_ How much do we owe to the
Goodness
of God!
Erasmus
But while we are thus plentifully feeding our Souls, we
must not neglect their Companions.
_Ti. _ Who are those?
_Eu. _ Our Bodies; are not they the Soul's Companions? I had rather call
them so, than Instruments, Habitations or Sepulchres.
_Ti. _ This is certainly to be plentifully refresh'd when the whole Man
is refresh'd.
_Eu. _ I see you are very backward to help yourselves; therefore, if you
please, I'll order the Roast-Meat to be brought us, lest instead of a
good Entertainment I should treat you with a long one. Now you see your
Ordinary. Here is a Shoulder of Mutton, but it is a very fine one, a
Capon and two Brace of Partridges. These indeed I had from the Market,
this little Farm supply'd me with the rest.
_Ti. _ It is a noble Dinner, fit for a Prince.
_Eu. _ For a _Carmelite_, you mean. But such as it is you are welcome to
it. If the Provision be not very dainty you have it very freely.
_Ti. _ Your House is so full of Talk, that not only the Walls but the
very Cup speaks.
_Eu. _ What does it say?
_Ti. No Man is hurt but by himself. _
_Eu. _ The Cup pleads for the Cause of the Wine. For it is a common
Thing, if Persons get a Fever or the Head-ach by over drinking, to lay
it upon the Wine, when they have brought it upon themselves by their
Excess.
_Soph. _ Mine speaks _Greek_. [Greek: En oinô alêtheia. ] _In Wine there's
Truth_ (when Wine is in the Wit is out. )
_Eu. _ This gives us to understand that it is not safe for Priests or
Privy-Counsellors to give themselves so to Wine, because Wine commonly
brings that to the Mouth that lay conceal'd in the Heart.
_Soph. _ In old Time among the _Egyptians_ it was unlawful for their
Priests to drink any Wine at all, and yet in those Days there was no
auricular Confession.
_Eu. _ It is now become lawful for all Persons to drink Wine, but how
expedient it is I know not. What Book is that, _Eulalius_, you take out
of your Pocket? It seems to be a very neat one, it is all over gilded.
_Eulal. _ It is more valuable for the Inside than the Out. It is St.
_Paul's_ Epistles, that I always carry about me, as my beloved
Entertainment, which I take out now upon the Occasion of something you
said, which minds me of a Place that I have beat my Brains about a long
Time, and I am not come to a full Satisfaction in yet. It is in the 6th
Chapter of the first Epistle to the _Corinthians_, _All Things are
lawful for me, but all Things are not expedient; all Things are lawful
for me, but I will not be brought under the Power of any_. In the first
Place (if we will believe the Stoicks) nothing can be profitable to us,
that is not honest: How comes _Paul_ then to distinguish betwixt that
which is lawful, and that which is expedient? It is not lawful to whore,
or get drunk, how then are all Things lawful? But if _Paul_ speaks of
some particular Things only, which he would have to be lawful, I can't
guess by the Tenor of the Place, which those particular Things are.
From that which follows, it may be gather'd, that he there speaks of the
Choice of Meats. For some abstain from Things offer'd to Idols, and
others from Meats forbidden by _Moses_'s Law. In the 8th Chapter he
treats of Things offer'd to Idols, and in the 10th Chapter explaining
the Meaning of this Place, says, _All Things are lawful for me, but all
Things are not expedient; all Things are lawful for me, but all Things
edify not. Let no Man seek his own, but every Man the Things of another.
Whatsoever is sold in the Shambles, eat ye_. And that which St. _Paul_
subjoins, agrees with what he said before: _Meats for the Belly, and the
Belly for Meats; but God shall destroy both it and them_. Now that which
has Respect to the _Judaical_ Choice of Meats, is in the Close of the
10th Chapter. _Give none Offence, neither to the Jews nor the Gentiles,
nor to the Church of God; even as I please all Men in all Things, not
seeking my own Profit, but the Profit of many, that they may be sav'd_.
Where in that he saith to the _Gentiles_, he seems to have Respect to
Things offer'd to Idols; and where he speaketh to the _Jews_ he seems to
refer to the Choice of Meats; what he says to the Church of God
appertains to the Weak, collected out of both Sorts. It was lawful, it
seems, to eat of all Meats whatsoever, and all Things that are Clean to
the Clean. But the Question remaining is, Whether it be expedient or no?
The Liberty of the Gospel makes all Things lawful; but Charity has
always a Regard to my Neighbour's Good, and therefore often abstains
from Things lawful, rather chasing to condescend to what is for
another's Advantage, than to make Use of its own Liberty. But now here
arises a double Difficulty; first, that here is nothing that either
precedes or follows in the Context that agrees with this Sense. For he
chides the _Corinthians_ for being Seditious, Fornicators, Adulterers,
and given to go to Law before wicked Judges. Now what Coherence is there
with this to say, _All Things are lawful for me, but all Things are not
expedient_? And in the following Matter, he returns to the Case of
_Incontinence_, which he had also repeated before, only leaving out the
Charge of Contention: _But the Body_, says he, _is not for Fornication,
but for the Lord, and the Lord for the Body. _ But however, this Scruple
may be solv'd too, because a little before, in the Catalogue of Sins, he
had made Mention of Idolatry. _Be not deceived, neither Fornicators, nor
Idolaters, nor Adulterers_; now the Eating of Things offer'd to Idols is
a certain Kind of Idolatry, and therefore he immediately subjoins, _Meat
is for the Belly, and the Belly for Meat_. Intimating, that in a Case of
Necessity, and for a Season, a Man may eat any Thing, unless Charity
towards his Neighbour shall dissuade it: But that Uncleanness is in all
Persons, and at all Times to be detested. It is Matter of Necessity that
we eat, but that Necessity shall be taken away at the Resurrection of
the Dead. But if we are lustful, that proceeds from Wickedness. But
there is another Scruple that I can't tell how to solve, or how to
reconcile to that Passage: _But I will not be brought under the Power of
any_. For he says, he has the Power of all Things, and yet he will not
be brought under the Power of any one. If he may be said to be under
another Man's Power, that abstains for Fear of offending, it is what he
speaks of himself in the ninth Chapter, _For though I be free from all
Men, yet have made myself Servant to all, that I may gain all. _ St.
_Ambrose_ stumbling, I suppose, at this Scruple, takes this to be the
Apostle's genuine Sense for the better Understanding of what he says in
the 9th Chapter, where he claims to himself the Power of doing that
which the rest of the Apostles (either true or false) did, of receiving
a Maintenance from them to whom he preach'd the Gospel. But he forbore
this, although he might have done it, as a Thing expedient among the
_Corinthians_, whom he reprov'd for so many and enormous Iniquities. And
moreover, he that receives, is in some Degree in the Power of him from
whom he receives, and suffers some Kind of Abatement in his Authority.
For he that takes, cannot so freely reprove his Benefactor; and he that
gives will not so easily take a Reprehension from him that he has
obliged. And in this did the Apostle _Paul_ abstain from that which was
lawful, for the Credit of his apostolical Liberty, which in this Case he
would not have to be rendered obnoxious to any one, that he might with
the greater Freedom and Authority reprehend their Vices. Indeed, I like
this Explication of St. _Ambrose_ very well. But yet, if any Body had
rather apply this Passage to Meats, St. _Paul_'s, Saying, _but I will
not be brought under the Power of any_, may be taken in this Sense:
Although I may sometimes abstain from Meats offered to Idols, or
forbidden by the _Mosaical_ Law, out of Regard to the Salvation of my
Brothers Souls, and the Furtherance of the Gospel; yet my Mind is free,
well knowing that it is lawful to eat all Manner of Meats, according to
the Necessity of the Body. But there were some false Apostles, who went
about to persuade them, that some Meats, were in themselves, by their
own Nature unclean, and were to be forborn, not upon Occasion only, but
at all Times; and that as strict as Adultery or Murder. Now those that
were thus misled, were reduced under another's Power, and fell from
their Gospel Liberty. _Theophylact_ (as I remember) is the only Man that
advances an Opinion different from all these. _It is lawful_, says he,
_to eat all Sorts of Meats; but it is not expedient to eat to Excess;
for from Luxury comes Lust. _ There is no Impiety, indeed, in this Sense;
but it does not seem to me to be the genuine Sense of the Place. I have
acquainted you with my Scruples, it will become your Charity to set me
to Rights.
_Eu. _ Your Discourse is, indeed, answerable to your Name, and one that
knows how to propound Questions as you do, has no Need of any Body to
answer them but himself. For you have so proposed your Doubts, as to put
one quite out of doubt, altho' St. _Paul_, in that Epistle, (proposing
to handle many Things at once) passes often from one Argument to
another, repeating what he had intermitted.
_Ch. _ If I were not afraid, that by my Loquacity I should divert you
from eating your Dinners, and did think it were lawful to intermix any
Thing out of profane Authors with sacred Discourses, I would venture to
propose something that I read to Day; not so much with Perplexity, as
with a singular Delight.
_Eu. _ Whatsoever is pious, and conduces to good Manners, ought not to be
called profane. The first Place must indeed be given to the Authority of
the Scriptures; but nevertheless, I sometimes find some Things said or
written by the Antients; nay, even by the Heathens; nay, by the Poets
themselves, so chastly, so holily, and so divinely, that I cannot
persuade myself, but that when they wrote them, they were divinely
inspired; and perhaps the Spirit of Christ diffuses itself farther than
we imagine; and that there are more Saints than we have in our
Catalogue. To confess freely among Friends, I can't read _Tully_ of _Old
Age_, of _Friendship_, his _Offices_, or his _Tusculan Questions_,
without kissing the Book, and Veneration for that divine Soul. And on
the contrary, when I read some of our modern Authors, treating of
_Politics, Oeconomics_ and _Ethics_, good God! how cold they are in
Comparison of these? Nay, how do they seem to be insensible of what they
write themselves? So that I had rather lose _Scotus_ and twenty more
such as he, than one _Cicero_ or _Plutarch_. Not that I am wholly
against them neither; but because, by the reading of the one, I find
myself become better; whereas, I rise from the other, I know not how
coldly affected to Virtue, but most violently inclin'd to Cavil and
Contention; therefore never fear to propose it, whatsoever it is.
_Ch. _ Although all _Tully_'s Books of Philosophy seem to breathe out
something divine; yet that Treatise of _Old Age_, that he wrote in old
Age, seems to me to be according to the _Greek_ Proverb; _the Song of
the dying Swan_. I was reading it to Day, and these Words pleasing me
above the rest, I got 'em by Heart: _Should it please God to give me a
Grant to begin my Life again from my very Cradle, and once more to run
over the Course of my Years I have lived, I would not upon any Terms
accept of it: Nor would I, having in a Manner finished my Race, run it
over again from the starting Place to the Goal: For what Pleasure has
this Life in it? nay, rather, what Pain has it not? But if there were
not, there would be undoubtedly in it Satiety or Trouble. I am not for
bewailing my past Life as a great many, and learned Men too, have done,
nor do I repent that I have liv'd; because, I have liv'd so, that I am
satisfy'd I have not liv'd in vain. And when I leave this Life, I leave
it as an Inn, and not as a Place of Abode. For Nature has given us our
Bodies as an Inn to lodge in, and not to dwell in. O! glorious Day will
that be, when I shall leave this Rabble-rout and Defilements of the
World behind me, to go to that Society and World of Spirits! _ Thus far
out of _Cato_. What could be spoken more divinely by a Christian? I wish
all the Discourses of our Monks, even with their holy Virgins, were such
as the Dialogue of this aged Pagan, with the Pagan Youths of his Time.
_Eu. _ It may be objected, that this Colloquy of _Tully_'s was but a
Fiction.
_Ch. _ It is all one to me, whether the Honour of these Expressions be
given to _Cato_, who thought and spoke them, or to _Cicero_, whose Mind
could form such divine Things in Contemplation, and whose Pen could
represent such excellent Matter in Words so answerable to it; though
indeed I am apt to think that _Cato_, if he did not speak these very
Words, yet that in his familiar Conversation he us'd Words of the very
same Import. For indeed, _M. Tully_ was not a Man of that Impudence, to
draw _Cato_ otherwise than he was. Beside, that such an Unlikeness in a
Dialogue would have been a great Indecorum, which is the thing chiefly
to be avoided in this Sort of Discourse; and especially, at a Time when
his Character was fresh in the Memories of all Men.
_Th. _ That which you say is very likely: But I'll tell you what came
into my Mind upon your Recital. I have often admired with myself, that
considering that all Men wish for long Life, and are afraid of Death;
that yet, I have scarce found any Man so happy, (I don't speak of old,
but of middle-aged Men); but that if the Question were put to him,
whether or no, if it should be granted him to grow young again, and run
over the same good and ill Fortune that he had before, he would not make
the same Answer that _Cato_ did; especially passing a true Reflection
upon the Mixture of Good and Ill of his past Life. For the Remembrance
even of the pleasantest Part of it is commonly attended with Shame, and
Sting of Conscience, insomuch that the Memory of past Delights is more
painful to us, than that of past Misfortunes. Therefore it was wisely
done of the ancient Poets in the Fable of _Lethe_, to represent the Dead
drinking largely of the Waters of Forgetfulness, before their Souls were
affected with any Desire of the Bodies they had left behind them.
_Ur. _ It is a Thing well worthy of our Admiration, and what I myself
have observ'd in some Persons. But that in _Cato_ that pleases me the
most is his Declaration. _Neither am I sorry that I have liv'd. _ Where
is the _Christian_, that has so led his Life, as to be able to say as
much as this old Man? It is a common Thing for Men, who have scrap'd
great Estates together by Hook or by Crook, when they are upon their
Death Beds, and about to leave them, then to think they have not liv'd
in vain. But _Cato_ therefore thought, that he had not liv'd in vain,
upon the Conscience of his having discharg'd all the Parts of an honest
and useful Citizen, and an uncorrupted Magistrate; and that he should
leave to Posterity, Monuments of his Virtue and Industry. And what could
be spoken more divinely than this, _I depart as from an Inn, and not an
Habitation_. So long we may stay in an Inn till the Host bids us be
gone, but a Man will not easily be forc'd from his own House. And yet
from hence the Fall of the House, or Fire, or some Accident drives us.
Or if nothing of these happen, the Structure falls to Pieces with old
Age, thereby admonishing us that we must change our Quarters.
_Neph. _ That Expression of _Socrates_ in _Plato_ is not less elegant:
_Methinks_, says he, _the Soul of a Man is in the Body as in a
Garrison, there is no quitting of it without the Leave of the Generals,
nor no staying any longer in it, than during the Pleasure of him that
plac'd him there. _ This Allusion of _Plato'_s, of a Garrison instead of
a House, is the more significant of the two. For in a House is only
imply'd Abode, in a Garrison we are appointed to some Duty by our
Governor. And much to the same Purpose is it, that in Holy Writ the Life
of Man is sometimes call'd a Warfare, and at other times a Race.
_Ur. _ But _Cato_'s Speech, methinks, seems to agree very well with that
of St. _Paul_, who writing to the _Corinthians_, calls that heavenly
Mansion, which we look for after this Life in one Place [Greek: oikian]
a House, in another [Greek: oikêtêrion] a Mansion, and moreover (besides
that) he calls the Body [Greek: skênos] a Tabernacle. For _we also_,
(says he) _who are in this Tabernacle, groan, being burthened. _
_Neph. _ Much after this Manner says St. _Peter; And I think it meet_
(says he) _as long as I am in this Tabernacle, to stir you up by putting
you in Mind, being assured that I shall shortly put off this
Tabernacle. _ And what else does _Christ_ himself say to us, but that we
should live and watch, as if we were presently to die: And so apply
ourselves to honest Things, as if we were to live for ever? And when we
hear these excellent Words of _Cato, O that glorious Day_, do we not
seem to hear St. _Paul_ himself saying, _I desire to be dissolved, and
to be with Christ_?
_Ch. _ How happy are they that wait for Death with such a Frame of Mind?
But as for _Cato_'s Speech, altho' it be an excellent one, methinks
there is more Boldness and Arrogance in it, than becomes a Christian.
Indeed, I never read anything in a Heathen, that comes nearer to a
Christian, than what _Socrates_ said to _Crito_, a little before he
drank his Poison; _Whether I shall be approv'd or not in the Sight of
God, I cannot tell; but this I am certain of, that I have most
affectionately endeavoured to please him; and I have a good Hope, that
he will accept of my Endeavours. _ This great Man was diffident of his
own Performances; but so, that being conscious to himself of the
Propensity of his Inclination to obey the divine Will, he conceived a
good Hope, that God, of his Goodness, would accept him for the Honesty
of his Intentions.
_Neph. _ Indeed, it was a wonderful Elevation of Mind in a Man, that knew
not Christ, nor the holy Scriptures: And therefore, I can scarce
forbear, when I read such Things of such Men, but cry out, _Sancte
Socrates, ora pro nobis; Saint_ Socrates, _pray for us. _
_Ch. _ And I have much ado sometimes to keep myself from entertaining
good Hopes of the Souls of _Virgil_ and _Horace. _
_Neph. _ But how unwillingly have I seen many Christians die? Some put
their Trust in Things not to be confided in; others breathe out their
Souls in Desperation, either out of a Consciousness of their lewd Lives,
or by Reason of Scruples that have been injected into their Minds, even
in their dying Hours, by some indiscreet Men.
_Ch. _ It is no wonder to find them die so, who have spent their Time in
philosophizing about Ceremonies all their Lives.
_Neph. _ What do you mean by Ceremonies?
_Ch. _ I'll tell you, but with Protestation over and over beforehand,
that I don't find Fault with the Sacraments and Rites of the Church, but
rather highly approve of them; but I blame a wicked and superstitious
Sort of People, or (to put it in the softest Term) the simple and
unlearned Persons, who teach People to put their Confidence in these
Things, omitting those Things which make them truly Christians.
_Neph. _ I don't yet clearly understand what it is you aim at.
_Ch. _ I'll be plainer then. If you look into Christians in common, don't
you find they live as if the whole Sum of Religion consisted in
Ceremonies? With how much Pomp are the antient Rites of the Church set
forth in Baptism? The Infant waits without the Church Door, the Exorcism
is performed, the Catechizing is performed, Vows are made, Satan is
abjured, with all his Pomps and Pleasures; then the Child is anointed,
sign'd, season'd with Salt, dipt, a Charge given to his Sureties to see
it well brought up; and the Oblation-Money being paid, they are
discharged, and by this Time the Child passes for a Christian, and in
some Sense is so. A little Time after, it is anointed again, and in Time
learns to confess, receives the Sacrament, is accustom'd to rest upon
Holy-Days, to hear Divine Service, to fast sometimes, to abstain from
Flesh; and if he observes all these, he passes for an absolute
Christian. He marries a Wife, and then comes on another Sacrament; he
enters into Holy Orders, is anointed again, and consecrated, his Habit
is chang'd, and then to Prayers. Now I approve of the doing of all this
well enough; but the doing of them more out of Custom than Conscience, I
don't approve; but to think that nothing else is requisite for the
making a Christian, I absolutely disapprove: For the greatest Part of
Men in the World trust to these Things, and think they have nothing else
to do, but get Wealth by Right or Wrong, to gratify their Passions of
Rage, Lust, Malice, Ambition: And this they do till they come upon their
Death Bed; and then there follows more Ceremonies; Confession upon
Confession, more Unction still, the Eucharist is administred; Tapers,
the Cross, holy Water are brought in; Indulgencies are procured, if they
are to be had for Love or Money; Orders are given for a magnificent
Funeral; and then comes on another solemn Contract: When the Man is in
the Agony of Death, there's one stands by bawling in his Ear, and now
and then dispatches him before his Time, if he chance to be a little in
Drink, or have better Lungs than ordinary. Now although these Things may
be well enough, as they are done in Conformity to ecclesiastical
Customs; yet there are some more internal Impressions, which have an
Efficacy to fortify us against the Assaults of Death, by filling our
Hearts with Joy, and helping us to go out of the World with a Christian
Assurance.
_Eu. _ You speak very piously and truly; but in the mean Time here is no
Body eats; I told you before, that you must expect nothing after the
second Course, and that a Country one too, lest any Body should look for
Pheasants, Moorhens, and fine Kickshaws. Here, Boy! take away these
Things, and bring up the rest. You see, not the Affluence, but the
Straitness of my Fortune. This is the Product of my Gardens you have
seen; don't spare, if you like any Thing.
_Ti. _ There's so great a Variety, it does a Man good to look upon it.
_Eu. _ That you mayn't altogether despise my Thriftiness, this Dish would
have chear'd up the Heart of old _Hilarion_, the evangelical Monk, with
a hundred more of his Fellows, the Monks of that Age. But _Paul_ and
_Anthony_ would have lived a Month upon it.
_Ti. _ Yes, and Prince _Peter_ too, I fancy would have leap'd at it, when
he lodg'd at _Simon_ the Tanner's.
_Eu. _ Yes; and _Paul_ too, I believe, when by Reason of Poverty he sat
up a-Nights to make Tents.
_Ti.
_ How much do we owe to the Goodness of God! But yet, I had rather
suffer Hunger with _Peter_ and _Paul_, upon Condition, that what I
wanted for my Body, might be made up by the Satisfaction of my Mind.
_Eu. _ Let us learn of St. _Paul_, both how to abound, and how to suffer
Want. When we want, let us praise God, that he has afforded us Matter to
exercise our Frugality and Patience upon: When we abound, let us be
thankful for his Munificence, who by his Liberality, invites and
provokes us to love him; and using those Things the divine Bounty has
plentifully bestowed upon us, with Moderation and Temperance; let us be
mindful of the Poor, whom God has been pleas'd to suffer to want what he
has made abound to us, that neither Side may want an Occasion of
exercising Virtue: For he bestows upon us sufficient for the Relief of
our Brother's Necessity, that we may obtain his Mercy, and that the Poor
on the other Hand, being refresh'd by our Liberality, may give him
Thanks for putting it into our Hearts, and recommend us to him in their
Prayers; and, very well remember'd! Come hither, Boy; bid my Wife send
_Gudula_ some of the roast Meat that's left, 'tis a very good poor Woman
in the Neighbourhood big with Child, her Husband is lately dead, a
profuse, lazy Fellow, that has left nothing but a Stock of Children.
_Ti. _ Christ has commanded _to give to every one that asks_; but if I
should do so, I should go a begging myself in a Month's Time.
_Eu. _ I suppose Christ means only such as ask for Necessaries: For to
them who ask, nay, who importune, or rather extort great Sums from
People to furnish voluptuous Entertainments, or, which is worse, to feed
Luxury and Lust, it is Charity to deny; nay, it is a Kind of Rapine to
bestow that which we owe to the present Necessity of our Neighbours,
upon those that will abuse it; upon this Consideration it is, that it
seems to me, that they can scarcely be excus'd from being guilty of a
mortal Sin, who at a prodigious Expence, either build or beautify
Monasteries or Churches, when in the mean Time so many living Temples of
Christ are ready to starve for Want of Food and Clothing, and are sadly
afflicted with the Want of other Necessaries. When I was in _England_, I
saw St. _Thomas_'s, Tomb all over bedeck'd with a vast Number of Jewels
of an immense Price, besides other rich Furniture, even to Admiration; I
had rather that these Superfluities should be apply'd to charitable
Uses, than to be reserv'd for Princes, that shall one Time or other make
a Booty of them. The holy Man, I am confident, would have been better
pleas'd, to have his Tomb adorn'd with Leaves and Flowers. When I was in
_Lombardy_, I saw a Cloyster of the _Carthusians_, not far from _Pavia_;
the Chapel is built from Top to Bottom, within and without, of white
Marble, and almost all that is in it, as Altars, Pillars, and Tombs, are
all Marble. To what Purpose was it to be at such a vast Expence upon a
Marble Temple, for a few solitary Monks to sing in? And 'tis more
Burthen to them than Use too, for they are perpetually troubled with
Strangers, that come thither, only out of mere Curiosity, to see the
Marble Temple. And that, which is yet more ridiculous, I was told there,
that there is an Endowment of three thousand Ducats a Year for keeping
the Monastery in Repair. And there are some that think that it is
Sacrilege, to convert a Penny of that Money to any other pious Uses,
contrary to the Intention of the Testator; they had rather pull down,
that they may rebuild, than not go on with building. I thought meet to
mention these, being something more remarkable than ordinary; tho' we
have a World of Instances of this Kind up and down in our Churches.
This, in my Opinion, is rather Ambition than Charity. Rich Men
now-a-Days will have their Monuments in Churches, whereas in Times past
they could hardly get Room for the Saints there: They must have their
Images there, and their Pictures, forsooth, with their Names at length,
their Titles, and the Inscription of their Donation; and this takes up a
considerable Part of the Church; and I believe in Time they'll be for
having their Corpse laid even in the very Altars themselves. But
perhaps, some will say, would you have their Munificence be discourag'd?
I say no, by no Means, provided what they offer to the Temple of God be
worthy of it. But if I were a Priest or a Bishop, I would put it into
the Heads of those thick-scull'd Courtiers or Merchants, that if they
would atone for their Sins to Almighty God, they should privately bestow
their Liberality upon the Relief of the Poor. But they reckon all as
lost, that goes out so by Piece-meal, and is privily distributed toward
the Succour of the Needy, that the next Age shall have no Memorial of
the Bounty. But I think no Money can be better bestow'd, than that which
Christ himself would have put to his Account, and makes himself Debtor
for.
_Ti. _ Don't you take that Bounty to be well plac'd that is bestow'd upon
Monasteries?
_Eu. _ Yes, and I would be a Benefactor myself, if I had an Estate that
would allow it; but it should be such a Provision for Necessaries, as
should not reach to Luxury. And I would give something too, wheresoever
I found a religious Man that wanted it.
_Ti. _ Many are of Opinion, that what is given to common Beggars, is not
well bestowed.
_Eu. _ I would do something that Way too; but with Discretion: But in my
Opinion, it were better if every City were to maintain their own Poor;
and Vagabonds and sturdy Beggars were not suffer'd to strole about, who
want Work more than Money.
_Ti. _ To whom then would you in an especial Manner give? How much? And
to what Purposes?
_Eu. _ It is a hard Matter for me to answer to all these Points exactly:
First of all, there should be an Inclination to be helpful to all, and
after that, the Proportion must be according to my Ability, as
Opportunity should offer; and especially to those whom I know to be poor
and honest; and when my own Purse fail'd me, I would exhort others to
Charity.
_Ti. _ But will you give us Leave now to discourse freely in your
Dominions?
_Eu. _ As freely as if you were at Home at your own Houses.
_Ti. _ You don't love vast Expences upon Churches, you say, and this
House might have been built for less than it was.
_Eu. _ Indeed, I think this House of mine to be within the Compass of
cleanly and convenient, far from Luxury, or I am mistaken. Some that
live by begging, have built with more State; and yet, these Gardens of
Mine, such as they are, pay a Tribute to the Poor; and I daily lessen my
Expence, and am the more frugal in Expence upon myself and Family, that
I may contribute the more plentifully to them.
_Ti. _ If all Men were of your Mind, it would be better than it is with a
good many People who deserve better, that are now in extreme Want; and
on the other Hand, many of those pamper'd Carcases would be brought
down, who deserve to be taught Sobriety and Modesty by Penury.
_Eu. _ It may be so: but shall I mend your mean Entertainment now, with
the best Bit at last?
_Ti. _ We have had more than enough of Delicacies already.
_Eu. _ That which I am now about to give you, let your Bellies be never
so full, won't over-charge your Stomachs.
_Ti. _ What is it?
_Eu. _ The Book of the four Evangelists, that I may treat you with the
best at last. Read, Boy, from the Place where you left off last.
_Boy. No Man can serve two Masters; for either he will hate the one and
love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other:
You cannot serve God and Mammon. Therefore, I say unto you, take no
thought for your Life, what you shall eat, or what you shall drink: Nor
yet for your Body, what you shall put on. Is not the Life more than
Meat, and the Body than Raiment? _
_Eu. _ Give me the Book. In this Place _Jesus Christ_ seems to me, to
have said the same Thing twice: For instead of what he had said in the
first Place, _i. e. _ _he will hate_; he says immediately, _he will
despise_. And for what he had said before, _he will love_, he by and by
turns it, _he will hold to_. The Sense is the same, tho' the Persons are
chang'd.
_Ti. _ I do not very well apprehend what you mean.
_Eu. _ Let me, if you please, demonstrate it mathematically. In the first
Part, put _A_ for the one, and _B_ for the other. In the latter Part,
put _B_ for one, and _A_ for the other, inverting the Order; for either
_A_ will hate, and _B_ will love, or _B_ will hold to, and _A_ will
despise. Is it not plain now, that _A_ is twice hated, and _B_ twice
beloved?
_Ti. _ 'Tis very clear.
_Eu. _ This Conjunction, _or_, especially repeated, has the Emphasis of a
contrary, or at least, a different Meaning. Would it not be otherwise
absurd to say, _Either_ Peter _shall overcome me, and I'll yield; or
I'll yield, and_ Peter _shall overcome me? _
_Ti. _ A pretty Sophism, as I'm an honest Man.
_Eu. _ I shall think it so when you have made it out, not before.
_The. _ I have something runs in my Mind, and I'm with Child to have it
out: I can't tell what to make on't, but let it be what it will, you
shall have it if you please; if it be a Dream, you shall be the
Interpreters, or midwife it into the World.
_Eu. _ Although it is looked upon to be unlucky to talk of Dreams at
Table, and it is immodest to bring forth before so many Men; but this
Dream, or this Conception of thy Mind, be it what it will, let us have
it.
_The. _ In my Judgment it is rather the Thing than the Person that is
chang'd in this Text. And the Words _one_ and _one_ do not refer to _A_
and _B_; but either Part of them, to which of the other you please; so
that chuse which you will, it must be opposed to that, which is
signified by the other; as if you should say, you _shall either exclude_
A _and admit_ B, _or you shall admit_ A _and exclude_ B. Here's the
Thing chang'd, and the Person the same: And it is so spoken of _A_, that
it is the same Case, if you should say the same Thing of _B_; as thus,
either you shall exclude _B_ or admit _A_, or admit _B_ or exclude _A_.
_Eu. _ In Truth, you have very artificially solv'd this Problem: No
Mathematician could have demonstrated it better upon a Slate.
_Soph. _ That which is the greatest Difficulty to me is this; that we are
forbidden to take Thought for to Morrow; when yet, _Paul_ himself
wrought with his own Hands for Bread, and sharply rebukes lazy People,
and those that live upon other Men's Labour, exhorting them to take
Pains, and get their Living by their Fingers Ends, that they may have
wherewith to relieve others in their Necessities. Are not they holy and
warrantable Labours, by which a poor Husband provides for his dear Wife
and Children?
_Ti. _ This is a Question, which, in my Opinion, may be resolv'd several
Ways. First of all, This Text had a particular Respect to those Times.
The Apostles being dispers'd far and wide for the Preaching of the
Gospel, all sollicitous Care for a Maintenance was to be thrown aside,
it being to be supply'd otherwise, having not Leisure to get their
Living by their Labour; and especially, they having no Way of getting
it, but by Fishing. But now the World is come to another Pass, and we
all love to live at Ease, and shun Painstaking. Another Way of
expounding it may be this; Christ had not forbid Industry, but Anxiety
of Thought, and this Anxiety of Thought is to be understood according to
the Temper of Men in common, who are anxious for nothing more than
getting a Livelihood; that setting all other Things aside, this is the
only Thing they mind. And our Saviour does in a Manner intimate the same
himself, when he says, that one Man cannot serve two Masters. For he
that wholly gives himself up to any Thing, is a Servant to it. Now he
would have the Propagation of the Gospel be our chief, but yet, not our
only Care. For he says, _Seek ye first the Kingdom of Heaven, and these
Things shall be added unto you_. He does not say, seek only; but seek
first. And besides, I take the Word to Morrow, to be hyperbolical, and
in that, signifies a Time to come, a great While hence, it being the
Custom of the Misers of this World, to be anxiously scraping together,
and laying up for Posterity.
_Eu. _ We allow of your Interpretation; but what does he mean, when he
says, _Be not sollicitous for your Life, what you shall eat_? The Body
is cloth'd, but the Soul does not eat.
_Ti. _ By _Anima_, is meant Life, which can't subsist without Meat (or is
in Danger, if you take away its Food): But it is not so, if you take
away the Garment, which is more for Modesty than Necessity. If a Person
is forc'd to go naked, he does not die presently; but Want of Food is
certain Death.
_Eu. _ I do not well understand how this Sentence agrees with that which
follows; _Is not the Life more than Meat, and the Body than Raiment_?
For if Life be so precious, we ought to take the more Care of it.
_Ti. _ This Argument does rather increase our Sollicitousness than lessen
it.
_Eu. _ But this is none of our Saviour's Meaning; who, by this Argument,
creates in us a stronger Confidence in the Father: For if a bountiful
Father hath given us _gratis_ that which is the more valuable, he will
also bestow upon us what is less valuable: He that has given us Life,
will not deny us Food: And he that has given us Bodies, will by some
Means or other give us Cloaths too: Therefore, relying upon his Bounty,
we have no Reason to disquiet ourselves with Anxiety of Thought, for
Things of smaller Moment. What remains then, but using this World, as
though we used it not, we transfer our whole Study and Application to
the Love of heavenly Things, and rejecting the World and the Devil
universally, with all his crafty Delusions, we chearfully serve God
alone, who will never forsake his Children? But all this While, here's
no Body touches the Fruits. Certainly you may eat this with Joy, for
this is the Product of my own Farm, and did not cost much Care to
provide it.
_Ti. _ We have very plentifully satisfied our Bodies.
_Eu. _ I should be glad if you had satisfied your Minds too.
_Ti. _ Our Minds have been satisfy'd more plentifully than our Bodies.
_Eu. _ Boy, take away, and bring some Water; now, my Friends, let us
wash, that if we have in eating contracted any Guilt, being cleansed, we
may conclude with a Hymn: If you please, I'll conclude with what I begun
out of St. _Chrysostom_.
_Ti. _ We entreat you that you would do it.
_Eu. Glory to thee, O Lord; Glory to thee, O holy One; Glory to thee, O
King; as thou hast given us Meat for our Bodies, so replenish our Souls
with Joy and Gladness in thy holy Spirit, that we may be found
acceptable in thy Sight, and may not be made asham'd, when thou shalt
render to every one according to his Works_.
Boy. _Amen_.
_Ti. _ In Truth, it is a pious and elegant Hymn.
_Eu. _ Of St. _Chrysostom_'s Translation too.
_Ti. _ Where is it to be found?
_Eu. _ In his 56th Homily on St. _Matthew_.
_Ti. _ I'll be sure to read it to Day: But I have a Mind to be informed
of one Thing, why we thrice wish Glory to Christ under these three
Denominations, of _Lord, Holy, and King_.
_Eu. _ Because all Honour is due to him, and especially in these three
Respects. We call him Lord, because he hath redeem'd us by his holy
Blood from the Tyranny of the Devil, and hath taken us to himself.
Secondly, We stile him Holy, because he being the Sanctifier of all Men,
not being content alone to have freely pardoned us all our Sins _gratis_
by his holy Spirit, hath bestow'd upon us his Righteousness, that we
might follow Holiness. Lastly, We call him King, because we hope for the
Reward of a heavenly Kingdom, from him who sits at the Right-Hand of God
the Father. And all this Felicity we owe to his gratuitous Bounty, that
we have _Jesus Christ_ for our Lord, rather than the Devil to be a
Tyrant over us; that we have Innocence and Sanctity, instead of the
Filth and Uncleanness of our Sins; and instead of the Torments of Hell,
the Joys of Life everlasting.
_Ti. _ Indeed it is a very pious Sentence.
_Eu. _ This is your first Visit, Gentlemen, and I must not dismiss you
without Presents; but plain ones, such as your Entertainment has been.
Boy, bring out the Presents: It is all one to me, whether you will draw
Lots, or every one chuse for himself, they are all of a Price; that is
to say, of no Value. You will not find _Heliogabatus_'s Lottery, a
hundred Horses for one, and as many Flies for another. Here are four
little Books, two Dials, a Lamp, and a Pen-Case: These I suppose will be
more agreeable to you than Balsams, Dentrifices, or Looking-Glasses.
_Ti. _ They are all so good, that it is a hard Matter to chuse; but do
you distribute them according to your own Mind, and they'll come the
welcomer where they fall.
_Eu. _ This little Book contains _Solomon_'s Proverbs in Parchment, it
teaches Wisdom, and it is gilded, because Gold is a Symbol of Wisdom.
This shall be given to our grey-headed _Timothy_; that according to the
Doctrine of the Gospel, to him that has Wisdom, Wisdom shall be given
and abound.
_Ti. _ I will be sure to make it my Study, to stand in less Need of it.
_Eu. Sophronius_, this Dial will suit you very well, whom I know to be
so good a Husband of your Time, that you won't let a Moment of that
precious Thing be lost. It came out of the furthest Part of _Dalmatia_,
and that's all the Commendation I shall give it.
_Sophr. _ You indeed admonish a Sluggard to be diligent.
_Eu. _ You have in this little Book the Gospel written on Vellum; it
deserv'd to be set with Diamonds, except that the Heart of a Man were a
fitter Repository for it. Lay it up there, _Theophilus_, that you may be
more and more like to your Name.
_The. _ I will do my Endeavour, that you may not think your Present ill
bestow'd.
_Eu. _ There are St. _Paul_'s Epistles; your constant Companions,
_Eulalius_, are in this Book; you use to have _Paul_ constantly in your
Mouth, and he would not be there, if he were not in your Heart too: And
now for the Time to come, you may more conveniently have him in your
Hand, and in your Eye. This is a Gift with good Counsel into the
Bargain. And there is no Present more precious than good Counsel.
_Eu. _ This Lamp is very fit for _Chrysoglottus_, who is an insatiable
Reader; and as M. _Tully_ says, a Glutton of Books.
_Ch. _ I give you double Thanks; first, for so choice a Present, and in
the next Place, for admonishing a drowsy Person of Vigilance.
_Eu. Theodidactus_ must have this Pen-Case, who writes much, and to
excellent Purposes; and I dare pronounce these Pens to be happy, by
which the Honour of our Lord _Jesus Christ_ shall be celebrated, and
that by such an Artist.
must not neglect their Companions.
_Ti. _ Who are those?
_Eu. _ Our Bodies; are not they the Soul's Companions? I had rather call
them so, than Instruments, Habitations or Sepulchres.
_Ti. _ This is certainly to be plentifully refresh'd when the whole Man
is refresh'd.
_Eu. _ I see you are very backward to help yourselves; therefore, if you
please, I'll order the Roast-Meat to be brought us, lest instead of a
good Entertainment I should treat you with a long one. Now you see your
Ordinary. Here is a Shoulder of Mutton, but it is a very fine one, a
Capon and two Brace of Partridges. These indeed I had from the Market,
this little Farm supply'd me with the rest.
_Ti. _ It is a noble Dinner, fit for a Prince.
_Eu. _ For a _Carmelite_, you mean. But such as it is you are welcome to
it. If the Provision be not very dainty you have it very freely.
_Ti. _ Your House is so full of Talk, that not only the Walls but the
very Cup speaks.
_Eu. _ What does it say?
_Ti. No Man is hurt but by himself. _
_Eu. _ The Cup pleads for the Cause of the Wine. For it is a common
Thing, if Persons get a Fever or the Head-ach by over drinking, to lay
it upon the Wine, when they have brought it upon themselves by their
Excess.
_Soph. _ Mine speaks _Greek_. [Greek: En oinô alêtheia. ] _In Wine there's
Truth_ (when Wine is in the Wit is out. )
_Eu. _ This gives us to understand that it is not safe for Priests or
Privy-Counsellors to give themselves so to Wine, because Wine commonly
brings that to the Mouth that lay conceal'd in the Heart.
_Soph. _ In old Time among the _Egyptians_ it was unlawful for their
Priests to drink any Wine at all, and yet in those Days there was no
auricular Confession.
_Eu. _ It is now become lawful for all Persons to drink Wine, but how
expedient it is I know not. What Book is that, _Eulalius_, you take out
of your Pocket? It seems to be a very neat one, it is all over gilded.
_Eulal. _ It is more valuable for the Inside than the Out. It is St.
_Paul's_ Epistles, that I always carry about me, as my beloved
Entertainment, which I take out now upon the Occasion of something you
said, which minds me of a Place that I have beat my Brains about a long
Time, and I am not come to a full Satisfaction in yet. It is in the 6th
Chapter of the first Epistle to the _Corinthians_, _All Things are
lawful for me, but all Things are not expedient; all Things are lawful
for me, but I will not be brought under the Power of any_. In the first
Place (if we will believe the Stoicks) nothing can be profitable to us,
that is not honest: How comes _Paul_ then to distinguish betwixt that
which is lawful, and that which is expedient? It is not lawful to whore,
or get drunk, how then are all Things lawful? But if _Paul_ speaks of
some particular Things only, which he would have to be lawful, I can't
guess by the Tenor of the Place, which those particular Things are.
From that which follows, it may be gather'd, that he there speaks of the
Choice of Meats. For some abstain from Things offer'd to Idols, and
others from Meats forbidden by _Moses_'s Law. In the 8th Chapter he
treats of Things offer'd to Idols, and in the 10th Chapter explaining
the Meaning of this Place, says, _All Things are lawful for me, but all
Things are not expedient; all Things are lawful for me, but all Things
edify not. Let no Man seek his own, but every Man the Things of another.
Whatsoever is sold in the Shambles, eat ye_. And that which St. _Paul_
subjoins, agrees with what he said before: _Meats for the Belly, and the
Belly for Meats; but God shall destroy both it and them_. Now that which
has Respect to the _Judaical_ Choice of Meats, is in the Close of the
10th Chapter. _Give none Offence, neither to the Jews nor the Gentiles,
nor to the Church of God; even as I please all Men in all Things, not
seeking my own Profit, but the Profit of many, that they may be sav'd_.
Where in that he saith to the _Gentiles_, he seems to have Respect to
Things offer'd to Idols; and where he speaketh to the _Jews_ he seems to
refer to the Choice of Meats; what he says to the Church of God
appertains to the Weak, collected out of both Sorts. It was lawful, it
seems, to eat of all Meats whatsoever, and all Things that are Clean to
the Clean. But the Question remaining is, Whether it be expedient or no?
The Liberty of the Gospel makes all Things lawful; but Charity has
always a Regard to my Neighbour's Good, and therefore often abstains
from Things lawful, rather chasing to condescend to what is for
another's Advantage, than to make Use of its own Liberty. But now here
arises a double Difficulty; first, that here is nothing that either
precedes or follows in the Context that agrees with this Sense. For he
chides the _Corinthians_ for being Seditious, Fornicators, Adulterers,
and given to go to Law before wicked Judges. Now what Coherence is there
with this to say, _All Things are lawful for me, but all Things are not
expedient_? And in the following Matter, he returns to the Case of
_Incontinence_, which he had also repeated before, only leaving out the
Charge of Contention: _But the Body_, says he, _is not for Fornication,
but for the Lord, and the Lord for the Body. _ But however, this Scruple
may be solv'd too, because a little before, in the Catalogue of Sins, he
had made Mention of Idolatry. _Be not deceived, neither Fornicators, nor
Idolaters, nor Adulterers_; now the Eating of Things offer'd to Idols is
a certain Kind of Idolatry, and therefore he immediately subjoins, _Meat
is for the Belly, and the Belly for Meat_. Intimating, that in a Case of
Necessity, and for a Season, a Man may eat any Thing, unless Charity
towards his Neighbour shall dissuade it: But that Uncleanness is in all
Persons, and at all Times to be detested. It is Matter of Necessity that
we eat, but that Necessity shall be taken away at the Resurrection of
the Dead. But if we are lustful, that proceeds from Wickedness. But
there is another Scruple that I can't tell how to solve, or how to
reconcile to that Passage: _But I will not be brought under the Power of
any_. For he says, he has the Power of all Things, and yet he will not
be brought under the Power of any one. If he may be said to be under
another Man's Power, that abstains for Fear of offending, it is what he
speaks of himself in the ninth Chapter, _For though I be free from all
Men, yet have made myself Servant to all, that I may gain all. _ St.
_Ambrose_ stumbling, I suppose, at this Scruple, takes this to be the
Apostle's genuine Sense for the better Understanding of what he says in
the 9th Chapter, where he claims to himself the Power of doing that
which the rest of the Apostles (either true or false) did, of receiving
a Maintenance from them to whom he preach'd the Gospel. But he forbore
this, although he might have done it, as a Thing expedient among the
_Corinthians_, whom he reprov'd for so many and enormous Iniquities. And
moreover, he that receives, is in some Degree in the Power of him from
whom he receives, and suffers some Kind of Abatement in his Authority.
For he that takes, cannot so freely reprove his Benefactor; and he that
gives will not so easily take a Reprehension from him that he has
obliged. And in this did the Apostle _Paul_ abstain from that which was
lawful, for the Credit of his apostolical Liberty, which in this Case he
would not have to be rendered obnoxious to any one, that he might with
the greater Freedom and Authority reprehend their Vices. Indeed, I like
this Explication of St. _Ambrose_ very well. But yet, if any Body had
rather apply this Passage to Meats, St. _Paul_'s, Saying, _but I will
not be brought under the Power of any_, may be taken in this Sense:
Although I may sometimes abstain from Meats offered to Idols, or
forbidden by the _Mosaical_ Law, out of Regard to the Salvation of my
Brothers Souls, and the Furtherance of the Gospel; yet my Mind is free,
well knowing that it is lawful to eat all Manner of Meats, according to
the Necessity of the Body. But there were some false Apostles, who went
about to persuade them, that some Meats, were in themselves, by their
own Nature unclean, and were to be forborn, not upon Occasion only, but
at all Times; and that as strict as Adultery or Murder. Now those that
were thus misled, were reduced under another's Power, and fell from
their Gospel Liberty. _Theophylact_ (as I remember) is the only Man that
advances an Opinion different from all these. _It is lawful_, says he,
_to eat all Sorts of Meats; but it is not expedient to eat to Excess;
for from Luxury comes Lust. _ There is no Impiety, indeed, in this Sense;
but it does not seem to me to be the genuine Sense of the Place. I have
acquainted you with my Scruples, it will become your Charity to set me
to Rights.
_Eu. _ Your Discourse is, indeed, answerable to your Name, and one that
knows how to propound Questions as you do, has no Need of any Body to
answer them but himself. For you have so proposed your Doubts, as to put
one quite out of doubt, altho' St. _Paul_, in that Epistle, (proposing
to handle many Things at once) passes often from one Argument to
another, repeating what he had intermitted.
_Ch. _ If I were not afraid, that by my Loquacity I should divert you
from eating your Dinners, and did think it were lawful to intermix any
Thing out of profane Authors with sacred Discourses, I would venture to
propose something that I read to Day; not so much with Perplexity, as
with a singular Delight.
_Eu. _ Whatsoever is pious, and conduces to good Manners, ought not to be
called profane. The first Place must indeed be given to the Authority of
the Scriptures; but nevertheless, I sometimes find some Things said or
written by the Antients; nay, even by the Heathens; nay, by the Poets
themselves, so chastly, so holily, and so divinely, that I cannot
persuade myself, but that when they wrote them, they were divinely
inspired; and perhaps the Spirit of Christ diffuses itself farther than
we imagine; and that there are more Saints than we have in our
Catalogue. To confess freely among Friends, I can't read _Tully_ of _Old
Age_, of _Friendship_, his _Offices_, or his _Tusculan Questions_,
without kissing the Book, and Veneration for that divine Soul. And on
the contrary, when I read some of our modern Authors, treating of
_Politics, Oeconomics_ and _Ethics_, good God! how cold they are in
Comparison of these? Nay, how do they seem to be insensible of what they
write themselves? So that I had rather lose _Scotus_ and twenty more
such as he, than one _Cicero_ or _Plutarch_. Not that I am wholly
against them neither; but because, by the reading of the one, I find
myself become better; whereas, I rise from the other, I know not how
coldly affected to Virtue, but most violently inclin'd to Cavil and
Contention; therefore never fear to propose it, whatsoever it is.
_Ch. _ Although all _Tully_'s Books of Philosophy seem to breathe out
something divine; yet that Treatise of _Old Age_, that he wrote in old
Age, seems to me to be according to the _Greek_ Proverb; _the Song of
the dying Swan_. I was reading it to Day, and these Words pleasing me
above the rest, I got 'em by Heart: _Should it please God to give me a
Grant to begin my Life again from my very Cradle, and once more to run
over the Course of my Years I have lived, I would not upon any Terms
accept of it: Nor would I, having in a Manner finished my Race, run it
over again from the starting Place to the Goal: For what Pleasure has
this Life in it? nay, rather, what Pain has it not? But if there were
not, there would be undoubtedly in it Satiety or Trouble. I am not for
bewailing my past Life as a great many, and learned Men too, have done,
nor do I repent that I have liv'd; because, I have liv'd so, that I am
satisfy'd I have not liv'd in vain. And when I leave this Life, I leave
it as an Inn, and not as a Place of Abode. For Nature has given us our
Bodies as an Inn to lodge in, and not to dwell in. O! glorious Day will
that be, when I shall leave this Rabble-rout and Defilements of the
World behind me, to go to that Society and World of Spirits! _ Thus far
out of _Cato_. What could be spoken more divinely by a Christian? I wish
all the Discourses of our Monks, even with their holy Virgins, were such
as the Dialogue of this aged Pagan, with the Pagan Youths of his Time.
_Eu. _ It may be objected, that this Colloquy of _Tully_'s was but a
Fiction.
_Ch. _ It is all one to me, whether the Honour of these Expressions be
given to _Cato_, who thought and spoke them, or to _Cicero_, whose Mind
could form such divine Things in Contemplation, and whose Pen could
represent such excellent Matter in Words so answerable to it; though
indeed I am apt to think that _Cato_, if he did not speak these very
Words, yet that in his familiar Conversation he us'd Words of the very
same Import. For indeed, _M. Tully_ was not a Man of that Impudence, to
draw _Cato_ otherwise than he was. Beside, that such an Unlikeness in a
Dialogue would have been a great Indecorum, which is the thing chiefly
to be avoided in this Sort of Discourse; and especially, at a Time when
his Character was fresh in the Memories of all Men.
_Th. _ That which you say is very likely: But I'll tell you what came
into my Mind upon your Recital. I have often admired with myself, that
considering that all Men wish for long Life, and are afraid of Death;
that yet, I have scarce found any Man so happy, (I don't speak of old,
but of middle-aged Men); but that if the Question were put to him,
whether or no, if it should be granted him to grow young again, and run
over the same good and ill Fortune that he had before, he would not make
the same Answer that _Cato_ did; especially passing a true Reflection
upon the Mixture of Good and Ill of his past Life. For the Remembrance
even of the pleasantest Part of it is commonly attended with Shame, and
Sting of Conscience, insomuch that the Memory of past Delights is more
painful to us, than that of past Misfortunes. Therefore it was wisely
done of the ancient Poets in the Fable of _Lethe_, to represent the Dead
drinking largely of the Waters of Forgetfulness, before their Souls were
affected with any Desire of the Bodies they had left behind them.
_Ur. _ It is a Thing well worthy of our Admiration, and what I myself
have observ'd in some Persons. But that in _Cato_ that pleases me the
most is his Declaration. _Neither am I sorry that I have liv'd. _ Where
is the _Christian_, that has so led his Life, as to be able to say as
much as this old Man? It is a common Thing for Men, who have scrap'd
great Estates together by Hook or by Crook, when they are upon their
Death Beds, and about to leave them, then to think they have not liv'd
in vain. But _Cato_ therefore thought, that he had not liv'd in vain,
upon the Conscience of his having discharg'd all the Parts of an honest
and useful Citizen, and an uncorrupted Magistrate; and that he should
leave to Posterity, Monuments of his Virtue and Industry. And what could
be spoken more divinely than this, _I depart as from an Inn, and not an
Habitation_. So long we may stay in an Inn till the Host bids us be
gone, but a Man will not easily be forc'd from his own House. And yet
from hence the Fall of the House, or Fire, or some Accident drives us.
Or if nothing of these happen, the Structure falls to Pieces with old
Age, thereby admonishing us that we must change our Quarters.
_Neph. _ That Expression of _Socrates_ in _Plato_ is not less elegant:
_Methinks_, says he, _the Soul of a Man is in the Body as in a
Garrison, there is no quitting of it without the Leave of the Generals,
nor no staying any longer in it, than during the Pleasure of him that
plac'd him there. _ This Allusion of _Plato'_s, of a Garrison instead of
a House, is the more significant of the two. For in a House is only
imply'd Abode, in a Garrison we are appointed to some Duty by our
Governor. And much to the same Purpose is it, that in Holy Writ the Life
of Man is sometimes call'd a Warfare, and at other times a Race.
_Ur. _ But _Cato_'s Speech, methinks, seems to agree very well with that
of St. _Paul_, who writing to the _Corinthians_, calls that heavenly
Mansion, which we look for after this Life in one Place [Greek: oikian]
a House, in another [Greek: oikêtêrion] a Mansion, and moreover (besides
that) he calls the Body [Greek: skênos] a Tabernacle. For _we also_,
(says he) _who are in this Tabernacle, groan, being burthened. _
_Neph. _ Much after this Manner says St. _Peter; And I think it meet_
(says he) _as long as I am in this Tabernacle, to stir you up by putting
you in Mind, being assured that I shall shortly put off this
Tabernacle. _ And what else does _Christ_ himself say to us, but that we
should live and watch, as if we were presently to die: And so apply
ourselves to honest Things, as if we were to live for ever? And when we
hear these excellent Words of _Cato, O that glorious Day_, do we not
seem to hear St. _Paul_ himself saying, _I desire to be dissolved, and
to be with Christ_?
_Ch. _ How happy are they that wait for Death with such a Frame of Mind?
But as for _Cato_'s Speech, altho' it be an excellent one, methinks
there is more Boldness and Arrogance in it, than becomes a Christian.
Indeed, I never read anything in a Heathen, that comes nearer to a
Christian, than what _Socrates_ said to _Crito_, a little before he
drank his Poison; _Whether I shall be approv'd or not in the Sight of
God, I cannot tell; but this I am certain of, that I have most
affectionately endeavoured to please him; and I have a good Hope, that
he will accept of my Endeavours. _ This great Man was diffident of his
own Performances; but so, that being conscious to himself of the
Propensity of his Inclination to obey the divine Will, he conceived a
good Hope, that God, of his Goodness, would accept him for the Honesty
of his Intentions.
_Neph. _ Indeed, it was a wonderful Elevation of Mind in a Man, that knew
not Christ, nor the holy Scriptures: And therefore, I can scarce
forbear, when I read such Things of such Men, but cry out, _Sancte
Socrates, ora pro nobis; Saint_ Socrates, _pray for us. _
_Ch. _ And I have much ado sometimes to keep myself from entertaining
good Hopes of the Souls of _Virgil_ and _Horace. _
_Neph. _ But how unwillingly have I seen many Christians die? Some put
their Trust in Things not to be confided in; others breathe out their
Souls in Desperation, either out of a Consciousness of their lewd Lives,
or by Reason of Scruples that have been injected into their Minds, even
in their dying Hours, by some indiscreet Men.
_Ch. _ It is no wonder to find them die so, who have spent their Time in
philosophizing about Ceremonies all their Lives.
_Neph. _ What do you mean by Ceremonies?
_Ch. _ I'll tell you, but with Protestation over and over beforehand,
that I don't find Fault with the Sacraments and Rites of the Church, but
rather highly approve of them; but I blame a wicked and superstitious
Sort of People, or (to put it in the softest Term) the simple and
unlearned Persons, who teach People to put their Confidence in these
Things, omitting those Things which make them truly Christians.
_Neph. _ I don't yet clearly understand what it is you aim at.
_Ch. _ I'll be plainer then. If you look into Christians in common, don't
you find they live as if the whole Sum of Religion consisted in
Ceremonies? With how much Pomp are the antient Rites of the Church set
forth in Baptism? The Infant waits without the Church Door, the Exorcism
is performed, the Catechizing is performed, Vows are made, Satan is
abjured, with all his Pomps and Pleasures; then the Child is anointed,
sign'd, season'd with Salt, dipt, a Charge given to his Sureties to see
it well brought up; and the Oblation-Money being paid, they are
discharged, and by this Time the Child passes for a Christian, and in
some Sense is so. A little Time after, it is anointed again, and in Time
learns to confess, receives the Sacrament, is accustom'd to rest upon
Holy-Days, to hear Divine Service, to fast sometimes, to abstain from
Flesh; and if he observes all these, he passes for an absolute
Christian. He marries a Wife, and then comes on another Sacrament; he
enters into Holy Orders, is anointed again, and consecrated, his Habit
is chang'd, and then to Prayers. Now I approve of the doing of all this
well enough; but the doing of them more out of Custom than Conscience, I
don't approve; but to think that nothing else is requisite for the
making a Christian, I absolutely disapprove: For the greatest Part of
Men in the World trust to these Things, and think they have nothing else
to do, but get Wealth by Right or Wrong, to gratify their Passions of
Rage, Lust, Malice, Ambition: And this they do till they come upon their
Death Bed; and then there follows more Ceremonies; Confession upon
Confession, more Unction still, the Eucharist is administred; Tapers,
the Cross, holy Water are brought in; Indulgencies are procured, if they
are to be had for Love or Money; Orders are given for a magnificent
Funeral; and then comes on another solemn Contract: When the Man is in
the Agony of Death, there's one stands by bawling in his Ear, and now
and then dispatches him before his Time, if he chance to be a little in
Drink, or have better Lungs than ordinary. Now although these Things may
be well enough, as they are done in Conformity to ecclesiastical
Customs; yet there are some more internal Impressions, which have an
Efficacy to fortify us against the Assaults of Death, by filling our
Hearts with Joy, and helping us to go out of the World with a Christian
Assurance.
_Eu. _ You speak very piously and truly; but in the mean Time here is no
Body eats; I told you before, that you must expect nothing after the
second Course, and that a Country one too, lest any Body should look for
Pheasants, Moorhens, and fine Kickshaws. Here, Boy! take away these
Things, and bring up the rest. You see, not the Affluence, but the
Straitness of my Fortune. This is the Product of my Gardens you have
seen; don't spare, if you like any Thing.
_Ti. _ There's so great a Variety, it does a Man good to look upon it.
_Eu. _ That you mayn't altogether despise my Thriftiness, this Dish would
have chear'd up the Heart of old _Hilarion_, the evangelical Monk, with
a hundred more of his Fellows, the Monks of that Age. But _Paul_ and
_Anthony_ would have lived a Month upon it.
_Ti. _ Yes, and Prince _Peter_ too, I fancy would have leap'd at it, when
he lodg'd at _Simon_ the Tanner's.
_Eu. _ Yes; and _Paul_ too, I believe, when by Reason of Poverty he sat
up a-Nights to make Tents.
_Ti.
_ How much do we owe to the Goodness of God! But yet, I had rather
suffer Hunger with _Peter_ and _Paul_, upon Condition, that what I
wanted for my Body, might be made up by the Satisfaction of my Mind.
_Eu. _ Let us learn of St. _Paul_, both how to abound, and how to suffer
Want. When we want, let us praise God, that he has afforded us Matter to
exercise our Frugality and Patience upon: When we abound, let us be
thankful for his Munificence, who by his Liberality, invites and
provokes us to love him; and using those Things the divine Bounty has
plentifully bestowed upon us, with Moderation and Temperance; let us be
mindful of the Poor, whom God has been pleas'd to suffer to want what he
has made abound to us, that neither Side may want an Occasion of
exercising Virtue: For he bestows upon us sufficient for the Relief of
our Brother's Necessity, that we may obtain his Mercy, and that the Poor
on the other Hand, being refresh'd by our Liberality, may give him
Thanks for putting it into our Hearts, and recommend us to him in their
Prayers; and, very well remember'd! Come hither, Boy; bid my Wife send
_Gudula_ some of the roast Meat that's left, 'tis a very good poor Woman
in the Neighbourhood big with Child, her Husband is lately dead, a
profuse, lazy Fellow, that has left nothing but a Stock of Children.
_Ti. _ Christ has commanded _to give to every one that asks_; but if I
should do so, I should go a begging myself in a Month's Time.
_Eu. _ I suppose Christ means only such as ask for Necessaries: For to
them who ask, nay, who importune, or rather extort great Sums from
People to furnish voluptuous Entertainments, or, which is worse, to feed
Luxury and Lust, it is Charity to deny; nay, it is a Kind of Rapine to
bestow that which we owe to the present Necessity of our Neighbours,
upon those that will abuse it; upon this Consideration it is, that it
seems to me, that they can scarcely be excus'd from being guilty of a
mortal Sin, who at a prodigious Expence, either build or beautify
Monasteries or Churches, when in the mean Time so many living Temples of
Christ are ready to starve for Want of Food and Clothing, and are sadly
afflicted with the Want of other Necessaries. When I was in _England_, I
saw St. _Thomas_'s, Tomb all over bedeck'd with a vast Number of Jewels
of an immense Price, besides other rich Furniture, even to Admiration; I
had rather that these Superfluities should be apply'd to charitable
Uses, than to be reserv'd for Princes, that shall one Time or other make
a Booty of them. The holy Man, I am confident, would have been better
pleas'd, to have his Tomb adorn'd with Leaves and Flowers. When I was in
_Lombardy_, I saw a Cloyster of the _Carthusians_, not far from _Pavia_;
the Chapel is built from Top to Bottom, within and without, of white
Marble, and almost all that is in it, as Altars, Pillars, and Tombs, are
all Marble. To what Purpose was it to be at such a vast Expence upon a
Marble Temple, for a few solitary Monks to sing in? And 'tis more
Burthen to them than Use too, for they are perpetually troubled with
Strangers, that come thither, only out of mere Curiosity, to see the
Marble Temple. And that, which is yet more ridiculous, I was told there,
that there is an Endowment of three thousand Ducats a Year for keeping
the Monastery in Repair. And there are some that think that it is
Sacrilege, to convert a Penny of that Money to any other pious Uses,
contrary to the Intention of the Testator; they had rather pull down,
that they may rebuild, than not go on with building. I thought meet to
mention these, being something more remarkable than ordinary; tho' we
have a World of Instances of this Kind up and down in our Churches.
This, in my Opinion, is rather Ambition than Charity. Rich Men
now-a-Days will have their Monuments in Churches, whereas in Times past
they could hardly get Room for the Saints there: They must have their
Images there, and their Pictures, forsooth, with their Names at length,
their Titles, and the Inscription of their Donation; and this takes up a
considerable Part of the Church; and I believe in Time they'll be for
having their Corpse laid even in the very Altars themselves. But
perhaps, some will say, would you have their Munificence be discourag'd?
I say no, by no Means, provided what they offer to the Temple of God be
worthy of it. But if I were a Priest or a Bishop, I would put it into
the Heads of those thick-scull'd Courtiers or Merchants, that if they
would atone for their Sins to Almighty God, they should privately bestow
their Liberality upon the Relief of the Poor. But they reckon all as
lost, that goes out so by Piece-meal, and is privily distributed toward
the Succour of the Needy, that the next Age shall have no Memorial of
the Bounty. But I think no Money can be better bestow'd, than that which
Christ himself would have put to his Account, and makes himself Debtor
for.
_Ti. _ Don't you take that Bounty to be well plac'd that is bestow'd upon
Monasteries?
_Eu. _ Yes, and I would be a Benefactor myself, if I had an Estate that
would allow it; but it should be such a Provision for Necessaries, as
should not reach to Luxury. And I would give something too, wheresoever
I found a religious Man that wanted it.
_Ti. _ Many are of Opinion, that what is given to common Beggars, is not
well bestowed.
_Eu. _ I would do something that Way too; but with Discretion: But in my
Opinion, it were better if every City were to maintain their own Poor;
and Vagabonds and sturdy Beggars were not suffer'd to strole about, who
want Work more than Money.
_Ti. _ To whom then would you in an especial Manner give? How much? And
to what Purposes?
_Eu. _ It is a hard Matter for me to answer to all these Points exactly:
First of all, there should be an Inclination to be helpful to all, and
after that, the Proportion must be according to my Ability, as
Opportunity should offer; and especially to those whom I know to be poor
and honest; and when my own Purse fail'd me, I would exhort others to
Charity.
_Ti. _ But will you give us Leave now to discourse freely in your
Dominions?
_Eu. _ As freely as if you were at Home at your own Houses.
_Ti. _ You don't love vast Expences upon Churches, you say, and this
House might have been built for less than it was.
_Eu. _ Indeed, I think this House of mine to be within the Compass of
cleanly and convenient, far from Luxury, or I am mistaken. Some that
live by begging, have built with more State; and yet, these Gardens of
Mine, such as they are, pay a Tribute to the Poor; and I daily lessen my
Expence, and am the more frugal in Expence upon myself and Family, that
I may contribute the more plentifully to them.
_Ti. _ If all Men were of your Mind, it would be better than it is with a
good many People who deserve better, that are now in extreme Want; and
on the other Hand, many of those pamper'd Carcases would be brought
down, who deserve to be taught Sobriety and Modesty by Penury.
_Eu. _ It may be so: but shall I mend your mean Entertainment now, with
the best Bit at last?
_Ti. _ We have had more than enough of Delicacies already.
_Eu. _ That which I am now about to give you, let your Bellies be never
so full, won't over-charge your Stomachs.
_Ti. _ What is it?
_Eu. _ The Book of the four Evangelists, that I may treat you with the
best at last. Read, Boy, from the Place where you left off last.
_Boy. No Man can serve two Masters; for either he will hate the one and
love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other:
You cannot serve God and Mammon. Therefore, I say unto you, take no
thought for your Life, what you shall eat, or what you shall drink: Nor
yet for your Body, what you shall put on. Is not the Life more than
Meat, and the Body than Raiment? _
_Eu. _ Give me the Book. In this Place _Jesus Christ_ seems to me, to
have said the same Thing twice: For instead of what he had said in the
first Place, _i. e. _ _he will hate_; he says immediately, _he will
despise_. And for what he had said before, _he will love_, he by and by
turns it, _he will hold to_. The Sense is the same, tho' the Persons are
chang'd.
_Ti. _ I do not very well apprehend what you mean.
_Eu. _ Let me, if you please, demonstrate it mathematically. In the first
Part, put _A_ for the one, and _B_ for the other. In the latter Part,
put _B_ for one, and _A_ for the other, inverting the Order; for either
_A_ will hate, and _B_ will love, or _B_ will hold to, and _A_ will
despise. Is it not plain now, that _A_ is twice hated, and _B_ twice
beloved?
_Ti. _ 'Tis very clear.
_Eu. _ This Conjunction, _or_, especially repeated, has the Emphasis of a
contrary, or at least, a different Meaning. Would it not be otherwise
absurd to say, _Either_ Peter _shall overcome me, and I'll yield; or
I'll yield, and_ Peter _shall overcome me? _
_Ti. _ A pretty Sophism, as I'm an honest Man.
_Eu. _ I shall think it so when you have made it out, not before.
_The. _ I have something runs in my Mind, and I'm with Child to have it
out: I can't tell what to make on't, but let it be what it will, you
shall have it if you please; if it be a Dream, you shall be the
Interpreters, or midwife it into the World.
_Eu. _ Although it is looked upon to be unlucky to talk of Dreams at
Table, and it is immodest to bring forth before so many Men; but this
Dream, or this Conception of thy Mind, be it what it will, let us have
it.
_The. _ In my Judgment it is rather the Thing than the Person that is
chang'd in this Text. And the Words _one_ and _one_ do not refer to _A_
and _B_; but either Part of them, to which of the other you please; so
that chuse which you will, it must be opposed to that, which is
signified by the other; as if you should say, you _shall either exclude_
A _and admit_ B, _or you shall admit_ A _and exclude_ B. Here's the
Thing chang'd, and the Person the same: And it is so spoken of _A_, that
it is the same Case, if you should say the same Thing of _B_; as thus,
either you shall exclude _B_ or admit _A_, or admit _B_ or exclude _A_.
_Eu. _ In Truth, you have very artificially solv'd this Problem: No
Mathematician could have demonstrated it better upon a Slate.
_Soph. _ That which is the greatest Difficulty to me is this; that we are
forbidden to take Thought for to Morrow; when yet, _Paul_ himself
wrought with his own Hands for Bread, and sharply rebukes lazy People,
and those that live upon other Men's Labour, exhorting them to take
Pains, and get their Living by their Fingers Ends, that they may have
wherewith to relieve others in their Necessities. Are not they holy and
warrantable Labours, by which a poor Husband provides for his dear Wife
and Children?
_Ti. _ This is a Question, which, in my Opinion, may be resolv'd several
Ways. First of all, This Text had a particular Respect to those Times.
The Apostles being dispers'd far and wide for the Preaching of the
Gospel, all sollicitous Care for a Maintenance was to be thrown aside,
it being to be supply'd otherwise, having not Leisure to get their
Living by their Labour; and especially, they having no Way of getting
it, but by Fishing. But now the World is come to another Pass, and we
all love to live at Ease, and shun Painstaking. Another Way of
expounding it may be this; Christ had not forbid Industry, but Anxiety
of Thought, and this Anxiety of Thought is to be understood according to
the Temper of Men in common, who are anxious for nothing more than
getting a Livelihood; that setting all other Things aside, this is the
only Thing they mind. And our Saviour does in a Manner intimate the same
himself, when he says, that one Man cannot serve two Masters. For he
that wholly gives himself up to any Thing, is a Servant to it. Now he
would have the Propagation of the Gospel be our chief, but yet, not our
only Care. For he says, _Seek ye first the Kingdom of Heaven, and these
Things shall be added unto you_. He does not say, seek only; but seek
first. And besides, I take the Word to Morrow, to be hyperbolical, and
in that, signifies a Time to come, a great While hence, it being the
Custom of the Misers of this World, to be anxiously scraping together,
and laying up for Posterity.
_Eu. _ We allow of your Interpretation; but what does he mean, when he
says, _Be not sollicitous for your Life, what you shall eat_? The Body
is cloth'd, but the Soul does not eat.
_Ti. _ By _Anima_, is meant Life, which can't subsist without Meat (or is
in Danger, if you take away its Food): But it is not so, if you take
away the Garment, which is more for Modesty than Necessity. If a Person
is forc'd to go naked, he does not die presently; but Want of Food is
certain Death.
_Eu. _ I do not well understand how this Sentence agrees with that which
follows; _Is not the Life more than Meat, and the Body than Raiment_?
For if Life be so precious, we ought to take the more Care of it.
_Ti. _ This Argument does rather increase our Sollicitousness than lessen
it.
_Eu. _ But this is none of our Saviour's Meaning; who, by this Argument,
creates in us a stronger Confidence in the Father: For if a bountiful
Father hath given us _gratis_ that which is the more valuable, he will
also bestow upon us what is less valuable: He that has given us Life,
will not deny us Food: And he that has given us Bodies, will by some
Means or other give us Cloaths too: Therefore, relying upon his Bounty,
we have no Reason to disquiet ourselves with Anxiety of Thought, for
Things of smaller Moment. What remains then, but using this World, as
though we used it not, we transfer our whole Study and Application to
the Love of heavenly Things, and rejecting the World and the Devil
universally, with all his crafty Delusions, we chearfully serve God
alone, who will never forsake his Children? But all this While, here's
no Body touches the Fruits. Certainly you may eat this with Joy, for
this is the Product of my own Farm, and did not cost much Care to
provide it.
_Ti. _ We have very plentifully satisfied our Bodies.
_Eu. _ I should be glad if you had satisfied your Minds too.
_Ti. _ Our Minds have been satisfy'd more plentifully than our Bodies.
_Eu. _ Boy, take away, and bring some Water; now, my Friends, let us
wash, that if we have in eating contracted any Guilt, being cleansed, we
may conclude with a Hymn: If you please, I'll conclude with what I begun
out of St. _Chrysostom_.
_Ti. _ We entreat you that you would do it.
_Eu. Glory to thee, O Lord; Glory to thee, O holy One; Glory to thee, O
King; as thou hast given us Meat for our Bodies, so replenish our Souls
with Joy and Gladness in thy holy Spirit, that we may be found
acceptable in thy Sight, and may not be made asham'd, when thou shalt
render to every one according to his Works_.
Boy. _Amen_.
_Ti. _ In Truth, it is a pious and elegant Hymn.
_Eu. _ Of St. _Chrysostom_'s Translation too.
_Ti. _ Where is it to be found?
_Eu. _ In his 56th Homily on St. _Matthew_.
_Ti. _ I'll be sure to read it to Day: But I have a Mind to be informed
of one Thing, why we thrice wish Glory to Christ under these three
Denominations, of _Lord, Holy, and King_.
_Eu. _ Because all Honour is due to him, and especially in these three
Respects. We call him Lord, because he hath redeem'd us by his holy
Blood from the Tyranny of the Devil, and hath taken us to himself.
Secondly, We stile him Holy, because he being the Sanctifier of all Men,
not being content alone to have freely pardoned us all our Sins _gratis_
by his holy Spirit, hath bestow'd upon us his Righteousness, that we
might follow Holiness. Lastly, We call him King, because we hope for the
Reward of a heavenly Kingdom, from him who sits at the Right-Hand of God
the Father. And all this Felicity we owe to his gratuitous Bounty, that
we have _Jesus Christ_ for our Lord, rather than the Devil to be a
Tyrant over us; that we have Innocence and Sanctity, instead of the
Filth and Uncleanness of our Sins; and instead of the Torments of Hell,
the Joys of Life everlasting.
_Ti. _ Indeed it is a very pious Sentence.
_Eu. _ This is your first Visit, Gentlemen, and I must not dismiss you
without Presents; but plain ones, such as your Entertainment has been.
Boy, bring out the Presents: It is all one to me, whether you will draw
Lots, or every one chuse for himself, they are all of a Price; that is
to say, of no Value. You will not find _Heliogabatus_'s Lottery, a
hundred Horses for one, and as many Flies for another. Here are four
little Books, two Dials, a Lamp, and a Pen-Case: These I suppose will be
more agreeable to you than Balsams, Dentrifices, or Looking-Glasses.
_Ti. _ They are all so good, that it is a hard Matter to chuse; but do
you distribute them according to your own Mind, and they'll come the
welcomer where they fall.
_Eu. _ This little Book contains _Solomon_'s Proverbs in Parchment, it
teaches Wisdom, and it is gilded, because Gold is a Symbol of Wisdom.
This shall be given to our grey-headed _Timothy_; that according to the
Doctrine of the Gospel, to him that has Wisdom, Wisdom shall be given
and abound.
_Ti. _ I will be sure to make it my Study, to stand in less Need of it.
_Eu. Sophronius_, this Dial will suit you very well, whom I know to be
so good a Husband of your Time, that you won't let a Moment of that
precious Thing be lost. It came out of the furthest Part of _Dalmatia_,
and that's all the Commendation I shall give it.
_Sophr. _ You indeed admonish a Sluggard to be diligent.
_Eu. _ You have in this little Book the Gospel written on Vellum; it
deserv'd to be set with Diamonds, except that the Heart of a Man were a
fitter Repository for it. Lay it up there, _Theophilus_, that you may be
more and more like to your Name.
_The. _ I will do my Endeavour, that you may not think your Present ill
bestow'd.
_Eu. _ There are St. _Paul_'s Epistles; your constant Companions,
_Eulalius_, are in this Book; you use to have _Paul_ constantly in your
Mouth, and he would not be there, if he were not in your Heart too: And
now for the Time to come, you may more conveniently have him in your
Hand, and in your Eye. This is a Gift with good Counsel into the
Bargain. And there is no Present more precious than good Counsel.
_Eu. _ This Lamp is very fit for _Chrysoglottus_, who is an insatiable
Reader; and as M. _Tully_ says, a Glutton of Books.
_Ch. _ I give you double Thanks; first, for so choice a Present, and in
the next Place, for admonishing a drowsy Person of Vigilance.
_Eu. Theodidactus_ must have this Pen-Case, who writes much, and to
excellent Purposes; and I dare pronounce these Pens to be happy, by
which the Honour of our Lord _Jesus Christ_ shall be celebrated, and
that by such an Artist.
