Miscellanea spiritualia: or, Devout essaies: composed by the Honourable Walter Montagu Esq.

§. IIII.

The use of sober prayses, treated, and reciprocall civilities regulated.

I Do not in this sharpe insectation of sordid Flattery, mean to asperse the good name of praises and commendations, for I must allow them to be convenient brests, to nurse young and tender dispositions to vertue; and the good inclina∣tions of Princes and great persons, may like their other issues be allowed more tender and dainty breeding then ordinary, and yet be nourished with sincere and healthfull aliments; for applause and estimation of all their young vertuous actions, and proffers, may be so tempered, as they may conduce to the thriving and growth of their minds, without any swelling or elation.

Methinks praise may in some cases be fitly applyed to our minds, as Corall is to the mouthes of children, when they are breeding teeth, which is given them to nibble and champ up∣on, to ease and satisfy that little itch they have in their gums, in that season, and to supple them so much as to bring their teeth out with the more ease: In this order praise may be aptly

given to young tender inclinations to vertue, for there is in our minds, in that state, a spirituall itch which is eased and refresh∣ed, while they are champing, and sucking upon applause, which doth also soften and open our imagination, and so lessen the pain of our perverse and froward nature, when the hardnes and sharpenes of vertuous practises, which are spirituall teeth, do first breake the flesh, which is alwaies done with some smart, when the tendernes of our senses is pierced and broken through, first, by the sharpnes of the spirit of vertue; & by degrees, when our minds have thus put out these kinds of teeth more com∣modiously by these cherishing contributions, which help at first our weake nature, they advance to such a state of strength, as to be able to feed on the solid meat of vertue, which is the dis∣charge of our duty to God and man, irrespectively to humane praise, and by these steps we come to be wean'd from the emul∣sions of sensible applause, which is the first milke our imagina∣tions are fostered with, and gives them a sweet relish of vertue.

Since then we find by experience how praise and estimation conduce much to the sweetning of the asperity of vertue in young tasts, I do not discredit the ministring of sober and mo∣dest praises, to the good dispositions of great and eminent per∣sons, whose minds are too commonly at Court in this tender state of growth and prosiciency; and I confesse it is not practi∣cable, to frame rules for the discernment, between due praises, and flatteries, in all occurrences in the worlds commerces.

Wherefore the ingenuity of every particular, must be every ones director in this point; but the best generall advice I can conceive, is, for those who are passive in commendations, to weigh the worthinesse of the hand that layes them on, in one of the Scales, against the beliefe, they put into the other, of their own deserts; and still to put in somewhat lesse credit of their own praises, then the opinion of the praiser layes in the scale; and those who are active in this subject, when they praise any they love•• and would perfume them with the good odour of vertue, must remember to give them lesse of this sweet oyle, then their own opinion; and beliefs would cast upon them;

which is to say, that when we are praising our friends to their face, we should be carefull to praise them alwayes somewhat lesse then we love them; for likely that measure of our affecti∣ons filled with praises, will runne over, if it be poured into that of our friends merit, and when we are upon the receipt of com∣mendations from kind conferrers of them, we must be advised in taking somewhat lesse of them upon the account of our be∣liefe, then is offered us; for we may give alwayes a good allow∣ance of discrediting, for the partiality of friendship, which cannot be exact in the weighing of her opinions.

The Chimicks say, that he who had found the art to fix Mer∣cury, might easily transforme it into gold; so may I say, If there were meanes to limit this volatil matter of complement, and fluency of praises, within the termes of that precise good, which is beleeved of one another; this might convert all currant civi∣lity, into the gold of charity, and then the breath of reciprocall praises might mutually kindle vertue, raysing but little smoake of vanity.

But this rectitude of our lips is not to be hoped in this our state of crookednesse of hearts; for our words are cast off from their moulds; and since it was flattery that drew the mouth awry of that figure whereof we are all copies, our mouthes wil alwayes stand somewhat drawne aside from the straitnes of truth, to∣wards the side of flattery, especially when we find the eares of great persons drawn awry into that posture.

Forasmuch then as we cannot pretend to rectify perfectly this shape of our distorted nature, we must be cautious to leane as little as we can to that side of our inclination to flattery: King David found this deflection, & indirectnes in our minds, when he proclaimed, that verities are diminished from the sonnes of men, they speake vanity every one with his neighbour, with flat∣tering lips, and a double heart; since through our best watches over our lips, there will escape many excesses in the enter∣changes of civilities; it is very requisite for the safety of their hearts, that Courtiers should not let their tongues runne loose in the ordinary excursions of complements, thinking such

words weigh as little as the breath that carries them, for we know that even all those nulls and ciphers, in our reckoning, are set upon account to us.

I wil therefore close up this caution, with that terrible animad∣version of the Gospell, By thy words thou shalt be justifyed, and by thy words condemned; which words, if they would frequent∣ly put into their mouthes, they would find them a bit, which will not at all presse upon their tongues, so farre as to curbe them from any becomming freedome, but hold them as it were from being cast out of their mouthes, in many undecent motions of loose libertyes, wherein the unbridled custome of the world doth never curbe them.

Notes

• Mat. 4