnchast lookes, braueries, pomps, and other superfluities; and by the pride of life, ambition, pride, vaine confidence, and loue of our selues, alwaies ioyned with the despising of others. This kinde of world is our great and puissant enemy. For being so corrupt and vicious, it in∣uiteth, and mooueth vs, by the examples therof, to follow it, and so to addict and abandon our selues, to the said corruptions. And we are so foolish, to beleeue so great an enemy. For experience too euidently sheweth, how easily we are drawne to follow the world, and to con∣forme

our selues thereunto. The ease of the flesh, which some men enioy, the pleasures and lusts wherein they delight, their riches which make them honoured, the reputation to be better then others, by great expences in banquets and sumptuous apparrell, and such like vanities, serue for a faire shew to title, moue, and entice vs to follow the train and company of worldly men. And as euery man easily beleeueth that which he desireth, so we without any great resistance, suffer our selues to be perswaded, to walke with the world, wherunto we are naturally inclined. It is a secret of nature, that the Adamant stone draweth Iron vnto it: But that the world draweth vs vnto it, it is as naturall a thing, as to see water run downe out of a riuer, a chariot to goe swiftly downe a hill, and when we see a man gape or yawne, to doe the like after him. For beeing all borne with sinne, which carrieth and thrusteth vs on to all corruption, wee need no aide to driue vs forward, nor much soliciting thereunto: The onely sight of that which we already loue, easily pusheth and draweth vs forward. As a crafty subtile whore allureth her louer, the bayte vpon a hooke inticeth the fish, and the in∣fectious aire; infecteth those that draw it in. To be short, it happeneth vnto vs, in this terrestriall habitation, as vnto those, who conuersing with Colliers and Millars, can hardly keepe themselues, from being blackt with coales, or whited with meale: In such manner, that we ordinarily see, that where we ought by our holy conuersation, to draw and entice such as are lewdly and worldly giuen to follow vs: to the contrary, they are strongerthen we, and carry vs away with them. And whereas we ought to serue for bright shining lights, in the middle of a crooked and peruerse nation, to draw worldlings out of the darke & wrong * 1.8 waies, which they are in: to the pathes of light, truth, and saluation: To the contrary world∣ly darkenes extinguisheth our light, and maketh vs erre & wander in their obscurity. Then let vs know, that if we suffer our selues to be carried away by the inticements of the world, If we doe neuer so little cast behind our backs, the care of our soules, to get and heape vp mortall and transitory riches, if we follow after vaine and prophane men of this world, ad∣dicting our minds to the delights and pleasures of the flesh, and the ordinary excesse, wher∣into they willingly run: our gold, siluer, costly household stuffe, pleasure, pompes, vnprofita∣ble expences, and superfluities, will be as many fooles caps on our heads, which with alowd voice will cry out and say, that wee are fooles indeed, so to beleeue and giue credit to our enemy the world.

4. The Diuell an other great and principall enemy to man.

The third and principall enemy to man, is the diuell; whom Iesus Christ for that cause calleth the enemy, which his name of Sathan also signifieth: of whom we are so many times * 1.9 warned in the Scriptures to beware. And to speake truth, all his counsels and policies tend to death, and the vtter destruction of mankinde. And for that cause also hee is called a mur∣therer, * 1.10 and an homicide from the beginning. As he shewed himselfe euidently so to be, to our first parents Adam and Eue, when vnder pretence of loue and fauour towards Eue, hee perswaded her to eate of the forbidden fruite, of the tree of knowledge of good and euill: whereupon God at that time, as it were by sound of trumpet, published open warre be∣tweene Sathan and vs: The Lord himselfe saying, that he would put emnitie between Sa∣than and the seed of the woman. Now sith the diuell was so bold, as to enter into terrestri∣all paradice to assaile and deceiue our first parents, they beeing then in the image of God: And if after that, he was so rash and so presumptoous, to follow Iesus Christ himselfe, in the * 1.11 deserts, and there to assaile him, tempting him forty daies and forty nights, and after that making those three powerfull assaults against him, set downe and rehearsed in the Euange∣lists; haue we not reason to hearken vnto that which Saint Peter saith, that this our great aduersary is, and alwaies will be, like a roaring Lyon about vs, seeking whom hee may de∣uoure? An enemy so much the more dangerous because he is inuisible, because hee is ne∣uer weary of the combate, and because hee transformeth himselfe into an angell of light, thereby the easilier to seduce & deceiue vs. He presenteth vnto our eyes, (saith S. Cyprian) inticing pleasures, that by our sight, he might destroy the chastity of our harts, he tempteth * 1.12 our eares with the sweetnes of musicke, by our hearing to weaken the strength and force of christianity: by iniurious words, he mooueth the tongue to speake euill; and by outrages, inciteth our hands to fight, and to kill man; he offereth vnlawfull gaine, to induce vs to vse fraude and deceite, and pernicious commodities, to kindle and stirre vp our soules to coue∣tousnes:

he promiseth terrestriall honors, to bereaue vs of heauenly ioy, he teacheth false∣hood, to rauish vs of the truth. To be short, he vseth a thousand kind of subtleties, in time of peace, and violences in persecutions? then what extreame folly, or rather desperate madnes is it, to beleeue and giue credit to such an enemy? But who is it (may some men say, that wil be so ill aduise, to aske or take coūsel of the Diuel? or when doth he speak to vs, know this for certain, that then he speaketh vnto vs, when he giueth or presenteth vnto vs (but yet vnder the prouidence of God) Riches, honours, high estates, pleasures, delights of the flesh, prospe∣ritie, and al things at our desires in worldly affaires. For those are the assaults of Sathā. That is the wrastling which we haue against principalities, against powers, against worldy gouer∣nours, the princes of darkenes of this world, and against spirituall wickednes, which are in high places. To be short, those are the fiery darts of the diuell. It is true, hee presenteth not * 1.13 himselfe vnto vs, alwaies vnder the condition which he propounded to Iesus Christ saying, (I will giue thee all the kingdomes of the world, and the glory thereof: if thou wilt fall downe and worshippe mee.) He speakes not alwaies so plainely like a diuell. But oftentimes offereth * 1.14 himselfe vnto vs as a friend, to serue and accommodate vs in our wishes and desires, yet we may easily perceiue and feele by the effects, that there with he induceth, and mixeth certen venime and pernicious counsell, to make vs wander and stray, out of the pathes of truth & vertue, sometimes by perswading vs to dissemble with euill, and to deale therewith, to dis∣pence with our selues in manner of liuing according to the lusts and pleasures of the world, and in practises dissenting, and far off from pietie, charitie, and true christianity, which may be veiled with the cloake of indifferencie, or of the custome and manners of the time and place, which permit vs not (as we thinke) to doe otherwise, and oftentimes incinuateth in our thoughts that simple men are not fit to liue in this world, that whosoeuer wil make him∣selfe a sheepe, shall be eaten and deuoured by wolues, and that if we liue among wolues, we must liue like wolues. This enemy both to God and man doth more and worse then this: for he maketh vs seeke after riches, to put our trust therein, to vse them in superfluities and delights, and to forget that we are mortall men. After that again, (as he knoweth how to ex∣tract venime & poyson out of al things,) he taketh away (God permittingo) ur goods, and makes vs poore, he afflicteth vs with long and grieuous sickenes, and bringeth vs into dis∣grace, shame, and discredit with men, and with that kinde of proceeding, hee will seeke and goe about perswade vs, that we haue good reason to murmure against God, to com∣plaine of him, to forsake him, to reiect and driue him away, when he presenteth himselfe to vs in our consciences, As the Gadarens sent Christ away from among them, because they had lost their hogges, which the Diuell threw headlong into the sea and which is worse, to curse God, as the story of Iob euidently sheweth vnto vs. Further, if wee bee great sinners, our great ene∣my * 1.15 the diuell will present vnto vs, the rigor of Diuine iustice, thereby to plunge vs into despaire, and if we haue our hope and confidence in the mercy of God, he will mooue and incite vs to sinne, falsely alleadging, that where sin aboundeth, there grace abounded much * 1.16 more, and that to bee saued, there needeth no more, but to say a good peccaui, before wee die. To conclude, the temptations and allusions of the Diuel, are infinite, and he knowes too well how to put them in practise: If man will neuer so little yeeld vnto him. Neuerthelesse, let euery man search and sound into his own conscience, and withal consider the common traine of men, yea and among diuers of those that make profession to know God; and they must of force yeeld and confesse themselues to bee of the number of those, that willingly heare, beleeue, and too often follow the counsel of Sathan their enemy, If they wil * 1.17 not deny their owne workes, which are as many examples, and witnesses against them.

5. Conclusion of this Chapter.

Then let vs remember, that all such thoughts, imaginations, motions, affections, and temptations aforesaid, are the counsell of our capital enemy the Diuell. That we lodge and harbor another (as the second) with vs, and in such manner in vs, that it is as it were our selues, which is our flesh, with the concupiscences thereof. And for the third, wee haue the world, which wee loue and whereof wee desire to bee beloued, although the loue thereof is enmity against God. Therefore let vs conclude, for a truth, that it is an extreme folly, and * 1.18 meere madnesse in vs to beleeue and giue credit to such enemies: and that to leaue our folly, and to amend our liues, wee must take better aduise, and beleeue him that is our true * 1.19 and perfect friend. That is, our God speaking to vs in the holy Scriptures which onely containe in them certaine wholesome and sauing counsels, and therefore what counsell so∣euer,

the world, the flesh, and the Deuill, shall giue vnto vs, let vs oppose the Oracles of the holy word of God against them, and with Dauid protest, That it is the light of our pathes, That the Testimonies thereof are our counsels, and that we looke to our wayes when wee * 1.20 obserue his word. That it is vnto vs the helmet of saluation, and the sword of the spirit, a∣gainst all illusions and temptations, and to make answere with Iesus Christ, It is written, It is written. To be short, let vs practise the commaundement of God, to reade and mediate his law day and night. To follow the contents thereof, and assuring our selues in his promises, we shall then conduct and guid our selues wisely, and prosper in all our wayes, and so learne how to keepe our selues from this folly, to beleeue our enemies more then our friends.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Eccles 37. 12. 13. & 14.
• * 1.2

  Eph. 4 22. 1 Pet 2. 1. Rom. 8. 6, 7, 8. Iam. 1. 14, 15. Rom 6 24.
• * 1.3

  Rom. 6. 12.
• * 1.4

  1. Tim. 6. 9. 10
• * 1.5

  Gal. 5. 26. Matth. 23. 12. Mat. 20. 26, 27 Luke 1. 51. 1. Cor 13. 4. Luke 8. 14. Hebr. 13. 4. Col. 3. 5. Ephes 4. 22 Rom. 8. 13. Mat. 16. 14.
• * 1.6

  August. lib. medit. cap. 4.
• * 1.7

  Gal 1. 4. 1 Ioh. 5, 19, & 2, 16.
• * 1.8

  Phil. 2. 15.
• * 1.9

  Math. 13. 28.
• * 1.10

  Iohn 8. 24. Gen. 3.
• * 1.11

  Math 4. 1. Luk. 4 1. 1. Pet. 5. 8.
• * 1.12

  1. Cor. 11. 14. Cypr. tract. 10. de zel. & liuor.
• * 1.13

  Eph. 6. 11. 12. 13.
• * 1.14

  Matth. 4. 8.
• * 1.15

  Math. 8. 34. Iob. 1.
• * 1.16

  Rom. 5. 20.
• * 1.17

  Eph. 4. 27.
• * 1.18

  Rom. 13. 14.
• * 1.19

  Iam. 4. 4.
• * 1.20

  Psal. 119. 105 24. 9. Ephes. 6. 17. Mat. 4. 4. & 7.