Kaina kai palaia Things new and old, or, A store-house of similies, sentences, allegories, apophthegms, adagies, apologues, divine, morall, politicall, &c. : with their severall applications / collected and observed from the writings and sayings of the learned in all ages to this present by John Spencer ...

[ 1351] The excellency of Resolution in the cause of God.

EXcellent is the story of St. Basil,* 1.1 who when the Emperour sent to him to subscribe to the Arrian heresy, The Messenger at first gave him good lan∣guage, and promised him great preferment if he would turn Arrian; To which Basil replied;* 1.2 Alas, these speeches are fit to catch little Children withall, that look after such things, but we that are nourished and taught by the Holy Scrip∣tures, are readier to suffer a thousand deaths, then to suffer one syllable or tittle of the Scripture to be altered: The Messenger offended with his boldnesse, told him he was mad; He answered,* 1.3 Opto me in aeternum sic delirare, I wish I were for ever thus mad; Here was a stout resolved Christian, that Luther-like opposed all the World of contradiction; And such another was Nehemiah, who met with so much opposition, that had he not been steeled by a strong and obstinate resolution, he could never have rebuilded the Temple, but would have sunk in the midst of it; Such a one was David, that would not be hindred from fighting with Goli∣ah, though he met with many discouragements; And it is heartily to be wish∣ed that God would make us all such, i. e. resolved Christians to put on divine fortitude, and Christian resolution, which if we do, it will make us like a wall of brasse to beat back all the arrows of strong perswasion, that can be shot

against us, like an Armour of proof against all the Anakims and Zanzummins, Scyllas, and Syrens temptations on the right hand and on the left, like the Angell that roled away the stone from before the dore of the Sepulchre it will enable us to remove the great mountains of opposition that lye in our way, or else to stride over them; yea, like the ballast of a Ship, will keep us steddy in the cause of God;* 1.4 and his Church, who would otherwise be but 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 like those men∣tioned by the Apostle, men of double minds, unsetled, and unstable in all our wayes.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Theodoret.
• * 1.2

  Hist. tripart. lib. 7. cap. 36.
• * 1.3

  Qui totius or∣bis impetum sus••inuit. Sleidan.
• * 1.4

  Iam. 1. 8.