Of wisdome three bookes written in French by Peter Charro[n] Doctr of Lawe in Paris. Translated by Samson Lennard

CHAP. XXI. Of Couetousnesse and her counter-passion.

TO loue and affect riches is couetousnesse; not only the * 1.1 loue and affection, but also euery ouer-curious care and industrie about riches; yea their dispensations themselues and libertie, with art and too much attention procured, haue a sent of couetousnesse: for they are not woorthie an earnest care and attention.

The desire of goods and the pleasure we take in possessing * 1.2 of them is grounded only vpon opinion. The immoderate desire to get riches is a gangreene in our soule, which with a venimous heat consumeth our naturall affections, to the end it might fill vs with virulent humours. So soone as it is lod∣ged

in our hearts, all honest and naturall affection which we owe either to our parents or friends, or our selues, vanisheth away. All the rest in respect of our profit seemeth nothing, yea we forget in the end, and contemne our selues, our bo∣dies, our mindes, for this transitory trash, and as the Prouerbe is, We sell our horse to get vs hay.

Couetousnesse is the vile and base passion of vulgar fooles, * 1.3 who account riches the principall good of man, and feare pouertie as the greatest euill; and not contenting themselues with necessarie meanes, which are forbidden no man, weigh that is good in a Goldsmiths ballance, when nature hath taught vs to measure it by the ell of necessitie. For what grea∣ter follie can there be, than to adore that which Nature it selfe hath put vnder our feet, and hidden in the bowels of the earth as vnworthy to be seene, yea rather to be contemned, and trampled vnder foot? This is that that the only sinne of man hath torne out of the intrailes of the earth, and brought vnto light, to kill himselfe. In lucem propter quae pugnaremus excutimus: nonerube scimus summa apud nos haberi, quae fue∣runt ima terrarum. Nature seemeth euen in the first birth of golde, and wombe from whence it proceedeth, after a sort to haue presaged the miserie of those that are in loue with it: for it hath so ordered the matter, that in those countreys where it groweth, there growes with it neither grasse, nor plant, nor other thing that is woorth any thing, as giuing vs to vnder∣stand thereby, that in those mindes where the desire of this mettall growes, there can not remaine so much as a sparke of true honour and vertue: for what thing can be more base, than for a man to disgrade, and to make himselfe a seruant and a slaue to that, which should be subiect vnto him? Apud sapientem diuitiae sunt in seruitute, apud stultum in imperio. For a couetous man serues his riches, not they him, and he is sayd to haue goods as he hath a feuer, which holdeth and tyran∣niseth ouer a man, not he ouer it. What thing more vile than to loue that which is not good, neither can make a good man, yea is common, and in the possession of the most wicked of the world, which many times peruert good maners, but ne∣uer amend them? Without which so many wise men haue made themselues happy, and by which many wicked men

haue come to a miserable end. To be briefe, what thing more miserable than to binde the liuing vnto the dead, as Mezen∣tius did, to the end their death might be languishing and the more cruell; to tie the spirit to the excrement and scumme of the earth; to pierce throw his owne soule with a thousand torments, which this amourous passion of riches brings with it; and to intangle himselfe with the ties and cords of this malignant thing, as the Scripture calleth them, which doth likewise terme them thornes, and theeues which steale away the heart of man, snares of the Diuell, idolatrie, and the root of all euill. And truly he that shall see the Catalogue of those enuies and molestations which riches ingender within the heart of man, as their proper thunder-bolt and lightning, they would be more hated than they are now loued. Desunt inopiae multa, auaritiae omnia: in nullum auarus bonus est, in se pessimus.

There is another contrary passion to this, and vicious, to hate riches, and to spend them prodigally; this is to refuse * 1.4 the meanes to doe well, to put in practise many vertues, and to flie that labour which is farre greater in the true command and vse of riches, than in not hauing them at all; to gouerne himselfe better in abundance than in pouertie. In this there is but one kinde of vertue, which is, not to faint in courage, but to continue firme and constant. In abundance there are many, Temperance, Moderation, Liberalitie, Diligence, Pru∣dence, and so forth. There, more is not expressed, but that he looke to himselfe: heere, that he attend first himselfe, and then the good of others. He that is spoiled of his goods hath the more libertie to attend the more weightie affaires of the spirit: and for this cause many, both Philosophers and Chri∣stians, out of the greatnesse of their courage, haue put it in practise. He doth likewise discharge himselfe of many duties and difficulties that are required in the good and honest go∣uernment of our riches, in their acquisition, conseruation, distribution, vse and emploiment: but he that quitteth him∣selfe of his riches for this reason, slieth the labour and busi∣nesse that belongs vnto them; and quite contrary doth it not out of courage, but cowardize: and a man may tell him, that he shakes off his riches, not because they are not profitable,

but because he knoweth not how to make vse of them, how to vse them. And not to be able to endure riches, is rather weaknesse ofminde, than wisdome, sayth Seneca.

Notes

• * 1.1

  1 What it is.
• * 1.2

  2 The force thereof.
• * 1.3

  3 The follie & miserie of couetousnesse in fine points
• * 1.4

  4 The counter∣passion to co∣uetousnesse.