Dum licet, et modici tangunt præcordia motus,Si piget in primo lumine siste pedem.Opprime dum nova sunt subiti mala semina morbi:Et tuus incipiens ire resistat equus.Nam mora dat vires.——Dum novus est cœpto potius pugnemus amori:Flamma recens parva sparsa resedit aqua.Interea tacitæ serpunt in viscera flammæ.Et mala radices altius arbor agit.[466]Vide Petrarch. de spect. Dial. 30.[467]Lysander forbad his daughters to wear the brave attire which Dionysius sent them, Ne luxuria conspicuæ turpiores videantur, Lest being conspicuous in luxury, they should seem the more deformed.[468]Ovid. de Remed. Amoris.[469]Nil temporis tam perit de vita nostra quam quod somno deputatur. Ber.[470]Dormiens nemo ullius pretii est. Plato in Laert.[471]Prov. iv. 16; 1 Thess. v. 6, 7.[472]Cogitationes sanctiores sequuntur somnia blandiora et delectabiliora. Greg. Moral.[473]Iturus in somnum aliquid tecum defert in memoria et cogitatione in quo placide obdormias, quod etiam somniare juvet: sic tibi nox ut dies illuminatur, et in deliciis tuis placide obdormies: in pace quiesces, facile evigilabis, et surgens promptus eris ad redeundum in id, unde non totus discessisti.[474]See the directions for holy conference, part ii. ch. 10.[475]Psal. lvii. 8; xvi. 9; xxx. 12.[476]Matt. vii. 16-18; xii. 33, 34.[477]Lingua index mentis. Aristippus being asked, Quid differat sapiens ab insipiente? Mitte, inquit, ambos nudos ad ignotos, et disces. Laert. in Aristip.[478]Psal. lxvi. 2; xcvi. 2; cxxxv. 3; cxlviii. 13; xxix. 2; c.[479] Matt. xii. 31. They who use but few words need not many laws, said Charyllus, when he was asked why Lycurgus made so few laws. Plut. Apophtheg. p. 423.[480]Plato rectè dicere, in quatuor scindit: 1. Quid dicere oportet. 2. Quam multum dicere. 3. Ad quos. 4. Quando sit dicendum: ea oportet dicere quæ sint utilia et dicenti et auditori: nec nimis multa nec pauciora quam satis est. Si ad peccantes seniores dicendum sit, verba illi ætati congrua loquamur: sin vero ad juniores dicendum sit, majore autoritate utamur in dicendo. Laert. in Plat.[481]Quod facere instituis noli prædicare: nam si facere nequiveris, rideberis. Pittaci Sent. in Laert.[482]Didymus Alex. on James iii. of bridling the tongue, saith, Non putandum est de peccato prolativi sermonis, quæ solœcismos et barbarismos quidam vocant, hæc fuisse dicta.[483]Existimant loquacitatem esse facundiam, et maledicere omnibus, bonæ conscientiæ signum arbitrantur. Hieron Cont. Helvid.[484]Indignum hominem divitiarum gratiâ laudare noli. Bias in Laert.[485]Loqui quæ sentis, et sentire quæ loqueris, ut Seneca.—Fidum nihil lingua loqui valet, dum cordi duplex altè insedit sensus. Sent. Pittaci in Laertio. Bias percontanti homini impio quid esset pietas, nihil respondet; cumque ille silentii causam sciscitaretur, quia, inquit, de rebus nihil ad te pertinentibus quæris. Laert.[486]James i. 19, "Slow to speak, slow to wrath." Prov. xvii. 28.[487]Noli cito loqui: est enim insaniæ indicium. Bias in Laert.[488]Psal. cxxxix. 4.[489]Deut. vi. 13; x. 20.[490]Isa. xlviii. 1; Jer. iv. 2.[491]Deut. x. 20; Isa. xlv. 23; lxv. 16; Jer. iv. 2.[492]Amos viii. 14; Hos. iv. 15; Zeph. i. 5; Jer. xii. 16; Isa. xix. 18.[493]See Dr. Hammond's Pract. Catech. on the third commandment. Jer. v. 2; Rev. xix. 12.[494]Saith Fitzherbert, 1. 1. c. 23. n. 17, I cannot but lament, that so great an impiety as blasphemy is, being so common, doth pass unpunished: whereas in other countries the least blasphemies are severely chastened: insomuch that in Spain I have known a man set in the market-place, the greatest part of a day, gaping with a gag in his mouth, for swearing only by the life of God.[495]See Jer. v. 21, 22; Job xlii. 5, 6; and xxxviii. 2, 3, &c.[496]Psal. xxix. 2; lxvi. 2; lxviii. 4; xxxiv. 3; xcvi. 2; Isa. ix. 6; xii. 4; xli. 25; Jer. xxxiv. 16; Ezek. xxxvi. 22, 23; 1 Kings viii. 16, 18, 19, 29; ix. 3, 7; 2 Sam. vii. 13; Deut xiv. 23; Psal. cxlv. 1, 2; Isa. xxvi. 8, 13; Psal. lxxxvi. 9, 12; cxxxv. 13; Cant. i. 3; John xii. 28.[497]Vid. Aquin. de Veritat.[498]Matt. xxvi. 63; Mark xiv. 61; xv. 5; Luke xxiii. 9; John xix. 9; Jer. xxxviii. 26, 27.[499]Acts xxiii. 6-9. Licitum est aliquando salva veritate, illa verba proferre, ex quibus probabiliter novimus auditores aliquid conclusores falsi. Hoc enim non est mentiri vel falsum testari, sed tantum occasionem alteri præbere errandi non ad peccatum committendum sed potius vitandum. Ames. Cas. Consc. 1. 5. c. 53. See Luke xxiv. 28; John vii. 8, 10.[500]Tolle voluntatem, nec erit discrimen in actu.[501]Verba propterea instituta sunt, non ut per ea se invicem homines fallant, sed ut eis quisque in alterius notitiam cogitationes suas proferat. Verbis ergo uti ad fallaciam, non ad quod sunt instituta, peccatum est. Aug. Enchirid.[502]Every lie is evil and to be avoided, saith Aristot. Ethic. 1. 4. See Psal. v. 7; Prov. vi. 17, 19; xii. 22; xix. 5, 9; xxi. 18; Rev. xxi. 27; xxii. 15; John viii. 44; Col. iii. 9.[503]Numb. xxiii. 19; 1 Sam. xv. 29; 1 John v. 10.[504]1 Kings xxii. 22, 23, "I will be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets." 2 Chron. xviii. 21, 22.[505]It was one of the Roman laws, tab. 12. Qui falsum testimonium dixisse convictus erit, e saxo Tarpeio dejiciatur.[506]Hic autem homines fallunt et falluntur: miseriores sunt cum mentiendo fallunt, quam cum mentientibus credendo falluntur. Usque adeo tamen rationalis natura refugit falsitatem, et quantum potest devitat errorem, ut falli nollint, etiam quicunque amant fallere. August. Enchirid. c. 17.[507]Petrarch. 1. 1. de vit. solit.[508]Sæpe delinquentibus promptissimum est mentiri. Cicer.[509]Ille veritatis defensor esse debet, qui cum recte sentit, loqui non metuit, nec erubescit. Ambr. Liars are valiant against God, and cowards against men. Montaigne's Ess.[510]Avoid both the extremes, which Petrarch mentioneth: Nam ut multi qui se bonos, sic aliqui qui se malos fingerent sunt reperti; quod vel humani favoris pestilentem auram; vet invisam bonorum temporalium sarcinam declinarent. Quod de Ambrosio lectum est. Quam similis amicitiæ adulatio? non imitatur tantum illam sed vincit: eo ipso gratiosos facit quo lædit. Senec.[511]Hieron. in Gal. iv.[512]Cujus aures clausæ veritati sunt, ut ab amico verum audire nequeat, hujus salus desperanda est. Cicer. Rhet. li. 1. Nemo parasitum canum amat. Materia quoque fingendi tempore consenescit. Athænus. Malum hominem blandiloquentem agnosce tuum laquum esse. Habet suum venenum blanda oratio. Senec.[513]Prov. xii. 19.[514]Read Prov. xxi. 6.[515]Jer. vii. 4, 8.[516]Temere affirmare de altero est periculosum propter occultas hominum voluntates, multiplicesque naturas. Cicer. Prov. xvii. 4; Hos. vii. 3; Nah. iii. 1.[517]Insignis est temeritas, cum aut falsa aut incognita res approbatur: nec quicquam est turpius quam cognitione assertionem approbationemque præcurrere. Cicer. Acad. l. 1.[518]Acts v. 4; Isa. lix. 13; Ezek. xiii. 9, 19.[519]Prov. xvii. 7; Hos. iv. 8.[520]Rom. vii. 20-23.[521]Job xxi. 15; Mal. iii. 14.[522]Job xxiv. 9; Heb. xiii. 15.[523]1 Kings xviii. 27; Prov. xxix. 9.[524]James v. 13, "Is any merry? Let him sing psalms."[525]Otiosum verbum est quod justæ necessitatis aut intentione piæ utilitatis caret. Gregor. Moral.[526]1 Cor. iii. 20; Rom. i. 21.[527]Job xxxv. 16. Saith Hugo, there is a time when nothing, and a time when something should be spoken; but never a time when all should be spoken.[528]Eccles. v. 23, The Spartan banished an orator for saying, he could speak all day of any subject. Erasm.[529]See the Manual of Prayers printed at Antwerp. 1658. pag. 507.[530]Megabyzus, a great Persian lord, was told by Apelles, that while he was silent they reverenced him for his gold and rich attire, but when he talked of what he understood not, the boys in the shop laughed at him. Plutarch de Tranquil. Anim. pag. 154.[531]See Ezek. xxxiii. 30. Sollius Apollinar. Sidon. in his description of king Theodoricus saith that at his feasts, Maximum tunc pondus in verbis est: quippe quum illic aut nulla narrantur aut seria.[532]Difficile est cum iis durare qui neque otii neque negotii tempora distinguere norunt. Theophrastus.[533]Col. ii. 8.[534]Col. iii. 16, 17; Eph. iv. 29; Psal. cviii. 1.[535]Eccles. v. 3, 7; x. 12-14; Psal. xxxvii. 30; Prov. xvii. 27, 28; x. 20; xii. 18; x. 19; xviii. 4-6; xxi. 23.[536]Prov. xxiii. 8, 9.[537]Isa. xxxii. 4-6; Matt. xii. 34, 36; 2 Cor. iv. 13; John iii. 11; 1 John iv. 5; Prov. xvi. 23; Psal. xl. 5; Cant. vii. 9.[538]Prov. xxiii. 16; Psal. cxlv. 6, 11-13, 21.[539]Psal. cxix. 172; xlix. 3; xxxv. 28.[540]Jer. viii. 6; Prov. vi. 22; Psal. lxxvii. 12; cv.; cxiv.; cxlix. 11.[541]1 Tim. vi. 13; 1 Pet. iv. 15.[542]Garrulo non respondere convitium est.[543]Prov. xiv. 17; xv. 18; Eccles. vii. 8, 9.[544]Eccles. ii. 2; vii. 6; Eph. v. 4.[545]Prov. xxii. 17; xii. 18; xiii. 20; xv. 2, 7, 31.[546]You will else be but ingeniosi nugatores, as one called him that wrote a great book on a little matter.[547]1 Tim. iv. 12; Job xii. 12; Eccles. xi. 10.[548]1 Cor. xv. 33.[549]Socrates inter loquendum sæpe, agente id orationis vehementiâ, jactare digitos solebat, ita ut à plerisque rideretur, et despectui haberetur: quæ tamen omnia æquo animo ferebat. Laert. in Socrat.[550]Si quis vero eorum mitior, et veritati aliquatenus propior, videretur, in hunc quasi Britanniæ subversorem omnia odia telaque sine respectu contorquebantur, et omnia quæ displicuerint, Deoque placuerint, æquali saltem lance pendebantur, si non gratiora fuissent displicentia. Gildas. Quod autem quædam de illo inhonesta et maligna jactantur, nolo mireris: cum scias hoc esse opus semper diaboli, ut servos Dei mendacio laceret, et opinionibus falsis gloriosum nomen infamet; ut qui conscientiæ suæ luce clarescunt, alienis rumoribus sordidentur. Cyprian de Cornel. Epist. ad Antonian. Hæc et nos risimus aliquando. Tertul.[551]Malignity so blindeth the understanding that it maketh men ascribe all the evil that befalleth them, to that which is the only way to happiness: every bad success that the heathen Romans had, they imputed to the christians: saith Paul. Diaconus, lib. 3. when Radagusus the Goth invaded the Romans: Pavor infinitus Romam invadit; declamatur a cunctis, se hæc ideo perpeti, quod neglecta fuerunt magnorum sacra Deorum: magnis querelis ubique agere: et continuo de repetendis sacris celebrandisque tractatur: fere in tota urbe blasphemiæ ad nomen Christi, tanquam lues aliqua probris ingravantur, conducuntur a Romanis adversus Radagusum duo Pagani duces, &c.[552]Saith Chrysostom, As those that run or act in public games, besides the prize which they hope for, do much increase their strength and health by preparing their bodies for it: so besides the hopes of heaven, it is no small comfort and advantage here in the way, which christians get by their holy lives.[553]Heb. xii. 14; 2 Thess. i. 8-10; ii. 12.[554]Cyrillus Arrianorem Episcopus, Hunnericum Regem persuasit, non posse pacatum atque longævum obtinere regnum, nisi nomen perderet innocentum. Qui tamen Dei judicio post non multos dies turpissima morte præventus, scatens vermibus expiravit. Victor. Utic. p. 369.[555]Rom. xi. 1, 2.[556]Luke xix. 27.[557]Quid homini inimicissimum? Homo, inquit Martin. Dumiens. de Morib.[558]Matt. xii.[559]Psal. cxxiii. 4.[560]Read well Jude 14, 15; Psal. i.[561]Prov. ix. 12; xxix. 8; Isa. xxviii. 14.[562]Homil. 10 part 2. tom. 9. pag. 150, cited before in my "Now or Never," p. 125.[563]Nicknames themselves are the great engines of the devil, and to be avoided; it was well with the church when there was no other name but christians put by Christ's disciples on each other; though by the enemies they were scornfully called Nazarenes, and a sect, and heresy.[564]Disc. of Happiness, p. 193.[565]Pliny saith, that as pearls, though they lie in the bottom of the sea, are yet much nearer akin to heaven, as their splendour and excellency showeth; so a godly and generous soul hath more dependence on heaven whence it comes, than on earth where it abideth. A good saying for a heathen.[566]Socrates cum fuisset a quodam calce percussus, admirantibus illius tolerantiam dixit, Quid si me asinus calce impetisset? Num illi diem dixissem?[567]See 1 Cor. ix. 6; 2 Cor. vi. 1; 1 Cor. xvi. 10; 2 Tim. ii. 15.[568]See before, chap. vi. tit. 4. of this: and in my "Treat. of Divine Life," part iii.[569]Ezek. xlvi. 1; Deut. xvi. 15; ii. 7; Exod. xxxiv. 21.[570]Socrates was mightily addicted to the exercise of his body, as necessary to the health of body and mind. Laert. Plutarch out of Plato saith, that soul and body should be equally exercised together, and driven on as two horses in a coach, and not either of them overgo the other. Prec. of Health.[571]Omnes qui sunt, quique erunt, aut fuerunt, virtutibus aut doctrinis clari, non possunt unum ingenium accendere, nisi aliquæ intus in animo scintillæ sint, quæ preceptoris spiritu excitatæ et adjutæ, generosum disciplinæ fomitem arripiant. Petrarch. dial. 41. li. 2.[572]It was one of Solon's laws: Is qui sectatur otium, omnibus accusare volentibus obnoxius esto. Ut Laert. in Sol. Num solum aquas haurio, inquit Cleanthes? nonne et fodio et rigo et omnia facio philosophisæ causa? when they asked him why he would draw water.[573]How little have some men (yea, ministers themselves) to show of all the good they might have done through all their lives! The work they have done calls them idle.[574]1 Thess. v. 12, 13; Prov. xviii. 9; xxi. 25; 2 Thess. iii.; Prov. xii. 24; xii. 15; Eccl. x. 18.[575]Prov. x. 26; xviii. 9.[576]Prov. xxvi. 16; xxiv. 30.[577]See Psal. cxxviii. 2, "Thou shalt eat the labour of thy hands." Prov. xiv. 23; xiii. 11.[578]Cleanthes coactum aliquando stipem in medium familiarium intulit, dicens, Cleanthes alium Cleanthem posset nutrire si vellet. And when he was questioned in judgment, how he lived, Adeo robustus, et tam boni habitûs, the gardener that he worked for, and the woman that baked his meal, were the witnesses that acquit him. Hard labour and hard fare enabled him for hard study. Laert. in Cleanth.[579]Platonem tradunt cum vidisset quendam aleis ludentem increpasse: et cum ille; Quam me in parvis reprehendis? diceret, respondisse, At est consuetudo non parva res. Laert. in Plat.[580]Callimachus, in Attila, reporteth that when certain players came before Attila, to show the agility of their bodies in their exercises, he was offended to see such able, active bodies no better employed, and commanded them to be exercised in shooting and other military acts: which when they could not do, he commanded that they should have no meat but what they got by hunting at a great distance, and so exercised them till they became excellent soldiers. Page 353.[581]Ni sis bonus aleator, probus chartarius, scortator improbus, potator strenuus, profusor audax, decoctor et conflator æris alieni, deinde scabie ornatus Gallica, vix quisquam te oredet equitem. Erasm. Colloq. p. 483. See more of this chap. v. and read Luke xvi. and James v.[582]Rev. iii. 15, 19.[583]Matt. xxiii. 15.[584]See Jam. iii.[585]Rom. x. 2; Acts xxi. 20, 22.[586]2 Pet. ii. 7, 8; Ezek. ix. 4; 1 Cor. v.[587]Matt. vii. 4; Gen. xxxviii. 24; 2 Sam. xii. 5.[588]2 Cor. viii. 3; Acts xviii. 25; Exod. xxxvi. 6.[589]Gal. iv. 15, 18.[590]Psal. lxix. 10; John ii. 17; Gal. iv. 18; 2 Cor. vii. 11; Tit. ii. 14; Rev. iii. 15, 16, 19.[591]Jam. v. 16; Rom. xii. 11.[592]Matt. xi. 12; Rom. xv. 33; Luke xiii. 24; 2 Tim. ii. 5; 1 Cor. ix. 24-26; Heb. xii. 1; Deut. vi. 5; Matt. xxii. 37; 2 Cor. v. 14; Prov. l. 4.[593]John ix. 4; Isa. lv. 6; Luke xix. 42; Heb. iii. 7, 15; Matt. xxv.[594]Sam. ii. 23, 29; Rev. iii. 19.[595]1 Thess. v. 22; Jude 23; Jam. iv. 7; 1 Pet. v. 9.[596]Eccles. x. 18; Prov. xxiv. 30; xxi. 25; xiii. 4.[597]Prov. xxii. 13; xxvi. 13; xx. 4.[598]Numb. xxv. 11, 13; Cant. viii. 6, 7; Heb. xx. 11; Dan. iii.; vi.; Matt. xiii. 20, 21; Rev. ii. 5; Rev. iii. 16; 2 Thess. ii. 10.[599]Read before chap. v. the cont. dir. for redeeming time.[600]1 Cor. vii. 29, 30; 2 Pet. iii. 11; Rev. xii. 12.[601]Luke viii. 14.[602]Rom. xiv. 21, 22; 1 Cor. v. 6; Eph. iv. 29, 30.[603]Prov. xxii. 24, 25; xxvii. 17; Heb. iii. 13; x. 24, 25; Rom. xv. 14.[604]Tanto cum strepitu ludi spectantur et artes. Hor.[605]Among the Ep. of Bonifac. Mog. there is a council held under Carloman, king of France, which saith in the king's name, Necnon et illas venationes et sylvaticas vagationes cum canibus, servis Dei interdiximus. Similiter ut accipitres et falcones non habeant. And sure these are better than cards and dice, which yet some priests now use too much.[606]It is one of the Roman laws, 12. tab. Prodigo bonorum suorum administratio interdicta esto.[607]Rom. xiv. 21; 1 Cor. viii. 13.[608]1 Pet. i. 14, 15; ii. 11, 12.[609]Matt. xxiii. 5; Mal. iii. 17.[610]Laertius saith, that when Crœsus sat in all his ornaments and glory on his throne, he asked Solon, An pulchrius unquam spectaculum viderit? Illumque dixisse: Gallos, gallinaceos, phasianos, et pavones: naturali enim eos nitore et speciositate eximia vestiri.[611]Phil. iii. 10; Rom. xii. 2; Eph. v. 11.[612]And no wonder, when the light of nature reduced the serious sort of philosophers to so plain a garb; as Socrates, Zenocrates, with almost all the Stoics and Cynics, and many of the Academics and Pythagoreans.[613]Of the proportion of our estates to be given, see my Letter to Mr. Gouge.
Dum licet, et modici tangunt præcordia motus,Si piget in primo lumine siste pedem.Opprime dum nova sunt subiti mala semina morbi:Et tuus incipiens ire resistat equus.Nam mora dat vires.——Dum novus est cœpto potius pugnemus amori:Flamma recens parva sparsa resedit aqua.Interea tacitæ serpunt in viscera flammæ.Et mala radices altius arbor agit.
Dum licet, et modici tangunt præcordia motus,Si piget in primo lumine siste pedem.Opprime dum nova sunt subiti mala semina morbi:Et tuus incipiens ire resistat equus.Nam mora dat vires.——
Dum novus est cœpto potius pugnemus amori:Flamma recens parva sparsa resedit aqua.Interea tacitæ serpunt in viscera flammæ.Et mala radices altius arbor agit.
[466]Vide Petrarch. de spect. Dial. 30.
[467]Lysander forbad his daughters to wear the brave attire which Dionysius sent them, Ne luxuria conspicuæ turpiores videantur, Lest being conspicuous in luxury, they should seem the more deformed.
[468]Ovid. de Remed. Amoris.
[469]Nil temporis tam perit de vita nostra quam quod somno deputatur. Ber.
[470]Dormiens nemo ullius pretii est. Plato in Laert.
[471]Prov. iv. 16; 1 Thess. v. 6, 7.
[472]Cogitationes sanctiores sequuntur somnia blandiora et delectabiliora. Greg. Moral.
[473]Iturus in somnum aliquid tecum defert in memoria et cogitatione in quo placide obdormias, quod etiam somniare juvet: sic tibi nox ut dies illuminatur, et in deliciis tuis placide obdormies: in pace quiesces, facile evigilabis, et surgens promptus eris ad redeundum in id, unde non totus discessisti.
[474]See the directions for holy conference, part ii. ch. 10.
[475]Psal. lvii. 8; xvi. 9; xxx. 12.
[476]Matt. vii. 16-18; xii. 33, 34.
[477]Lingua index mentis. Aristippus being asked, Quid differat sapiens ab insipiente? Mitte, inquit, ambos nudos ad ignotos, et disces. Laert. in Aristip.
[478]Psal. lxvi. 2; xcvi. 2; cxxxv. 3; cxlviii. 13; xxix. 2; c.
[479] Matt. xii. 31. They who use but few words need not many laws, said Charyllus, when he was asked why Lycurgus made so few laws. Plut. Apophtheg. p. 423.
[480]Plato rectè dicere, in quatuor scindit: 1. Quid dicere oportet. 2. Quam multum dicere. 3. Ad quos. 4. Quando sit dicendum: ea oportet dicere quæ sint utilia et dicenti et auditori: nec nimis multa nec pauciora quam satis est. Si ad peccantes seniores dicendum sit, verba illi ætati congrua loquamur: sin vero ad juniores dicendum sit, majore autoritate utamur in dicendo. Laert. in Plat.
[481]Quod facere instituis noli prædicare: nam si facere nequiveris, rideberis. Pittaci Sent. in Laert.
[482]Didymus Alex. on James iii. of bridling the tongue, saith, Non putandum est de peccato prolativi sermonis, quæ solœcismos et barbarismos quidam vocant, hæc fuisse dicta.
[483]Existimant loquacitatem esse facundiam, et maledicere omnibus, bonæ conscientiæ signum arbitrantur. Hieron Cont. Helvid.
[484]Indignum hominem divitiarum gratiâ laudare noli. Bias in Laert.
[485]Loqui quæ sentis, et sentire quæ loqueris, ut Seneca.—Fidum nihil lingua loqui valet, dum cordi duplex altè insedit sensus. Sent. Pittaci in Laertio. Bias percontanti homini impio quid esset pietas, nihil respondet; cumque ille silentii causam sciscitaretur, quia, inquit, de rebus nihil ad te pertinentibus quæris. Laert.
[486]James i. 19, "Slow to speak, slow to wrath." Prov. xvii. 28.
[487]Noli cito loqui: est enim insaniæ indicium. Bias in Laert.
[488]Psal. cxxxix. 4.
[489]Deut. vi. 13; x. 20.
[490]Isa. xlviii. 1; Jer. iv. 2.
[491]Deut. x. 20; Isa. xlv. 23; lxv. 16; Jer. iv. 2.
[492]Amos viii. 14; Hos. iv. 15; Zeph. i. 5; Jer. xii. 16; Isa. xix. 18.
[493]See Dr. Hammond's Pract. Catech. on the third commandment. Jer. v. 2; Rev. xix. 12.
[494]Saith Fitzherbert, 1. 1. c. 23. n. 17, I cannot but lament, that so great an impiety as blasphemy is, being so common, doth pass unpunished: whereas in other countries the least blasphemies are severely chastened: insomuch that in Spain I have known a man set in the market-place, the greatest part of a day, gaping with a gag in his mouth, for swearing only by the life of God.
[495]See Jer. v. 21, 22; Job xlii. 5, 6; and xxxviii. 2, 3, &c.
[496]Psal. xxix. 2; lxvi. 2; lxviii. 4; xxxiv. 3; xcvi. 2; Isa. ix. 6; xii. 4; xli. 25; Jer. xxxiv. 16; Ezek. xxxvi. 22, 23; 1 Kings viii. 16, 18, 19, 29; ix. 3, 7; 2 Sam. vii. 13; Deut xiv. 23; Psal. cxlv. 1, 2; Isa. xxvi. 8, 13; Psal. lxxxvi. 9, 12; cxxxv. 13; Cant. i. 3; John xii. 28.
[497]Vid. Aquin. de Veritat.
[498]Matt. xxvi. 63; Mark xiv. 61; xv. 5; Luke xxiii. 9; John xix. 9; Jer. xxxviii. 26, 27.
[499]Acts xxiii. 6-9. Licitum est aliquando salva veritate, illa verba proferre, ex quibus probabiliter novimus auditores aliquid conclusores falsi. Hoc enim non est mentiri vel falsum testari, sed tantum occasionem alteri præbere errandi non ad peccatum committendum sed potius vitandum. Ames. Cas. Consc. 1. 5. c. 53. See Luke xxiv. 28; John vii. 8, 10.
[500]Tolle voluntatem, nec erit discrimen in actu.
[501]Verba propterea instituta sunt, non ut per ea se invicem homines fallant, sed ut eis quisque in alterius notitiam cogitationes suas proferat. Verbis ergo uti ad fallaciam, non ad quod sunt instituta, peccatum est. Aug. Enchirid.
[502]Every lie is evil and to be avoided, saith Aristot. Ethic. 1. 4. See Psal. v. 7; Prov. vi. 17, 19; xii. 22; xix. 5, 9; xxi. 18; Rev. xxi. 27; xxii. 15; John viii. 44; Col. iii. 9.
[503]Numb. xxiii. 19; 1 Sam. xv. 29; 1 John v. 10.
[504]1 Kings xxii. 22, 23, "I will be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets." 2 Chron. xviii. 21, 22.
[505]It was one of the Roman laws, tab. 12. Qui falsum testimonium dixisse convictus erit, e saxo Tarpeio dejiciatur.
[506]Hic autem homines fallunt et falluntur: miseriores sunt cum mentiendo fallunt, quam cum mentientibus credendo falluntur. Usque adeo tamen rationalis natura refugit falsitatem, et quantum potest devitat errorem, ut falli nollint, etiam quicunque amant fallere. August. Enchirid. c. 17.
[507]Petrarch. 1. 1. de vit. solit.
[508]Sæpe delinquentibus promptissimum est mentiri. Cicer.
[509]Ille veritatis defensor esse debet, qui cum recte sentit, loqui non metuit, nec erubescit. Ambr. Liars are valiant against God, and cowards against men. Montaigne's Ess.
[510]Avoid both the extremes, which Petrarch mentioneth: Nam ut multi qui se bonos, sic aliqui qui se malos fingerent sunt reperti; quod vel humani favoris pestilentem auram; vet invisam bonorum temporalium sarcinam declinarent. Quod de Ambrosio lectum est. Quam similis amicitiæ adulatio? non imitatur tantum illam sed vincit: eo ipso gratiosos facit quo lædit. Senec.
[511]Hieron. in Gal. iv.
[512]Cujus aures clausæ veritati sunt, ut ab amico verum audire nequeat, hujus salus desperanda est. Cicer. Rhet. li. 1. Nemo parasitum canum amat. Materia quoque fingendi tempore consenescit. Athænus. Malum hominem blandiloquentem agnosce tuum laquum esse. Habet suum venenum blanda oratio. Senec.
[513]Prov. xii. 19.
[514]Read Prov. xxi. 6.
[515]Jer. vii. 4, 8.
[516]Temere affirmare de altero est periculosum propter occultas hominum voluntates, multiplicesque naturas. Cicer. Prov. xvii. 4; Hos. vii. 3; Nah. iii. 1.
[517]Insignis est temeritas, cum aut falsa aut incognita res approbatur: nec quicquam est turpius quam cognitione assertionem approbationemque præcurrere. Cicer. Acad. l. 1.
[518]Acts v. 4; Isa. lix. 13; Ezek. xiii. 9, 19.
[519]Prov. xvii. 7; Hos. iv. 8.
[520]Rom. vii. 20-23.
[521]Job xxi. 15; Mal. iii. 14.
[522]Job xxiv. 9; Heb. xiii. 15.
[523]1 Kings xviii. 27; Prov. xxix. 9.
[524]James v. 13, "Is any merry? Let him sing psalms."
[525]Otiosum verbum est quod justæ necessitatis aut intentione piæ utilitatis caret. Gregor. Moral.
[526]1 Cor. iii. 20; Rom. i. 21.
[527]Job xxxv. 16. Saith Hugo, there is a time when nothing, and a time when something should be spoken; but never a time when all should be spoken.
[528]Eccles. v. 23, The Spartan banished an orator for saying, he could speak all day of any subject. Erasm.
[529]See the Manual of Prayers printed at Antwerp. 1658. pag. 507.
[530]Megabyzus, a great Persian lord, was told by Apelles, that while he was silent they reverenced him for his gold and rich attire, but when he talked of what he understood not, the boys in the shop laughed at him. Plutarch de Tranquil. Anim. pag. 154.
[531]See Ezek. xxxiii. 30. Sollius Apollinar. Sidon. in his description of king Theodoricus saith that at his feasts, Maximum tunc pondus in verbis est: quippe quum illic aut nulla narrantur aut seria.
[532]Difficile est cum iis durare qui neque otii neque negotii tempora distinguere norunt. Theophrastus.
[533]Col. ii. 8.
[534]Col. iii. 16, 17; Eph. iv. 29; Psal. cviii. 1.
[535]Eccles. v. 3, 7; x. 12-14; Psal. xxxvii. 30; Prov. xvii. 27, 28; x. 20; xii. 18; x. 19; xviii. 4-6; xxi. 23.
[536]Prov. xxiii. 8, 9.
[537]Isa. xxxii. 4-6; Matt. xii. 34, 36; 2 Cor. iv. 13; John iii. 11; 1 John iv. 5; Prov. xvi. 23; Psal. xl. 5; Cant. vii. 9.
[538]Prov. xxiii. 16; Psal. cxlv. 6, 11-13, 21.
[539]Psal. cxix. 172; xlix. 3; xxxv. 28.
[540]Jer. viii. 6; Prov. vi. 22; Psal. lxxvii. 12; cv.; cxiv.; cxlix. 11.
[541]1 Tim. vi. 13; 1 Pet. iv. 15.
[542]Garrulo non respondere convitium est.
[543]Prov. xiv. 17; xv. 18; Eccles. vii. 8, 9.
[544]Eccles. ii. 2; vii. 6; Eph. v. 4.
[545]Prov. xxii. 17; xii. 18; xiii. 20; xv. 2, 7, 31.
[546]You will else be but ingeniosi nugatores, as one called him that wrote a great book on a little matter.
[547]1 Tim. iv. 12; Job xii. 12; Eccles. xi. 10.
[548]1 Cor. xv. 33.
[549]Socrates inter loquendum sæpe, agente id orationis vehementiâ, jactare digitos solebat, ita ut à plerisque rideretur, et despectui haberetur: quæ tamen omnia æquo animo ferebat. Laert. in Socrat.
[550]Si quis vero eorum mitior, et veritati aliquatenus propior, videretur, in hunc quasi Britanniæ subversorem omnia odia telaque sine respectu contorquebantur, et omnia quæ displicuerint, Deoque placuerint, æquali saltem lance pendebantur, si non gratiora fuissent displicentia. Gildas. Quod autem quædam de illo inhonesta et maligna jactantur, nolo mireris: cum scias hoc esse opus semper diaboli, ut servos Dei mendacio laceret, et opinionibus falsis gloriosum nomen infamet; ut qui conscientiæ suæ luce clarescunt, alienis rumoribus sordidentur. Cyprian de Cornel. Epist. ad Antonian. Hæc et nos risimus aliquando. Tertul.
[551]Malignity so blindeth the understanding that it maketh men ascribe all the evil that befalleth them, to that which is the only way to happiness: every bad success that the heathen Romans had, they imputed to the christians: saith Paul. Diaconus, lib. 3. when Radagusus the Goth invaded the Romans: Pavor infinitus Romam invadit; declamatur a cunctis, se hæc ideo perpeti, quod neglecta fuerunt magnorum sacra Deorum: magnis querelis ubique agere: et continuo de repetendis sacris celebrandisque tractatur: fere in tota urbe blasphemiæ ad nomen Christi, tanquam lues aliqua probris ingravantur, conducuntur a Romanis adversus Radagusum duo Pagani duces, &c.
[552]Saith Chrysostom, As those that run or act in public games, besides the prize which they hope for, do much increase their strength and health by preparing their bodies for it: so besides the hopes of heaven, it is no small comfort and advantage here in the way, which christians get by their holy lives.
[553]Heb. xii. 14; 2 Thess. i. 8-10; ii. 12.
[554]Cyrillus Arrianorem Episcopus, Hunnericum Regem persuasit, non posse pacatum atque longævum obtinere regnum, nisi nomen perderet innocentum. Qui tamen Dei judicio post non multos dies turpissima morte præventus, scatens vermibus expiravit. Victor. Utic. p. 369.
[555]Rom. xi. 1, 2.
[556]Luke xix. 27.
[557]Quid homini inimicissimum? Homo, inquit Martin. Dumiens. de Morib.
[558]Matt. xii.
[559]Psal. cxxiii. 4.
[560]Read well Jude 14, 15; Psal. i.
[561]Prov. ix. 12; xxix. 8; Isa. xxviii. 14.
[562]Homil. 10 part 2. tom. 9. pag. 150, cited before in my "Now or Never," p. 125.
[563]Nicknames themselves are the great engines of the devil, and to be avoided; it was well with the church when there was no other name but christians put by Christ's disciples on each other; though by the enemies they were scornfully called Nazarenes, and a sect, and heresy.
[564]Disc. of Happiness, p. 193.
[565]Pliny saith, that as pearls, though they lie in the bottom of the sea, are yet much nearer akin to heaven, as their splendour and excellency showeth; so a godly and generous soul hath more dependence on heaven whence it comes, than on earth where it abideth. A good saying for a heathen.
[566]Socrates cum fuisset a quodam calce percussus, admirantibus illius tolerantiam dixit, Quid si me asinus calce impetisset? Num illi diem dixissem?
[567]See 1 Cor. ix. 6; 2 Cor. vi. 1; 1 Cor. xvi. 10; 2 Tim. ii. 15.
[568]See before, chap. vi. tit. 4. of this: and in my "Treat. of Divine Life," part iii.
[569]Ezek. xlvi. 1; Deut. xvi. 15; ii. 7; Exod. xxxiv. 21.
[570]Socrates was mightily addicted to the exercise of his body, as necessary to the health of body and mind. Laert. Plutarch out of Plato saith, that soul and body should be equally exercised together, and driven on as two horses in a coach, and not either of them overgo the other. Prec. of Health.
[571]Omnes qui sunt, quique erunt, aut fuerunt, virtutibus aut doctrinis clari, non possunt unum ingenium accendere, nisi aliquæ intus in animo scintillæ sint, quæ preceptoris spiritu excitatæ et adjutæ, generosum disciplinæ fomitem arripiant. Petrarch. dial. 41. li. 2.
[572]It was one of Solon's laws: Is qui sectatur otium, omnibus accusare volentibus obnoxius esto. Ut Laert. in Sol. Num solum aquas haurio, inquit Cleanthes? nonne et fodio et rigo et omnia facio philosophisæ causa? when they asked him why he would draw water.
[573]How little have some men (yea, ministers themselves) to show of all the good they might have done through all their lives! The work they have done calls them idle.
[574]1 Thess. v. 12, 13; Prov. xviii. 9; xxi. 25; 2 Thess. iii.; Prov. xii. 24; xii. 15; Eccl. x. 18.
[575]Prov. x. 26; xviii. 9.
[576]Prov. xxvi. 16; xxiv. 30.
[577]See Psal. cxxviii. 2, "Thou shalt eat the labour of thy hands." Prov. xiv. 23; xiii. 11.
[578]Cleanthes coactum aliquando stipem in medium familiarium intulit, dicens, Cleanthes alium Cleanthem posset nutrire si vellet. And when he was questioned in judgment, how he lived, Adeo robustus, et tam boni habitûs, the gardener that he worked for, and the woman that baked his meal, were the witnesses that acquit him. Hard labour and hard fare enabled him for hard study. Laert. in Cleanth.
[579]Platonem tradunt cum vidisset quendam aleis ludentem increpasse: et cum ille; Quam me in parvis reprehendis? diceret, respondisse, At est consuetudo non parva res. Laert. in Plat.
[580]Callimachus, in Attila, reporteth that when certain players came before Attila, to show the agility of their bodies in their exercises, he was offended to see such able, active bodies no better employed, and commanded them to be exercised in shooting and other military acts: which when they could not do, he commanded that they should have no meat but what they got by hunting at a great distance, and so exercised them till they became excellent soldiers. Page 353.
[581]Ni sis bonus aleator, probus chartarius, scortator improbus, potator strenuus, profusor audax, decoctor et conflator æris alieni, deinde scabie ornatus Gallica, vix quisquam te oredet equitem. Erasm. Colloq. p. 483. See more of this chap. v. and read Luke xvi. and James v.
[582]Rev. iii. 15, 19.
[583]Matt. xxiii. 15.
[584]See Jam. iii.
[585]Rom. x. 2; Acts xxi. 20, 22.
[586]2 Pet. ii. 7, 8; Ezek. ix. 4; 1 Cor. v.
[587]Matt. vii. 4; Gen. xxxviii. 24; 2 Sam. xii. 5.
[588]2 Cor. viii. 3; Acts xviii. 25; Exod. xxxvi. 6.
[589]Gal. iv. 15, 18.
[590]Psal. lxix. 10; John ii. 17; Gal. iv. 18; 2 Cor. vii. 11; Tit. ii. 14; Rev. iii. 15, 16, 19.
[591]Jam. v. 16; Rom. xii. 11.
[592]Matt. xi. 12; Rom. xv. 33; Luke xiii. 24; 2 Tim. ii. 5; 1 Cor. ix. 24-26; Heb. xii. 1; Deut. vi. 5; Matt. xxii. 37; 2 Cor. v. 14; Prov. l. 4.
[593]John ix. 4; Isa. lv. 6; Luke xix. 42; Heb. iii. 7, 15; Matt. xxv.
[594]Sam. ii. 23, 29; Rev. iii. 19.
[595]1 Thess. v. 22; Jude 23; Jam. iv. 7; 1 Pet. v. 9.
[596]Eccles. x. 18; Prov. xxiv. 30; xxi. 25; xiii. 4.
[597]Prov. xxii. 13; xxvi. 13; xx. 4.
[598]Numb. xxv. 11, 13; Cant. viii. 6, 7; Heb. xx. 11; Dan. iii.; vi.; Matt. xiii. 20, 21; Rev. ii. 5; Rev. iii. 16; 2 Thess. ii. 10.
[599]Read before chap. v. the cont. dir. for redeeming time.
[600]1 Cor. vii. 29, 30; 2 Pet. iii. 11; Rev. xii. 12.
[601]Luke viii. 14.
[602]Rom. xiv. 21, 22; 1 Cor. v. 6; Eph. iv. 29, 30.
[603]Prov. xxii. 24, 25; xxvii. 17; Heb. iii. 13; x. 24, 25; Rom. xv. 14.
[604]Tanto cum strepitu ludi spectantur et artes. Hor.
[605]Among the Ep. of Bonifac. Mog. there is a council held under Carloman, king of France, which saith in the king's name, Necnon et illas venationes et sylvaticas vagationes cum canibus, servis Dei interdiximus. Similiter ut accipitres et falcones non habeant. And sure these are better than cards and dice, which yet some priests now use too much.
[606]It is one of the Roman laws, 12. tab. Prodigo bonorum suorum administratio interdicta esto.
[607]Rom. xiv. 21; 1 Cor. viii. 13.
[608]1 Pet. i. 14, 15; ii. 11, 12.
[609]Matt. xxiii. 5; Mal. iii. 17.
[610]Laertius saith, that when Crœsus sat in all his ornaments and glory on his throne, he asked Solon, An pulchrius unquam spectaculum viderit? Illumque dixisse: Gallos, gallinaceos, phasianos, et pavones: naturali enim eos nitore et speciositate eximia vestiri.
[611]Phil. iii. 10; Rom. xii. 2; Eph. v. 11.
[612]And no wonder, when the light of nature reduced the serious sort of philosophers to so plain a garb; as Socrates, Zenocrates, with almost all the Stoics and Cynics, and many of the Academics and Pythagoreans.
[613]Of the proportion of our estates to be given, see my Letter to Mr. Gouge.