ΣτέφΘ πλέκων ποθ' εὗρον ἐν τοῖς ῥόδοις ἔρων εβάπτισ ̓ εἰς 7 οίνον, καὶ ἐὺ περῶν κατάχων, λαβὼν ἢ ἔπιθον αὐτὸν, καὶ νῦν ἔσω μερών με περοισι γαργαλίζει. Julian. Venus rofam amat propter fabellam

Libanius.

quam

recitat.

Venter mero æftuans citò defpumatur in libidines.

S. Hieron.

Il fuoco che non mi fcalda non voglio che mifcotti.

banquets and perfumes, wine and Atrong drinks, which are made to per fecute Chastity, fome of these being the very prologues to luft, and the most innocent of them being but like condited or pickled mushromes, which if carefully corrected, and feldom cafted, may be harmless, but can never do good: Ever remember that it is eafier to die for Chastity, than to live with it; and the Hangman could not extort a confent from fome perfons, from whom a Lover would have entreated it. For the glory of Chastity will eafily overcome the rudeness of fear and violence; but eafinefs and foftness and finooth temptations creep in, and like the fun make a maiden lay by her veil and robe, which perfecution, like the northern wind, made her hold faft and clap clofe about her.

6. He that will fecure his Chaftity, muft first cure his pride and his rage. For oftentimes luft is the punifhment of a proud man, to tame the vanity of his pride by the fhame and affronts of unchastity and the fame intemperate heat that makes anger, does inkindle luft.

à te

numquid ego Magno prognatam depofco confuleVelataque ftolâ mea cum conferbuit ira ?

Horát. Serm. 1. 1. Sat. 2.

7. If thou beeft affaulted with an unclean Spirit, truft not, thy felf alone, but run forth into company, whofe reverence and modefty may fupprefs, or whole fociety may divert thy thoughts: and a perpetual witness of thy converfation is of efpecial use against this vice, which evaporates in the open air like camphire, being impatient of light and witneffes.

8. Ule frequent and earneit prayers to the King of Purities, the firit of Virgins, the eternal God, who is of an effential purity, that he would be pleased to reprove and caft out the unclean Spirit. For befides the bleffings

Mens impu

bleffings of prayer by way of reward, it hath a natural vertue to reftrain this vice: because a prayer against it is an unwillingness to act it; and fo long as we heartily pray against it, our defires are fecured, and then this Devil hath no power. This was St. Paul's other remedy: [For this caufe Ibefought the Lord thrice.] And there is much reafon and much advantage in the ufe of this inftrument; because the main thing that in this affair is to be fecured, is a man's mind. He that dicam facere, goes about to cure luft by bodily exercifes alone non corpus (as St. Paul's phrafe is) or mortifications, fhall find folet. them fometimes inftrumental to it, and incitations of fudden defires, but always infufficient and of little profit: but he that hath a chaft mind fhall find his body apt enough to take laws; and let it do its worst, it cannot make a fin, and in its greatest violence can but produce a little natural uneafinefs, not fo much trouble as a fevere fafting-day; or a hard night's lodging upon boards. If a man be hungry he muft eat, and if he be thirsty he muft drink in fome convenient time or else he dies: But if the body be rebellious, fo the mind be chaft, let it do its worft; if you refolve perfectly not to fatisfie it, you can receive no great evil by it. Therefore the proper cure is by applications to the fpirit, and fecurities of the mind, which can no ways fo well be fecured as by frequent and fervent prayers, and fober refolutions, and fevere difcourfes. Therefore,

9. Hither bring in fuccour from confideration of the Divine Prefence, and of his holy Angels, meditation of Death, and the Paffions of Chrift upon the Crofs, imitation of his Purities, and of the Virgin Mary his unfpotted and holy Mother, and of fuch eminent Saints who in their generations were burning and fhining lights, unmingled with fuch uncleannelfes which defile the foul, and who now follow the Lamb whitherfoever he goes. 10. Thefe Remedies are of univerfal efficacy in all trimonio decafes extraordinary and violent; but in ordinary and quod eft tucommon,the Remedy which God hath provided, that tiffimum juis, honourable Marriage,hath a natural efficacy, be-ventutis vin fides de educ. lib.

G

Danda eft

opera ut ma

vinciantur

culum. Plut.

fides a vertue by divine bleffing, to cure the inconveniences which otherwife might afflict perfons temperate and sober.

SECT. IV.

Of Humility.

Humility is the great Ornament and Jewel of Chriftian Religion, that whereby it is diftinguished from all the wildom of the world; it not having been taught of the wife men by the Gentiles, but firft put into a difcipline, and made part of a Religion, by our Lord Jefus Chrift, who propounded himself imitable by his difciples fo fignally in nothing as in the twinfifters of Meeknefs and Humility. Learn of me, for I am meek and humble, and ye shall find reft unto your fouls.

For all the World, all that we are, and all that we have, our bodies and our fouls, our actions and our fufferings, our conditions at home, our accidents abroad, our many fins, and our feldom vertues, are as fo many arguments to make our fouls dwell low in the deep valleys of Humility.

Arguments against Pride, by way of Confideration.

1. Our Body is weak and impure, fending out more uncleannefles from its feveral finks than could be endured if they were not necessary and natural: and we are forced to pass that through our mouths which as foon as we fee upon the ground, we loath like rottennels and vomitting.

2. Our Strength is inferiour to that of many Beafts, and our Infirmities fo many, that we are forced to drefs and tend Horfes and Alles, that they may help our needs and relieve our wants.

3. Our Beauty is in colour inferiour to many Howers, and in proportion of parts it is no better than nothing; for even a Dog hath parts as well proporti oned and fitted to his purpotes, and the defigns of his

nature,

nature, as we have: and when it is moft florid and gay, three fits of an ague can change it into yellownefs and leannefs, and the hollownefs and wrinkles of deformity.

4. Our Learning is then beft when it teaches most Humility: but to be proud of Learning is the greateft ignorance in the world. For our Learning is fo long in getting, and fo very imperfect, that the greateft Clerk knows not the thousandth part of what he is ignorant; and knows fo uncertainly what he seems to know, and knows no otherwife than a Fool or a Child, even what is told him, or what he gueffes at, that except those things which concern his duty, and which God hath revealed to him, which allo every Woman knows as far as is neceffary, the most learned man hath nothing to be proud of, unlefs this be a fufficient argument to exalt him, that he uncertainly gueffes at fome more unneceffary thing than many others, who yet knows all that concerns them, and mind other things more neceflary for the needs of life and Common-wealths.

5. He that is proud of riches is a Fool. For if he be exalted above his Neighbours because he hath more gold, how much inferior is he to a gold Mine? how much is he to give place to a chain of Pearl, or a knot of Diamonds? for certainly that hath the greatest excellence from whence he derives all his gallantry and preheminence over his Neighbours.

6. If a man be exalted by reason of any excellence in his foul, he may please to remember that all fouls are equal; and their differing operations are because their inftrumentis in better tune, their body is more healthful or better tempered: which is no more praise to him, than it is that he was born in Italy.

7. He that is proud of his birth is proud of the blef fings of others, not of himfelf: for if his Parents were more eminent in any circumftance than their Neighbours, he is to thank God, and to rejoyce in them; but still he may be a Fool, or unfortunate, or deformed; and when himself was born, it was indifferent to him whether his Father were a King or a Peafant, G 2

for

for he knew not any thing, nor chofe any thing: and most commonly it is true, that he that boasts of his Ancestors, who were the founders and railers of a Noble Family, doth confess that he hath in himself a lefs vertue and a lefs honour, and therefore that he is degenerated.

8. Whatsoever other difference there is between thee and thy Neighbour, if it be bad, it is thine own, but thou haft no reason to boast of thy misery and fhame, if it be good, thou haft received it from God, and then thou art more obliged to pay duty and tribute, ufe and principal to him, and it were ftrange folly for a man to be proud of being more in debt than another.

9. Remember what thou wert before thou wert begotten. Nothing. What wert thou in the first regions of thy dwelling, before thy birth? Uncleannefs. What wert thou for many years after? Weaknefs. What in all thy life? A great finner. What in all thy excellencies? A mere debtor to God, to thy PaApuleius de rents, to the earth, to all the Creatures. * But we may if Demon. So we pleafe ufe the method of the Platonifts, who reduce

Grates.

all the caufes and arguments for Humility which we can take from our felves, to thefe feven heads, 1. The fpirit of a man is light and troublefome. 2. His body is brutith and fickly. 3. He is conftant in his folly and errour, and inconftant in his manners and good purpofes. 4. His labours are vain, intricate and endlets. 5. His fortune is changeable, but feldom pleafing, never perfect. 6. His wifdom comes not till he be ready to die, that is, till he be paft ufing it. 7. His death is certain, always ready at the door, but never far off. Upon thefe or the like meditations, if we dwell or frequently retire to them, we fhall fee nothing more realonable than to be humble, and nothing more foolish than to be proud.

*

Alts or Offices of Humility.

The grace of Humility is exercited by these following Rules.

1. Think