The rule and exercises of holy living. In which are described the means and instruments of obtaining every vertue, and the remedies against every vice, and considerations serving to the resisting all temptations. Together with prayers containing the whole duty of a Christian, and the parts of devotion fitted to all occasions, and furnish'd for all necessities.

Evil consequents of voluptuousnesse or sensuality.

1. A longing after sensual pleasures is a dis∣solution of the spirit of a man, and makes it loose, soft, and wandring, unapt for noble, wise, or spiritual imployments; because the principles upon which pleasure is chosen and pursued, are sottish, weak, and unlearned, such as prefer the body before the soul, the appe∣tite before reason, sense before the Spirit, the pleasures of a short abode, before the pleasures of eternity.

2. The nature of sensual pleasure is vain, empty, and unsatisfying, biggest alwayes in expectation, and a meer vanity in the enjoy∣ing, and leaves a sting and thorn behinde it, when it goes off. Our laughing if it be loud and high commonly ends in a deep sigh, and all the înstances of pleasure have a sting in the tayl, though they carry beauty on the face and sweetnesse on the lip.

3. Sensual pleasure is a great abuse to the Spirit of a man; being a kinde of fascination or witchcraft, blinding the understanding and enslaving the will. And he that knowes he is free-born or redeemed with the blood of the Sonne of God,* 1.1 will not easily suffer the free∣dom of his soul to be entangled and rifled.

4. It is most contrary to the state of a Christian, whose life is a perpe∣tual exercise,* 1.2 a wrastling and a warfare, to which, sensual plea∣sure disables him, by yeilding to that enemy with whom he must strive if ever he will be crown'd. And this argument the Apostle intimated: He that striveth for masteries is temperate in all things:* 1.3 Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown▪ but we an incorruptible.

5. It is by a certain consequence the great∣est impediment in the world to martyrdom; that being a fondnesse, this being a cruelty to the flesh: to which a Christian man arriving by degrees must first have crucified the les••er affe∣ctions: for he that is overcome by little argu∣ments of pain, will hardly consent to lose his life with torments.

Notes

• * 1.1

  〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉. Arrian. c. 2. l. 1.
• * 1.2

  〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, &c. Epist. c. 34
• * 1.3

  1 Cor. 9.25.