A dissection of the braine.: A sermon preached at the assises in Lincoln Anno 1640. / By Michael Wigmore Rector of Thoresway in Lincolnshire, and sometimes fellow of Oriel-Colledge in Oxenford.

A DISSECTION OF THE BRAINE.

A Sermon Preached at LINCOLN-Assises.

ESAY 9. 15.

The Ancient and Honourable, He is the head.

RIght Honourable▪ &c. If I be not mi∣staken in mine▪ apprehension, I am here to be your ghostly Father, That before you give the Charge to the Country from our Soveraign Lord the King, I should give you your Charge from him that's King of Kings, and Lord of Lords; And now we as Ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us wee pray you in Christs stead, that ye be reconciled unto God.

Yet so, that as the pretious oyntment, which being pow∣red upon the head, it may runne downe unto the beard, and so along to the skirts of the garment▪ we being all the mem∣bers of that Body, whose Leggs and Thighes are of iron and

brasse for patience and industry in labour and travaile, whose Sides of silver for sincerity and loyalty, whose Head of gold for perfection and purity; within the circumference of whose preheminence are the Braines, the Councellours of Justice, and Judgement, which onely doe reflect upon this present occasion, as The Ancient and Honourable Hee is the Head. But before we ascend that stately Pharus, or doe dis∣cover those inward Cells, we must first take a generall view of the Body, Then help on with those Robes of gravity as they lie folded up in those two pleats, the one of Age, and the other of Honour, and so lead you through those cooler vaults and regions; And first of the first in the Body po∣litick.

After that God had made the whole world, inso many different and repugnant natures, Then like a curious and ex∣quisite workman, that's most admired in his least peeces, and shewes his greatest Art in the smallest bulk, he doth con∣tract them into one little modell, and doth unite them all in man: In whose soule he hath seated his owne image in a Trinity of Faculties, and an Unity of Essence, which beau∣tisies the Head with two greater lights, and a many other, to discerne of more Objects, then is the number of the starres in the firmament; His bones lie covered over with their flesh, as rocks lie hidden in the bowells of their earth, about his liver is a sea of blood, dispersed over all this little world, with a many flexible veines and rivers: Hee hath growth, and sense, and understanding, The lives of Plants, of Beasts, of Angels; And if we doe but look into his heart, there shall wee finde, as sleeping in their dennes, the roaring Lion, and the subtill Fox, the ravening Wolfe, the Goat, the Swine, with all the Town-heard of the beasts of Ephesus, which be∣ing rowsed, doe break forth in passion: As in the Creation the whole world was in man, so in the Redemption the whole world was one man: Et omnis in Christo unus ho∣mo, Knit together by joynts and bands, and like that multi∣tude in the fourth of the Acts, That had but one heart, and one soule.

Plato would have the Universe the World to be Dei sta∣tua, the portrature of God, and Saint Gregory would have a Christian Common-wealth, to be Corpus unitum compage membrorum; so to grow up into him in all things, which is the Head, even Christ.

Then, as it is in the naturall body, if one part suffered, the rest would grieve with it, And if the least finger were but out of joynt, the Eye would be ready to shed a teare, the Heart would ake, the Head be sorrie, the Tongue to com∣plaine, the Legs and Feet to runne for help: Then would we beare one anothers burthens, as every stone in a materiall building, et portat, et portatur ab altero; Then would each one keepe Court at home where every Sense should be an Agent, and every Faculty should be an officer; Patience his Councellour, Truth his Attourney, Peace his Solicitor, Sensus Communis his Common-pleas, a Tender-conscience his Court of Chauncerie, whose Judge should be Charity, whose Seale of Office, the Holy-Ghost in the likenesse of a Dove.

This were to bring a Vine out of Egypt, to make her boughes like the goodly Cedars, and they that should de∣voure it, should root up that plant, who saith unto us, you are the branches; This were to flourish like the Tree in Da∣niel, the heighth whereof did reach unto the Heavens, And hee that should but lop a limb from off it, should heare a voyce crying unto him as Aeneas once, Polydorus ego, when He pluckt a bough from the Myrtle tree, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest, parce pias scelerare manus.

He that united the earth and the heavens, and all other creatures to make them one world; He that contracted all contrarieties, and did compose them all in one man; Hee that hath squared us as living stones to grow up into one holy Temple, The King of Salem, the King of Peace, would have us all as a Citie of Unity, as the boughes of one stock, as the branches of one Vine, as the members of one body, un∣der one Head, which is Christ Jesus.

But as it was with Abraham and Lot affluxerunt divitiae & discinditur concordia, as Wealth encreased, Amity de∣creased,

and wee are here fallen all in peeces, as if wee had beene but cimented together, with some fusile and melting matter, now dissolved by the fire of Contention.

S. Augustine tells us of a brutish custome in Caesaria of Mauritania, that on certaine dayes of the yeare, the people gathered themselves together, and (as if they had beene all enrag'd with madnesse) Fathers, and Children, and neigh∣bours with others, threw stones with such violence, one against another, as that not a few were murthered with it: A fit resemblance of this Campus Martius in these dog-dayes of strife and contention; When we shall finde five in one house, three against two, and two against three, the Father divided against the Sonne, and the Mother against the Daughter, their hearts reaking with passion within them, as if they had suckt the Dragons in the Desert; and like that vast and untamed Element foaming out their owne shame. Some come hither l••ke the Mermayd and the Dolphin, who take their pastime in troubled waters, and with Abner call fighting sport, let the young men arise and play before us: Others, for as small provocations as Jonas had to be angry with his God, onely a blast of winde, a shadow, like those that runne to Chirur∣gions and Physicians, for every trifle, a Pimple or a Wart, whereas the Physician and the Lawyer should bee for ne∣cessity, and not for wantonnesse. Envie comes swelling hi∣ther like a Toad, waiting a time to disgorge it selfe, and goes a way again like the Wasp, which leaves his sting, and his strength behinde him; The proud man striving with a stronger then himselfe, as Milo rending an Oake in sunder, is caught so fast in the clest by the fingers, that he becomes a prey to his Enemie; But loudest of all is the crie of Oppressi∣on, who comes in like Nero in the Tragedy, Fortuna nostra cuncta permittit mihi, And where the Foxes doth prove too scanty, hee'll inch it out with the Lions skinne, to grind the faces of the poore, to devoure the widdowes houses, and that peradventure with as much equity, as he that layd claime to Tullies learning, because he married his Executrix.

Saint Paul would have such Harmony betweene us, as

is amongst the members of the body; and Saint Augustine would have every man to be as a severall letter in the same sentence, Quilibet (inquit) in Civitate sit una litera in Sermone; Were this accord kept in humane Societie, Then each foule word would be a Barbarisme, and he that should but wrong his neighbour, should be as one that is sick of a phrensie, biting and wounding his owne flesh; But here we finde such discord and dissention, such scratch∣ing and tearing one of another, as if we would choose the Bramble for our King, to put our trust under his shadow.

It was a custome amongst the Persians (to make them feele the smart of Anarchie) that at the death of every Emperour their lawes did sleep for five dayes, and every man in that interstitium did what was good in his owne eyes; whether would the swinge of our passions fling us, were we not bounded with Authority, which limiteth our turbulent perturbations? (as God once spake unto the Sea) hither unto shalt thou goe and no further: But the ra∣pacity of these Orbes are slacked by the course of the high∣er Sphaeres, Nature never yet framed an heart, but where there was a braine to coole it; and the Ancient and Honou∣rable He is the Head, which beckens mee unto my second Close, the Torse, that wreath of Or and Argent, in those Appellatives of Age and Honour.

It was an inviolable custome with the Romans, never to give sentence but sitting, in token that Judgment ought to proceed from a stay'd and well setled minde; And tis an observation in Philosophie, That nimius calor agitatio∣nem efficit, cognitio quietem & stabilitatem requirit: The Braine that must disperse those former sumes had need to be of a strong constitution, Et tunc mentis oculi vident per∣spicatius, cum corporis oculi deflorescunt: Greatest At∣chivements are not managed so much by strength as they are by wisedome; whence the Sanhedrim amongst the Jewes was of the Elders of the people, as the Senate with the Romans had it's nomination a Senio from Old-age.

It's often found, that the lustre of the minde looking forth through the countenance of Man, doth dart such a terrour upon the Beholder, that the Heads-man let his sword drop from his hand, when Hee beheld the face of Marius; And in the hottest eommotions of the People, Even then when sedition hath been staring mad, the grave aspect of some reverend Personage hath so becalmed, and allayed the furie, as that Madnesse ••ath beene turned in∣to shame

Tum pietate Gravem, ac meritis si fortè virum quem Conspexere, silent, arrectisque auribus adstant, Ille regit dictis animos & pectora mulcet.

If so, then well may the wrinkled brow become the seat of Command and Power, whose furrowes have beene sowen with the seeds of Vertue—Et Seges est ubi Troia fuit; Whose despised Characters of Age doe beare the Escuchions, and fore-fronts of wis••dome, which onely waxeth young and fresh with yeares; And in whose vi∣sage onely doth appeare a Transfiguration o•• Feare and Reverence, as Moses after his Conference with God, the people were afraid to look upon him.

As Authority dazeleth with its splendour, being a Me∣dall cast in his mold, who beares the name of the Ancient of Dayes, so is Experience the Crowne of Old men, which ripens the understanding of the Aged, And makes them speak as the Oracles of God; No man when hee hath tasted Old wine desireth new, for the Old is better, and Certiora sunt judicia senum, qui d•••• res easdem cogitarunt, & sursum ac deorsum volutarunt. The prerogative of Infancie, is Inno∣cencie; of childhood, wantonnesse; of manhood, valour; of old-age, discretion: Roses that are fresh are more plea∣sant in the flower, yet being dry give a sweeter sent, And it was Antigonus his judgement of Pyrrhus, Magnum fu∣turum si senesceret; The Spring indeed is lovely for it's hopes, B••t the Autumne onely is for fruit, which bring∣eth that maturity with it, as maketh wisedome a skilfull

Pilot; The hoarie Head is a Crowne of glory, if it be found in the way of truth.

And where should wee seeke for Righteousnesse and 3. Judgement, if not under these Winter colours? 'Tis true that the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the wo••ds of the righteous; But when our forces begin to languish, when our senses wax dull and dimme, when the ruinous Cot∣tage of our feeble flesh is decayed, and threatneth a finall fall, then when like Aaron in the Camp o•• Israel, wee stand betweene the living and the dead; Then when the Keepers of the house doe tremble, and the strong men doe bow themselves; Then to lade our selves with thick lay; Po∣test quicquam esse absurdius, quàm quo minus vitae restat, eo pl•••• viatici quaerere?

In the 13 of Genesis at the second verse, where it is said that Abraham was rich, the Hebrew gives it that he was heavie, which shewes that Riches are but a Burth••n, and like those Mathematicall showers, which in the twy∣light seeme to be gold, yet when the light comes prove lime and sand: But a wise mans eyes ar•• in his head; And maledictus quitran••f••••t terminos, Cursed is the state of that man, that removeth the Bounders of Nature; that when time hath filed from him the better part of his vitall pow∣ers, still feeds himselfe with the Hope of life, and puts the Day of his death farre from him. And thus much of my first Epethite; Thus much in honour of the Aged.

Yet let not the rigid censure of any so esteem of wisdom and policie, as ••f those gifts might not be shrowded un∣der the shadowes of fresher colours: The Romans did ad∣mit of a Senator, at the Age of twenty and five, and of a Consull at forty three, Daniel but young, yet judged the people, and Ioseph a man of tender age, was made a Father to Pharaoh and his family,

—Tempora quippe virtutem non prima negant, non ultima donant.

When Frederick the third refused to give Audience to

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two young men Ambassadours from Venice, If (said they) the State had knowne, that Caesar had regarded of wise∣dome by the gray head, and the long beard, they should have sent him a couple of Goats; For Honourable Age is not that which standeth in the length of time, nor that is measured by number of yeares, but wisedome is the gray haire unto man, and an unspotted life is Old age. Wisd. 489.

So that as the workman in the Buckler of Minerva wrought in his owne Name, with such dexterity as that it could not be taken out, without the dissolution of the whole frame, such is Prudence to Age and Honour. What is a scarlet Robe without it, but like rich Hangings in a dark blinde roome, where there is neither light nor life to shew them? The shadowes of the fairest Ornaments doe cast as black as the mourning weed; And the disgrace that attendeth basenesso is the selfe-same in the Peere and the Pesant; but that (as the Ape) the higher hee climeth, by so much the more conspicuous is his shame. The scan∣dalous proceedings of men in Authority, which would have beene covered in a common crowd, are then made eminent and blazing, like the Comet that's gazed at by every eye, yet knowes not it selfe to be seene of any.

Honour is a signe to shew where Vertue dwelleth, and their minds are too narrow for a publick-weale, who think they are advanced for themselves, where He that is greatest should be least, and He that is Chiefest as him that serveth. And then where Age, Maturity, Sincerity, and Honour, is attended by discretion, where there is this Con∣junction and Aspect, Iupiter is Lord in that Ascent; that Body's governed by a lucky Planet, where the Ancient and Honourable Hee is the Head; and so much for the se∣cond straine; so much of the Garland and outward Or∣nament.

I must now lead you about Mount Cephalon, there to behold the seats of Judgement; within whose Arches you shall finde the Braine fostered by two mothers, like

Salomons Harlots, Dura Mater, and Pia Mater, the one severe to punish and correct, the other tender with the Bowells of Compassion; As the scarlet Robe that's fac'd with white doth signifie ruborem in sontes & scelestos, & candorem in innocentes; And first of the first, the Dura Mater.

As Diseases are bred in the Body, so are Corruptions in the state. Those which at first were not discerned, or might have beene holpen with a gentle purg••, being neg∣lected, doe grow to that heighth, as not to be cured but by losse of blood, and then (as Livie speakes of old Rome) Nec vitia nostra, nec remedia ferre possumus: For the pre∣vention of which Malady we must deale with transgres∣sions as men doe with Serpents, Hee that findes a young Snake which never did hurt, yet kills it for the very Kind, nor shall thine eye take pitty upon any to justifie the evill doer.

The least trespasse in the law Leviticall, were it but a slip of Ignorance, yet was not purged without fire and blood, and in the Gospell, where Mercie aboundeth, Hee that looks upon a woman, Hee that calleth thou Foole, not a word, not a look, that shall passe unpunished; Fru∣stra moritur Nero, si Otho vivit, In vaine it were to cut off the great Theeves, and to preserve the little ones for breed.

There's not the least offence we can commit that can be lesse then the point of a thorne; yet not the least thorn in the Crowne of Christ, which did not cost him a drop of blood, and as the smallest Coine, the Widowes Mite, is not without it's valuation, but may be multiplied into a Talent, so in the great and generall Assises (the prototype of Justice and Judgement) we must not looke to come sorth of prison untill wee have payd the uttermost farthing: upon good grounds then doth that one word Noxa signifie et culpam et paenam, since sinne and punishment must goe to∣gether. Authority the Prop of Government, Majestas Im∣perij,

salutis tutela, the strength and fortresse of a Com∣mon-wealth must be maintained with feare and severity, whereas Facility breeds Impunity, the Mother of Presump∣tion and Contempt, and then, as a multitude of smaller drops swells up a Flood to over-flow the Banks; so doth Indul∣gence and too much lenitie breed such a generall Aposteme in mens minds, that, being nourish'd by Licentiousnesse, It bounds to the heighth of all Impiety; Christ that was the Prince of Peace, chose as well some to be Sonnes of thun∣der, as He had others for Consolation▪ and sometimes sharp∣ly to reprove and correct, is as a favour done to many, which like a Thunder bolt that strikes but one, yet fills with Horror the Hearts of All men.

The World is now in its decrepid age, and were it not supported by those Crutches, the Staffe of Beauty▪ and the Staffe of Bonds, It would even sink with its own Burthen. All the grosse humors of former times are fallen downe into the leggs; And where the Bonds of Love and Duty faile, there must the Staffe of Government supply, yet so, that as Ʋalentinian the Emperour, first being married to Severa, and after that, enamoured on Iustina, ma••cht with Her too, and kept them both at once; So must it be with Severity and Iustice; Dura must remember that she's Ma∣ter, and that her sister Pia must dwell with her, as Rachel and Lea the wives of Iacob, as Mary and Martha under one roofe, as Mercy and Truth that met together, as Righ∣teousnesse and Peace that kist each other; like Abraham going to Sacrifice his Sonne with the Sword of Justice in the one hand, and the fire of Charity in the other.

When God appeared to Elias in Mount Horeb, Hee was not in the winde that did rend the Mountaines, nor in the Earthquake, nor in the fire, but came unto him in a still soft voyce; when He chastised Adam in Paradise, it was in the Evening, in the coole of the Day, and the Sunne was but risen upon the Earth, when the Lord rained upon Sodome and Gomorrha Brimston & Fire from the Lord out of Heaven:

for who shall be able to stand before him walking like a Grant in his full strength?

Amongst those thirteen divine Attributes, Exod. 34. 6. there was but one that named his power, but onely two that concern'd his Iustice, and All the rest were of Mer∣cie and Goodnesse: As God spake to Moses in the Mount, Fac ad similitudinem & exemplar, So must it be the charge of those that beare his Image and Superscription, looke that thou doe after thy paterne. Hee that made the whole world in six-dayes, tooke seaven dayes to destroy one Ci∣tie, and they that are his stamp and character, must not seek to be like unto him, either in the Arme of his power and strength, or in the Finger of his Miracles & Wonders, or in the Braines of his infinite Wisdome, but in his Bowels of Pittie and Compassion.

Exact and strict were the Rabbins of the Jewes; in ob∣serving the properties of their Judges, as that they should be free from all blemish of Body, that they should be skild in the seventy languages, that they should not be too farre striken in yeares, that they should be men of Wise∣dome and Knowledge, amongst others, they would not admit of an Eu••uch, because that such men were com∣monly cruell, nor of any but such as were Fathers of Children, which they thought to be a motive to Mercy.

Men in Authority should be like the Planets quò altio∣res eo sedatiores, and not like Aristides that was too just. Phaeton the sonne of the Sunne, riding in the Chariot of his Father, is a Mythologie of all such, as sit in the Throne of him who saith, Vengeance is mine, and I will repay it, Christ, he is the Sunne of Righteousnesse, The Chariots of the Lord are twenty thousand, and they that rule them are Gods on earth, called the Children of the most high, stiled with the title of the sonnes of God; And good luck have they with their honour, according to their worship and renowne, to ride on because of the word of Truth: but not to be too busie with the spurre, rather to make use of

the reines then of the Whip, not to turn to the right hand or the left, not to stray from the path of the just, and in their Progresse to keepe the Rode, not to mistake Plaeen∣tia for Verona.

Sylla that was surnamed Foelix, thought himselfe to be the more happy for the friendship that hee held with Metellus named Pius., so let it be their Crowne, their Glory; to remember those that are in Bonds, with the Bowels of Piety, Kindnesse, Meeknesse; To be as their Fa∣ther in Heaven is, Mercifull; To look upon the wounded and afflicted, and to pittie the friendlesse and oppressed; Yet not to respect the person of the poore, nor yet to honour the person of the Mighty; But in righteousnesse shalt thou judge thy Neighbour. And thus as Papyrius at the Gate of the Senate, I have set up the Image of Mercy, with another of Iustice standing by it.

Sensus Communis is the next that doth present it selfe unto your view, sitting as a Judge in the Gates of the Ci∣tie, and taking the Appeales from all outward objects; yet (as being in the substance of the Braine) it is deprived of all sense and feeling. Nec unquam apprehendit objectum sub ratione jucundi vel molesti. Which bids Authority to be the like; and as it was the manner of the Thebans to portrait their Princes blinde, and their Iudges assisting without hands; So not to censure by an outward appea∣rance, nor yet to be corrupted in their wayes.

Nerva was wont to say of himselfe, Se nihil fec isse quò minus possit imperio deposito privatus tuto vivere. Princes Examples are speaking lawes, bidding (as Abime••ech somtimes) what yee see one doe, doe yee likewise.

Those heretofore that sate at Sterne, and rul'd the Rud∣der of the Common-wealth•• had while they were in the seat of Iudgement, their solemne Habits to be furr'd with Ermins, which little Creature in the Hunting, finding the Mouth of it's Cave to bee bedirted, doth rather yeeld it selfe to be a prey, then to pollute it's skinne with filth

and mud; An Emblem calling unto them in those words, Mallem mori quàm 〈◊〉〈◊〉, as Adams skinn•• he wore de∣clared his fall.

Rewards and gifts are like an Incubus, which over∣layes the judgement of the wise, whilst Avarice (an en∣vious Philistim) comes with his earth to choak up Isaaks Well, and leaves us to the Springs of Eseck and Sitnah, none but the waters of strife and contention. This done, you shall have them (like Aethiopians that usually doe paint their Angels black in favour of their owne com∣plexion) to runne point-blank the Course of Equity, to damme up the passages of right and reason, and so to be∣take them to new quirks and quaeries, with those Astro∣logers that make good their motions by finding out strange Notions and Intentions, Eccentricks, Epicicles, and the like.

The Lord our God is a God of Gods, a Great, Almigh∣ty, and a terrible, regarding neither Persons nor Rewards, and those that are Minores Dij, when they passe sentence upon others, ought to be like Mathematicians, onely conversing in Abstractions: Not to weare on them the Robes of Iustice as dead-mens Coffins are bestrewed with flowers, not to be speechlesse in the poore mans cause, as if necessity should have no law; not to be like the Idols of the Heathen, with eyes and eares that neither heare nor see; nor like the Griffin to floare their nests with gold, and then to censure for the Mighty, as if in case pro formâ pauperis, Bos in linguâ (as it is in the Proverb:) their tongues were hung up to the roofe of their mouthes, and their soules possessed with a dumb devill: Surdaster erat Marcus Crassus, sed illud pejus quod male audiebat: And tis the memoriall of the just that shall be blessed when the name of the wicked shall r••t. It is a Criticisme amongst the Gra∣marians, that Falsus in the passive, and not Fallens, doth signifie a double and deceitfull man, for that the mischiefe of his owne lips doth at last fall upon his owne pate, and

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whilst bee saith with himselfe. None sees me; but God Hee standeth in the Congregation of the Prince, and He will be a Iudge amongst the Gods, who layes his eare unto their whisperings in their most secret consultations; Be∣sides, Suspition like a well-drawn Picture seemes to look after them where ere they goe. and not a servant, if a Fa∣vorite, but's thought to be a Posterne for a Bribe. Lastly, they are deceived in their Hopes, with him who in his vaine opinion Corpus putat esse quod umbra est, and prosti∣tutes Desire to a Dreame. When the Prophet in the sixth of Zacha▪ saw the Vision of the foure Emperies, He asked of the Angell, Qui sunt isti? who told him, Isti sunt qua∣tuor venti, To shew that all the Worlds pomp and glory is but a puffe, a blast, a breath. Corruption for a time may be concealed, and folded up in the large pleats of Honour; Great men may shine on high like glorious lights, as long as greatnesse is observed with feare; Yet at the last, when Death shall blow them out, their farewell shall be nastie, noysome, loathsome, like an ill savouring and stinking snuffe, that gives offence to all that are about it. Let Foe∣lix hope that money should be given, Justus will be a man that worships God, whose house was joyned to the Synagogue.

Having thus brought you through the first Region, in the next roome doth Phantasie sit to judge each Species, where Imagination transformes them like unto Ixions cloud, and runs them through a thousand severall shapes, that so they might avoyd the embracements of Error; which doth inferre that saying in the Schooles, Apprehen∣sio objecti ab intellectu semper est sub ratione veri: And yet all wisedome commeth from the Lord (as Pallas was borne of the Brain of Jupiter) and as shee was clad in compleat Armour, so Hee that puts on the whole Armour of God, must put on Righteousnesse as a Brest-plate, and true Iudge∣ment in stead of an Helmet: so shall the loynes of the naked blesse him, the Tongues of the Poore be trumpets of his

praise, and the Hearts of All men Honour him.

When the King of Mexico comes first to the Crowne, He taketh with it a solemne Oath, Iudicium se administra∣turum, effecturum ut Sol cursum teneat, Nubes pluant, rivi currant, terra producat fructus, &c. Meaning that Iustice like the Kings daughter, attended by those Virgins that be her followers, is never seene alone without her traine, Blessings in the Citie, and Blessings in the field, Blessings in the fruits, and Blessings in the flocks, Blessings within dores, and Blessings without; all these Blessings shall overtake her, when like an exquisite and cunning Orga∣nist shè toucheth truly, and according unto Art, when the Spirit of God shall be the blast that giveth Breath unto the Instrument,

—Iustitiae soror Incorrupta fides nudaque veritas,

And every one should be unto a Iudge as Tacitus speaks of Tiberius and Claudius, Nec Beneficio, uec injuria cognit••, Whence Cleon, being made a publike Magistrate, and ha∣ving assembled his acquaintance, disclaimed in the pre∣sence of them all, all former interest, all future friend∣ship, and bid's adieu to all inward Amity as most incom∣patible with his charge; For Hee puts off the person of a friend that undergoes that other of a Iudge. And if it be so in the Tents of Mesech, what must be done in the Dwellings of Jacob. Lucian observes it in Stage-players, that if a man misact a Servants part, it is a slip not worth the talking of; But if in Jupiter or Hercules, the fault is foule and doth disgrace the Scene. How much more then is his reproach and shame, that doth 〈◊〉〈◊〉, not an earth∣ly Prince, but Him that is the King of Heaven and Earth, For the Judgement is Gods, saith Moses his servant, Deut. 1. 17.

And though hee be neere unto Malefactors, about their pathes, and about their beds, and understandeth the thoughts of their hearts, yet in the Crie of Sodom•• and

Gomorrha (to leave us an Example of his Iustice) I will goe down (saith he) and see whether it be altogether so or no; Then blame not before thou hast examined, understand first and then rebuke.

Qui stat••it aliquid parte in audita altera, Aequum licet stat••erit, haud aequus fuit.

In the Solemnities of former times, Linguas ultimam sa∣crificiorum partem in sacros ignes conijciebant, the Tongue was the last that made up the Sacrifice; Be yee likewise swift to heare, slow to speake, slow to wrath.

It is a conceit that's grounded upon reason, That if God should assume a visible shape, hee would take Light to be his Body, and Truth should be in stead of his Soule. Et dominus (as saith Tertull.) Non se consuetudinem, sed veritatem cognominavit; Hee then that beares the Image of the Earthy, must also beare the Image of the Heavenly: And give thou sentence with them O God, send out thy light, and thy Truth to lead them.

Now as Joachim the high Priest charged the Inhabi∣tants of Bethulia to gard the passages of the Mountaines: so for the safegard of this Citadell, wee must fortifie the Cinque-Ports of the senses, for there lyes the way to the seat of Iudgement.

First, for the Sight, the Opticks doe require, ut medium sit recte dispositum & ut Organon sit benè ordinatum. If the glasse in the spectacles be painted yellow, each object will appeare in the same colour; and if the Eye be sick of the ••aundise, it infects all that look upon it; Counsell, Iu∣rie, Witnesses, Officers, Corruption, like a Plague, will taint them all, and search like oyle into every joynt, till poyson cramp the powers of the Soule, till Reason plead without Law or Equity, till Conscience be charm'd into a deadly sleepe, and till Religion connive it selfe stark blind, like the people Arimaspi in Sythia, that wink, and wink, so long with one eye, untill at last they have winkt it out, and then no mervaile, when their Eye is evill, if

their whole Body be full of Darknesse.

For the Hearing, it is observed by Saint Origen, that the right eare, in the clensing of the Leper, was the first that was touched with the blood of the Sacrifice, as a meanes to purifie the rest of his actions, Auris prima mortis Ianua, prima aperiatur & vitae, And Nature (after the fashion of the head) hath likewise planted two eares in the Heart, that whatsoever enters at the one, might also be received by the other, Then hee that hath eares to heare let him heare.

For the smelling, suavis odor lucri, Yet as Plinie of the herbe Ariana, though it be of an excellent sent, it hath in every leafe a little Serpent, whose sting brings present Death to all that touch it. Hee that plucketh up the bounders of the Law, Hee that breaketh an Hedge a Ser∣pent shall bite him.

The Heart is seated in the Centre of the Brest, with a curious net of Nerves and Veines, spred from thence over all the Body; And as the Spider in the middest of her web, feeling the least touch that shakes her work: So should the Soule shrink, and retire, at the least tast, and touch of sinne, Abstaine from all appearance of evill.

I have done with the senses externall, and internall, there now remaines no more to be seene, but onely the reten∣tive strength of the Memory, which lies in the hinder∣most Region of the Braine, and in the last part of my dis∣course.

Memoria est Aerarium anima, It is the Storehouse and Chequer of the soule: And albeit Humility and Cha∣rity, with the Aspect of such a light appearing at this time, in this Meridian, tells me that is but needlesse labour, Yet let not my Lords be angry, If with the poore Widow in the Gospell I cast my mites into the Treasurie.

To remember you in the words of Salomon, that the eyes of the Lord are in every place to behold the evill and the good; could we take Darknesse for a Mask, and the Night for a

covering to our secrets; could wee clime up into the top of Carmel, or dive into the bottome of the Sea, could we digg downe into the neithermost Hell, and hide our acti∣ons in the ashes of Tophet, yet all our thoughts, our words, our wayes, our reines, our bones, our mothers wombs, All things are naked in his sight; then think (with trembling) what a madnesse it is, to shunne the sight of a silly man, and not to feare the presence of the Lord, Et quis fur au∣deret furari, si sciret à Judice s•• videri.

To remember you that you shall die like men, That the golden head hath a foot of clay, That the faire colours of pomp and power, shall in a short time starve and vanish.

To remember you of that unconsolable Night, in the which you shall lie strugling with Death, not able to re∣move a little fleame t••at's ready to choak up your vitall spirits; when all your senses shall be agast, your phanta∣sie aff••ighted, your thoughts amazed, and your selves slighted by your Dearest Friends, in strongest consultation for the spoile, when you most need their help & comfort.

To remember you that mighty men shall likewise be migh∣tily tormented, gored with the ••ing of a wounded consci∣ence, and call'd to account for every Soule that hath been murthered, perjured, poysoned with misinterpretation of the Law.

To remember you of that great white Throne, from whose presence the Heavens and the Earth did seeke and could not find a place to hide them.

To remember you of that gastly Dragon, and that huge gulph of Fire and Brimstone, of that full flood of the wrath of the Lord, A fire which as nothing doth feed it: so it consumeth nothing that it burneth. A place affording no∣thing but Horror, Tormenting Devils, burning Soules, Roring and lamenting with woe, and alas, weeping, and howling, an gnashing of teeth.

And now in the Name of him that is able to reach the strongest by the meanest, & send wise Salomon to Schoole

the Raven, that I may conclude in the words of Saint Paul, I charge you before God and our Lord Jesus Christ, and before all his Elected Angels, That yee observe and doe these things without preferring one before another, and doing nothing by partiality.

That so unto him who can keepe you from falling, to present you faultlesse before his presence, All Glory, and Majestie, Dominion, and Power, be given both now and for evermore, AMEN.

FINIS.

Notes

• 2 Cor. 5. 20.
• Psal. 13▪ 2.
• Dan. 2. 31.
• Division.
• First part. Of the Body poli∣tick.
• 1 Cor. 15. 32.
• Col. 2. 19. Acts 4. 32.
• 1 Cor. 12. 26.
• Gal. 6. 2.
• Psal. 8. 8 &c.
• Dan. 4.
• Act. 9. 5.
• Diseases of this body. Ch••ysost.
• L•••• 12 52. 53.
• 〈◊〉〈◊〉 13.
• 2 Sam. 2. 14.
• Ionah 4. 6. 8.
• 1 Cor. 12.
• Jud. 9. 15.
• Job 38. 11.
• The second part: 1. Of the Ancient. 1. Their Gra∣vity.
• Numb. 11. 16.
• Exod 34 30.
• 2 Their Ma∣turity. Dan. 7 9. Ecclus. 25. 6.
• Luk. 5. 39.
• Prov. 16. 31.
• Their since∣rity.
• Exod 23. 8.
• Eccles. 12. 3.
• Hab. 2. 6.
• Eccles. 2 14.
• Secondly, Of the honorable.
• Luk. 22. 26.
• The third part, Of the Head or Braine.
• 1 Kings 3.
• 1. Dura Mater.
• Deut. 19. 21.
• Levit. 4.
• Math. 5. 26.
• Esa 9. 6. Mar. 3. 17. Act. 4. 36
• Zach. 11. 10.
• Psal 85. 10.
• 2 P••a Mater. 1 King. 19. 12.
• Gen. 3. 8.
• Gen. 19. 23. 24.
• Exod. 25. 40.
• Ios. 6.
• Rom 12. 19. Mal. 4. 2. Psal.
• Psal. 45. 5.
• Heb. 13 3. Col. 3 12
• Levit. 19 15.
• 3. Sensus com∣munis.
• Gen 26. 1••. 20. 21.
• Deut 10. 7.
• 〈◊〉〈◊〉. 6. 5.
• Act 24. 26.
• Act. 18. 17.
• 4. Phantasie.
• Ecclus. 1. 1.
• Eph. 6. 11. Wisd 5. 18. Job 31. 20.
• Psal 45. 14 15.
• Deut. 27.
• Psal. 139. 2.
• Gen. 18 21. Ecclus. 11. 7.
• Iam 1. 19.
• 1 Cor. 15. ••9.
• Psal. 43. 3.
• 5. The five senses.
• 1. The Sight
• Math. 6. 23.
• 2. The Hea∣ring. Levit. 14. 14.
• Math. 13. 9.
• 3. The Smel∣ling
• Eccle••. 10. 8.
• 45. Of Touch∣ing and Tast∣ing.
• 1 Thes. 5. 22.
• 6. Memoria.
• Gen. 18.
• Prov. 15. 3.
• Psal 82. 7. Dan. 2.
• Wisd. 6. 6.
• Rev. 20. 11. 12.
• 1 Tim. 5. 21.
• Jude 24. 26.