The sinners guyde A vvorke contayning the whole regiment of a Christian life, deuided into two bookes: vvherein sinners are reclaimed from the by-path of vice and destruction, and brought vnto the high-way of euerlasting happinesse. Compiled in the Spanish tongue, by the learned and reuerend diuine, F. Lewes of Granada. Since translated into Latine, Italian, and French. And nowe perused, and digested into English, by Francis Meres, Maister of Artes, and student in diuinitie.

¶ All this afore-said is explained by a notable sentence of the Gospell.

ALthough thys afore-said seemeth to be expounded and ap∣prooued plainly enough; yet for the further confirmation of it, I will ioyne moreouer a notable sentence taken out of the Gospell, by which our Sauiour aunswereth to Saint Peter, de∣maunding what reward he, & his fellow Disciples should haue, who for the loue of their Maister, had left and forsaken all. Ve∣rily,* 1.1 I say vnto you, (saith he, as it is in Marke,) there is no man that hath forsaken house, or bretheren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or vvife, or children, or lands for my sake and the Gospels, but hee shall receiue an hundred fold, nowe at this present: houses and bretheren, and sisters and mothers, and children and lands with persecutions, & in the world to come, eternall life. These be the words of Christ, which are not lightly to be passed ouer.

For first, thou canst not denie, but that heere is made a diffe∣rence and a distinction, betweene a reward, which is giuen in thys life, and that, which is in another: whilst one is promised as to come, the other is offered as present. Thou canst also lesse denie, but that these promises are ratified and certaine; neither euer doe they deceiue them, to whom they are promised: For heauen and earth shall perrish, but one iote, or one title shall not escape of these things, till all be fulfilled: although they seeme vnpossi∣ble. For euen as we beleeue, that God is three and one, because he said so, although otherwise it seemeth vnpossible; so we also must beleeue thys trueth, although it passeth all vnderstanding, for it hath the testimonie of the same Author, who only is truth it selfe in all his sayings.

* 1.2 Tell mee therefore I pray thee, what is this hundreth fold, which is giuen to the righteous in this life? For we see for the most part, that to them is not giuen great dignities, not loftie honours, not large possessions, nor the magnificent furniture of this world: but that many of them doe liue in corners, buri∣ed in the obliuion and obscurity of the world: expecting their last houre in pouerty, misery, and calamity. Which seeing that it is so, how can the infallible truth of this sentence be defen∣ded, vnlesse we confesse, that God in this life doth giue to his those gifts,* 1.3 and those spirituall riches, which may satisfie a man without any externall pompe of this world, with greater felici∣tie, with greater ioy, sufficiencie and quiet, then the possession of all the goods of this world. Neyther is this so much to be meruailed at: For as we beleeue that it is not of any necessity to God, that hee should nourish mens bodies with bread onely, (for he hath many other meanes to that end) so is it not necessa∣rie to him, that he should satisfie soules with temporall blessings onely. For he can doe this most easily without them: as hee hath most certainly done in all his Saints. Who were endued with that spirituall ioy and mirth, and with that affection of deuotion, that their prayers, exercises, teares, and delights, ex∣ceeded all the solaces and pleasures of this world. And after this manner it is most certainly verefied, that an hundreth fold is receaued for that little they left: for they receaue for deceipt∣full and apparant things, those that be vndoubtedly true; for things vncertaine, certaine; for things corporall, spirituall: for carefulnes, security; for troubles, quietnes; for perturbations, peace and inward tranquility; to conclude, for a life impure, vi∣cious, and abhominable, they receaue a life splendent through vertues, and most acceptable to God and Angels. So also thou, if thou shalt despise temporall good for Christ, thou shalt find in him inestimable treasures: if thou shalt contemne false and fayned honours, thou shalt finde in him those that be true: if thou shalt renounce the loue of thy father and mother, for this he will delight thee, with greater blandishments and cherishing, and thou shalt find for a temporall father an eternall; & if thou shalt cast from thee those pestiferous and venomous pleasures, thou shalt haue in him sweeter, pleasanter, and holier delights.

When thou shalt come to this poynt,* 1.4 thou shalt see mani∣festly that all things which before did please thee, are now not onely not gratefull vnto thee, but that they doe bring vnto thee an hatred and dislike of them. For after that heauenly light hath illuminated our eyes, by and by there is begot a new face of all things, and diuerse from the former; and all things doe seeme to haue put on a certaine new shape, by which they shew themselues to our eyes; and therefore that which before seemed sweet, is now bitter, and that which before appeared bitter, is now sweet: that which before terrified vs, doth now like vs: that which before was beautifull, now seemeth filthy; and al∣though it appeared to be such before, yet now it seemeth not such, neyther that it was well knowne before.

Therefore after this manner standeth the truth of Christes promise, when for the temporall goods of the body, there are giuen spirituall blessings of the soule; & for those goods, which are called the goods of fortune, there are giuen the blessings of grace, which without all comparison are greater, and more ef∣fectuall and forcible to enrich and satiate mans hart, then all ex∣ternall blessings. For the more confirmation of this matter, I will not omit to remember a notable and famous example, ta∣ken out of the booke, called, The booke of famous and illustri∣ous men.

When as,* 1.5 sayth the Author, Saint Bernard preached the word of God to the people in Belgia, and that with a most fer∣uent zeale conuerted the inhabitants to God, amongst many other, who being touched with the grace of the holy Ghost, vvere conuerted to a better lyfe, there vvas a certaine noble Knight famous among the Belgians, called Arnulphus: vvho was bound and tyed to the world, with very many and mighty bonds, and who was exceedingly ensnared and entangled with wordly vanities. This man when at the length he bad farewell to the world, and betooke himselfe to a vertuous and heauenly kinde of lyuing, this holy father so reioyced at his conuersion, that he sayd to them that were present, that Christ was no lesse miraculous in the conuersion of Arnulphus, then he was in the raysing of Lazarus, seeing that Christ had raysed him being so fettered with the chaynes of so great sinnes, and buried in such

deepe pleasures, and had brought him to newnes of life. Ar∣nulphus also was no lesse admirable in his proceeding; then he was in his conuersion. And because it is too long to relate here all the vertues of this man, I will onely repeate that, which ma∣keth for our purpose. This holy man was many times so pay∣ned with the Windy-colicke, that often his life was endangered by it, & he stroue with death. When on a time he had lost toge∣ther with his speech all his sence, so that there was scarcely left any hope of longer lyuing, they applying a little phisicke vnto him, forth-with againe he began somewhat to breathe, and by little & little to come vnto himselfe. At the length on a suddaine he began to prayse the Lord, crying out with a loude voyce: All things which thou hast spoken, ô blessed Iesu, are most true. And he repeated these words very often. Those religi∣ous men that stoode about him, meruailed at him, and asked him how he did, and why he sayd so. He aunswered none o∣ther thing, but doubled the same, saying ouer againe, All things which thou hast spoken, ô blessed Iesu, are true. Some that were present sayd, that the greatnes of his payne and disease, had di∣sturbed his reason and iudgement, and that this disturbance did cause him so to speake. To whom he aunswering, sayd; It is not so my brethren, but I doe speake with a sound iudgement, and with a good vnderstanding, that those things are most true, which our Sauior Iesus Christ spake. They said vnto him again, surely we confesse as much, that it is so, but for what intent doost thou speake it? Because, sayth he, he sayth in the Gospell, that whosoeuer for the loue of him shall forsake his parents, he shall receaue an hundreth fold in this world, and shall haue life euer∣lasting in the other.* 1.6 The experience of this I haue now in my selfe, and I confesse with all my hart, that now I haue receaued an hundred fold in this life: for the greatnes of the griefe which I now suffer, is so sweet vnto me, for the certaintie of the hope which I haue of my saluation, that I woulde not change my Christ with the hundreth fold of all those things that are in the vvorld. And if I that am so great a sinner, doe receaue so great consolation in my griefes and paines, what shal holy and perfect men receaue in their reioycings? For that spirituall ioy, vvhich hath brought this hope vnto mee, dooth farre exceede all that

worldly ioy, which I possessed in this world. When they had heard these things, all they that stoode by meruailed, that a man vnlearned & illiterate, should vtter so great misteries: but sure∣lie it was the holy Ghost, that dwelled in his hart, that spake these things in him.

Therefore by this example it is very manifest, that God with out any pompe or preparation of these temporall blessings, can giue to his, much more aboundance, and many moe precious blessings, then those were, which they left for him: and by con∣sequent it is hence euident, howe shamefully they erre, who thinke that no reward is destined and ordained for Vertue in this life.* 1.7 To banish therefore this errour so dangerous (besides those things which haue beene spoken) the twelue priuiledges & prerogatiues which follow, shall be most profitable, in which we will handle and discourse of the twelue admirable fruits and preheminences, which attend and waite vpon Vertue in thys life: that by them the louers of this world may vnderstand, that in Vertue there are found many moe excellent blessings then they suppose. And although to the perfect knowledge of thys, the experience and vse of Vertue herselfe were necessarie, (that thereby we might the better know her riches and commodities) yet that which is wanting in this respect, Fayth shall supply, which confesseth & acknowledgeth the truth of the diuine and holy Scriptures, by the testimonies of which I will approue all things, which I am to speake of this matter: that we should at no time doubt of the excellencie of Vertue.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Marke. 10.
• * 1.2

  What this hundreth fold is.
• * 1.3

  what goods be those that God bestoweth vpon the good.
• * 1.4

  To the ver∣tuous those things are vnpleasant, which be∣fore did please.
• * 1.5

  A notable example.
• * 1.6

  The sweet∣nes and pleasure of the righte∣ous, yea in their grea∣test greefes and sor∣rowes.
• * 1.7

  The pro∣position.