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I put Wrath among the retinue of Pride as de∣scended from it. To this one might oppose, that wrath is attributed to God in many texts of Scrip∣ture; And that the Apostle saith, Eph. 4. Be angry and sinne not. And therefore that anger is not evil, and must be fathered upon a better Authour then Pride.
These objections will helpe us to know the na∣ture
of wrath. It is certaine that there is no pa∣ssion in God. But it is certaine also, that if anger were a vice it should not be attributed unto God. The wrath of God is an indignation declared by effects shewing a resenting of the offense offered unto his glory. As then, the anger of God proceeds from his glory, so the vicious anger of man pro∣ceeds from his pride which is a bastard glory.
As for the other objection out of St Pauls pre∣cept, Be angry and sinne not, whence it followes that one may be angry and not sinne, wee must distinguish betweene good and evill anger. The vicious anger comes out of pride, which is the evill glory of man, The good anger comes out of the glory of God; for the anger of Gods children when they heare his name blasphemed, or see some horrible crime committed with the cere∣monies of devotion and justice, is a sense which they have of Gods glory, whose violation moveth them to jealousy. It is good to be angry for such occasions; but because anger is prone to runne into excesse, and to mingle particular animosities with the interesse of Gods glory, the Apostle gives us a caveat to be angry and sinne not.
Then the vicious and the vertuous anger differ in the object chiefely; the vertuous regards the interesse of God, the vicious the interesse of a mans selfe: but both proceed from glory, and have their motions for the vindication of glo∣ry. For as religious anger hath for its motive the
glory of God, the motive of vicious anger is par∣ticular glory, and the resenting of private con∣tempt, true or imagined. The proudest men are the most cholerick, for being great lovers of them∣selves, & valuing themselves at a very high rate, they deeme the smallest offences against them, to be unpardonable crimes.
Truly, no passion shewes more how necessary it is to know the nature and price of things, and of our selves above all things; for he that ap∣prehends well how small a thing he is, will not think the offenses against him to be very great, and will not be much moved about them. The certainest triall to know how proficient we are in humility is to examine whether we have fewer and easier fits of choller then before.
Ignorance of the price of things, and owning things that are none of ours, are the chiefe causes of disorder in all Passions; but they are more evident in the Passion of anger, because it is more violent, and puts forth those errours to the outside, which other Passions labour to hide.
Besides these causes, Anger flowes out of more springs, as great and rapid rivers are fed by many sources. Weakeness contributes much to it, for although a fit of anger looke like a sally of vigour and courage, yet it is the effect of a soft spirit. Great and strong spirits are patient, but weake and imbecill natures can suffer nothing, and like doors loosely hung, are easily gotten off
the hookes. The wind stirres leaves and small branches, seldome the bodies of great trees. Light natures also are easily agitated with chol∣ler, solid minds hardly.
All things that make a man tender and wan∣ton, makes him also impatient and chollerick, as covetousness, ambition, passionate love, ease, and flattery. The same effect is produced by the large licence given to the wandering of thoughts, curiosity, credulity, idlenesse, love of play. And it is much to be wondered at, that anger is stirred by contrary causes, prosperity and adversity, the replying of an adversary and his silence, too much and too little businesse, the glory to have done well and the shame to have done evill; so phantasticall is that passion. There is nothing but will give occasion of anger to a peevish and impatient spirit.
The causes of anger being past telling, our la∣bour will be better bestowed to consider the ef∣fects, sufficient to breed an horrour against that blustering passion, even in those that are most transported by it, when they looke back upon that disorder in cold blood. Fierce anger is dreadfull when it is assisted with power. It is an impetuous storme overthrowing all that lyeth in its way. How many times hath it razed Citties, turned Empires upside downe, and extermined whole nations? One fit of anger of Theodosius one of the best Emperours of the whole list, slew
many thousands of men assembled in the amphi-Theater of Thessalonica: How many then have bin massacred by the wrath of wicked Princes? And what slaughter should there be in the world, if meane fellowes had as much power as wrath?
What disorders anger would worke abroad if it were backt with power, one may judge by the disorder which it workes within a mans soul; for with the overflowing of the gall into the mass of the blood, wrath at the same time over∣flowes all the faculties of the mind, suffocates the reason, maddes the will, and sets the appetite on fire; Which is to be seene in the inflammation of the face, the sparkling eyes, the quick & disor∣derly motion of the limbs, the injurious words, the violent actions. Wrath turnes a man into a furious beast. If man be a little world, wrath is the tempest of it, which makes of the soul a stormy Sea, casting up mire and foame, and breaking it selfe against rocks by a blind rage.
In the heat of such fits many get their death, or do such things which they repent of at leasure afterwards; for wrath brings forth an effect fortable to its cause; it comes out of weakeness and it weakens a man, there being nothing that disarmes body and mind more, and exposes a man more to injuries. Indeed, when anger is kept within mediocrity, it sharpens valour, and awakes subtility and readinesse of wit. But when
it is excessive, it makes the sinewes to tremble, the tongue to stutter, and reason to lose the free exercise of her faculties, so that a man out of too much will, cannot compasse what he wills: Latin Authors calling that weake violence ira impotens, impotent anger, have given it the right epithete, for it strips a man of his power over his owne selfe and of strength to defend him∣selfe.
In that tumultuous overthrow of the inward polity, what place remaines for piety, charity, meeknesse, justice, equity, and all other vertues? for the serenity of the soul is the temperate cli∣mat where they grow, but the heat of choller parcheth them; they are not plants for that torrid Zone.
I know that many times vertue is a pretence for choller. Angry men justifie their Passion by the right which they maintaine, thinking that they cannot mantaine it with vigour enough. Thus whereas other passions are corrupted by evill things, this it corrupted by good things; and then (to be even with them) it corrupteth those good things: for there is no cause so good, but it is marred by impetuous choller. The great plea of anger is the injustice of others; But we must not repell one injustice by another. For although an angry man could keep himselfe from offending his neighbour, he cannot excuse his offence against God and himselfe, by troubling
the serenity of his soul, which is expelling the image of God (for it is not reflected but in a calme soul) and bringing in storme and confusi∣sion, which is the devills image. As when a hogshead of wine is shaken, the dregs rise to the top, and when the sea is raging, the mire doth the like; a fit of raging choller doth thrust up all the hidden ordure, which was settled before by the feare of God or men.
The wrong done by others to piety and justice, is no just reason for our immoderate choler. For they have no need of such an ill champion, which is rather a hinderance then a defense of their cause, and to maintaine them transgresseth against them. To defend such reasonable things as piety and justice, there is need of a free reason and a sober sense. And whether wee be incensed with the injury done to them, or that which is done to us, wee must be so just to ourselves as not to lay the punishment upon us for the faults of another, or make ourselves miserable because our neigh∣bours are wicked.
To that end wee must remember that in the violation of justice, God is more interessed then wee are, and knoweth how to punish it when he sees it expedient. And if God will not punish it as yet, our will must not be more hasty then his; and it becomes us not to be impatient for our in∣teress, when himself is patient in the wrong done to his owne. Let the cause of our anger be never
so holy and just, the sentence of St James is of per∣petual truth, Jam. 1.20. The wrath of man worketh not the righteousnes of God. If it be the cause of God that we defend, we must not use that good cause to bring forth evill effects; & the evill that incen∣seth us can hardly be so grievous, as the losse of humanity and right reason, of which a man is deprived by excessive wrath; for Wrath is cruell, and anger is outragious. Prov. 27.4. It resteth in the bosome of fooles, saith Solomon, Eccles. 79.
Our good opinion and love of ourselves which (when all is sayd) are the chiefe causes of anger, ought to be also the motives to abate or prevent it: for would any man that thinks well of himselfe and loveth his owne good, make himselfe vile & brutish? Now this is done by letting the raines lose to choler: whereas the way to deserve the good opinion of ourselves and others, is to main∣taine ourselves calme and generous, never re∣moved from the imperial power over ourselves by any violence of passion. Pro. 16.32 He that is slow to anger is better then the mighty, and he that ruleth his spirit then he that takes a citty. I account not Alexander the Great, a great Conquerour, since he was a slave to his anger. A man that ne∣ver drew sword and is master of himselfe, is a greater Conquerour then he.
That calme disposition shall not want many provocations from those with whom wee must of necessity live, servants especially, and servile
soules, like unto cart horses that will neither goe nor drive unlesse they feel the whip, or be terri∣fied with a harsh angry tone. Seneca gives leave to the wiseman to use such varlets with the words and actions of anger, but not to be angry; A diffi∣cult taske: It is to be feared that by counterfeiting anger, wee may become angry in good earnest; and a man hath need of a sound premunition of reason and constancy, before he come to use those wayes; so easy it is to slip into anger when one hath cause for it, and is persvaded that the faults of an idle servant cannot be mended without an∣ger; But anger is a remedy worse then most dis∣eases, and no houshold disorder is worth the dis∣ordering of our soules with passion. Better were it to be ill served, or not served at all, then to make our servants our Masters, giving them power to dispossesse us of the command of our∣selves, whensoever it will please them to pro∣voke us to anger. Yet a wiseman may expresse indignation without anger, and an effectual vi∣gour; making others tremble, himselfe standing unmooved.
Out of the anger of others wee may fetch three good uses. The first is to learne to hate that pa∣ssion and take heed of it, seeing how it is imperi∣ous and servile together, ugly, unbecomming, un∣reasonable, hurtful to others and more to a mans selfe.
The second use is, to gather carefully the
wholesome warnings which an angry adversary will give us: for he will be sure to tell us all the evill he seeth in us, which ourselves see not. A benefit not to be expected from our discreet friends.
The third is the noblest use, To study the science of discerning the spirits, considering with a judicious eye the several effects of every mans anger, for no passion discovereth so much the nature of persons. It layeth a man starke naked. Ifone be a contemner of God, as soone as he is angry he will be sure to wreake his anger upon God with blasphemies. If he have piety and in∣genuity, he will make them pleade for him, but lamely, as discomposed by anger. If he be a cow∣ard, he will insult over the weake; and if he find resistance, you shall see him threaten and tremble together, like base dogs then barking most when they runne away. If he be haughty, his anger will expresse it selfe in a malignant smile, and he will boast of his blood and valour.
The occasions of anger will better discover what a man is inclined unto; for every one will be sooner moved for those things where he is most interessed.
As in anger, so in reconciliation, a discerning eye will reade a character of the several humours. The vaine and haughty man after he hath done wrong, stands upon reparation. The baseminded man is threatened into submissions after the in∣jury
received. The covetous wretch will have reparation in money, and puts a rate upon every bastinado. The conscionable, meeke, and generous man is facile both in giving and receiving satis∣faction, and easily pardons another mans anger, his owne with much adoe.
From this let us reflect to the first use that wee must make of the anger of others. He that will mind well how wrath betrayes a man, and layeth open his infirmities; and how the man that hath no rule over his owne spirit, is like a citty that is broken downe and without walles, will fence himselfe against that treacherous passion by Christian meekenes and moderation, and will learne to be wise by his neighbours harme.
To that meekenes we shal be much helped by the remembrance of our sins, whereby we daily provoke God, and for which wee mought have bin cast headlong into hell long agoe, but that he is slow to wrath and abundant in goodnesse. Exod. 34.6. To expect that God our father be slow to wrath towards us, while we are hot to wrath against our brethren is the extremity of injustice and unreasonablenesse.
To conclude, since we seeke here our tranqui∣lity, which we have found every where insepa∣rably conjoyned with our duty, let us observe our Saviours precept, grounded upon his exam∣ple, Matth. 11.29. Learne of me that I am meeke and lowly in heart, and ye shall finde rest unto your
soules. That way the Lord Jesus the great Mast∣er of wisedome found rest unto his soul, the same way shall wee finde rest to ours.