The arraignment of pride, or, Pride set forth, with the causes, kinds, and several branches of it: the odiousness and greatness of the sin of pride: the prognosticks of it, together with the cure of it: as also a large description of the excellency and usefulness of the grace of humility: divided into chapters and sections. / By W. Gearing minister of the word at Lymington in Hantshire.

SECT. 4. Of Pride of a generous and noble descent.

PRide of descent is, when men do boast of their noble Extraction and Generous O∣riginal: This is a thing most ridiculous, for a man to boast of that which belongeth to ano∣ther: It is better that others be known by thee, then thou be known by others. Plato saith, that every King cometh of a slave, and every slave of a King: The great Tamerlain was the son of a Peasant, and kept Cattel; Arsaces King of the Parthians, was of so base a stock, that his Parents could not be known, yet he got such re∣nown by his vertue, that his poste∣rity were called Arsacides, as the Emperours of of Rome were called Caesars, of Augustus Caesar. Per∣tinax a Roman Emperour, was son of an Artificer, his Grandfather∣was a slave. Agathocles King of Cicily, the son of a Potter. The Emperour Probus, the son of a Gardiner. The Suldan of Cayro, was cho∣sen out of the Mamalukes, to which honour none might arise, unless he had first been a slave. Divers Popes likewise were basely de∣scended. Little cause have men to pride them∣selves in the Nobility of their birth, when they come by it by their Parents, who by some vertuous or noble acts, exceeded other

men, and were by the people held in the great∣er estimation, which honour for their sakes, descended to their posterity: So that if any glory be due, it is due to the Parents, and not to the children, unless they tread in the steps of their Parents, and many times Children do not tread in the steps of Vertuous Pa∣rents; which gave occasion to Cicero to re∣prehend Catiline, by comparing the antiqui∣ty of his blood with the vitio∣sity of his manners; who saith of him, That he was not more fa∣mous by the Nobility of his Pa∣rents, then ignominious by his no∣torious vices. Let the French King and Queen, saith one, be thy Parents, if there be no ver∣tue in thy mind, I will regard thee no more, then if thou hadst an Husbandman to thy Fa∣ther, and a poor Countrey-woman for thy Mo∣ther. But if Nobility of blood be joyned with grace and true humility, it is a thing much to be esteemed. The Jews boasted themselves, they had Abraham to their Father: It is more credit for a man to be countenanced by his own vertues, then the ver∣tues of his Progenitors: It is better to be the beginning, then the end of a mans house. The best Nobi∣lity is built by vertue: God chuseth not as man doth, by outward ap∣pearance; he chuseth Saul out of Benjamin, the least of the Tribes, and his Fathers family the least in that Tribe, by his own confession,

to be King over Israel, 1 Sam. 9.21. So in the choice of David, 1 Sam. 16.7. Not Eliab, nor Amminadab, nor Shammah, nor any of the rest chosen, but little David, that kept his Fathers sheep. Thus Christ chose Fishers to be his Disciples, Mat. 4.18.21. and Shepherds to be the Heraulds of his Nativity, Luke 2.8. The foolishness of God is wiser then men. Of whom he maketh choice especially, the Apostle tells us, That not many wise, not many mighty (after the flesh) not many Noble are called.

Brag not of the clarity of thy blood; for God made all mankinde of one blood; and if any mans blood be more purethen others, it is not Nobility, but soundness of bo∣dy causeth it. Boast not of thy an∣tiquity, for every mans Original was one and the same; there was but one common Parent of man∣kinde, one Spring and Fountain of all men. Beast not of the antiqui∣ty of thy Family: for how many Noble Fa∣milies have there been of whom there is no remembrance at this day? and in our days we have seen the overthrow of Noble and Royal families: Every thing which springeth up in time, dyeth with time. Boast not of thy Birth, for thy Nobleness cometh not by thy birth, but by thy life. Let us not then so much desire to be great, as to be good; nor to fet our Pedigrees from ancient houses, as to carry our selves worthy such Ancestors; else their

goodness cannot so much credit us, as our badness will discredit them. We may say of all these outward things, as an honourable Gen∣tleman was wont to say of the Arms of his house left him by his Ancestors,

Vix ea nostra voco;

We can scarce call them ours, alluding to a saying of a Poet,

Et genus, & proavos, & quae non fecimus ipsi, &c.

In a word, if we be good, we shall be great; for if they are greatest in blood, who can de∣rive themselves from the highest persons, and greatest Peers; then surely incomparably greater be they, which can derive themselves from him which hath no Peer; and so may all the faithful, without check of pride or pre∣sumption; for Christ himself acknowledgeth them as his kinsfolk, Matth. 12.50. saying, Whosoever (let him be never so mean in other respects) shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my Brother, and Sister, and Mother. And here it may not be unfit to bring in these Verses:

Why doth Earths Gentry count themselves so good, Giving Coat, Arms, for all the world to gaze on? Christs Blood alone makes Gentlemen of blood, His shameful death doth give the fairest blazon. then he is ancient'st, and of best behavi∣our, Whose Arms and Ancestors and from his Sa∣viour.

Notes

• Such was the pride of C. Caligula, that he took from the ancient noble families their Arms, and Badges, as from the Torquati their collar; from the Cinnati, their curled lock; from Cneius Pom∣peius his posterity, the sirname of Magnus. Suetonius in vit. Ca∣lig.
• Faelix quem virtus gene∣rosa exornat avorum, & Qui virtute suis adjicit ipse decus.
• Luke 3.8.
• Verè nobilis ille non quem, sua villa sed virtus nobilitat; & me∣lius domum Domino, quam Dominum dome honestari.
• 1 Cor. 1.26.
• Acts 17.26.
• Malo Pater tibi sit Thersites, dummodo tu sis Aeacidae similis, Vul∣caniaque arma capessas, Quam te Thersitae simi∣lem producat Achilles.
• Sir Philip Sidney.
• These two are infi∣nitely and joyntly in God; viz. Greatness and Good∣ness, who is both optimus & maximus.
• To be the Sons of Nobles, is nothing, to the Sons of God; to be born of Princes, is but baseness, in comparison of this, to be born of God; Moab is but a wash∣pot, Edom but a wiper of shoes. Dr. Sutton. Saints are Gods ex∣cellent ones on earth, Psal. 16.3.