MAke the word of GOD the Rule, and God Himselfe the Paterne of all thy actions; contemplate God and thy selfe; what He is, what Hee requires thee to be, like him in a degree, though not a per­fection; in a perfection of sincerity, though not of degrees. Doe nothing a­gainst thy word, and let [Page 2] thy word be regulated by God's word; doe not ill for company, nor good only for company.

Let thy talke not bee much, and that profitable: bee sparing of oaths and promises, and performe both: shun jests in holy things, and abhorre lyes though in jest: speake to the capacities, but not to the humours of men; so frame thy talke, as one that is going shortly to give an account of his words: de­tract from no man but thy selfe, speak well of all men till thou knowest other­wise, and where thou canst [Page 3] not speake well, be silent: meditate often upon the shortnesse of thy life, and be carefull so to employ it, as that thou doest not make thy account long; measure the length of it as the Scripture doth, by a buble and a shadow, and a flower light & vanishing; but yet to comfort thy self in this present state with the remembrance of the future; that if this life w ^ch thou hast be short, yet that which thou hopest for is eternall.

Affect not to set out thy selfe to the World, nor to thy selfe; speak not thine owne praise, nor greedily [Page 6] heare it from others, nor too easily believe it; spend thy time rather in pressing forward to what thou should'st be, than in idely contemplating or conten­ting thy selfe with what thou art; think meanly of thy selfe, and that thought will both make thee mo­dest (for he that suspects himselfe is not bold) and eager in the pursuit of that goodnesse or knowledge wherein thou supposest thy selfe defective; be rea­dy rather to give, than to take an applause; and if thou art apt to thinke thou deservest well, check it, [Page 7] with thinking how many deserve better.

Let thy thoughts bee such to thy selfe, that if it should be suddenly ask'd, what thou think'st on, thou mightest not blush to tell; stifle sin in the first warmth and quickning, before it shape too far: a twig may bee pluckt up with one hand, which the whole bo­dy cannot wag, when it is a tree; even evill thoughts are evill, and though yet they bee not, yet cherish­ed, will spread into evill actions.

Be not easily provoked, and easily be friends; give [Page 8] no occasion of exceptions thy selfe, and doe not easi­ly take exceptions at o­thers; and bee ready to make satisfaction to those that have just exceptions against thee; it is a greater vertue to forgive one inju­ry, than to doe many cur­tesies; because it is harder: and it is harder, because more against nature; for many a man will doe for another, that wil not suffer for him; therefore it is a greater perfection to bee contented to suffer, than to be willing to doe, unlesse it bee to doe for those of whom we have suffered, [Page 9] for our enemies, which is the highest.

Affect the company of those who are abler than thy selfe, and desire rather to partake of others suffi­ciency, than to publish thine own; in meaner com­pany thou mayest be ad­mired more, but in this thou shalt profit more: it is better to learne wisdome from those that are wise, than to be thought wise by those that are ignorant: be studious rather of being able, than of being so ac­counted; not to pick up thy knowledge, especially thy opinions, from other [Page 10] mens discourse; but with paines and industry rather to search out the know­ledge of truth thy selfe, than lazily to take it up from others.

In Religion examine, but not broach opinions; ever incline to Antiquity, and suspect novelty; in middle things ever submit to the Authority thou livest un­der, and let the Churches opinion be thine.

Measure not equity and right by friends and profit, nor doe wrong, either to get, or to do a curtesie; not upbraid others with the kindnesses thou doest for [Page 11] them, nor forget the kind­nesses which others do for thee: be sparing of recei­ving a curtesie where it is an ingagement, and of do­ing one where it is dis-ho­norable.

Be not wilfull nor wa­vering, not change but up­on good reason, not obsti­nate against reason; not be­lieve every report, not to report every thing thou believest; not grant every thing which thou canst not answer, but suspect rather thine owne insufficiency that cannot defend it, than cry down the matter as not to be defended.

[Page 12]Be sparing of thy commendations, especial­ly of thy selfe; commend no man undeservedly, that is flattery; nor thy selfe, though never so deserving, it is vaine-glory.

Doe not admire or ap­plaud what thou understan­dest not; do not seem to un­derstand where thou doest not; it is better to acknow­ledge thy ignorance, and learne; than falsely to pro­fesse learning, and be still ignorant.

Desire rather to do wel, than to heare well; if thou canst, preserve to thy selfe a good report, but be am­bitious [Page 13] onely of a good conscience; doe not mea­sure thy selfe by other mens reports, nor measure other men by thy selfe; ask thine owne heart, and not their tongues, what thou art.

Labour to reforme thy selfe first, let other mens sins rather be the subject of thy griefe, than of thy discourse; so speake of o­ther mens sins, as that thou detract not from the per­son; and so excuse or miti­gate the slip of any person, as that thou seeme not to countenance the sin.

Doe not thinke thou [Page 14] art good enough, so long as thou art not knowne to be otherwise, and never thinke thy life so good, as not to need mending.

Say nothing but what thou meanest, and promise nothing but what thou art able; not to intend what thou speakest, is to give thy heart the lye with thy tongue; not to performe what thou promisest, is to give thy tongue the lye with thy actions.

Doe not greedily finde fault in any, nor reproach­fully publish it; but rather by a hidden and oblique way to insinuate his errour [Page 15] to him, than detractingly to blaze it; seek not the ad­vancement of thine owne wit by another mans folly; not alwayes comply with the fortune, and censure him that is downe, not ever judge of things by the event, nor condemne that as unadvísedly undertaken which succeeds ill.

Put not off devotion and the duties of Religion with want of leisure; nor the needy, and duties of chari­ty with want of ability; in both, though never so straightned, thou mayest doe somewhat, though the lesse; a sigh or a groane in [Page 16] the one, and a cup of cold water in the other thou canst not be without.

When thou promisest, think thou mayest be taken at thy word; be nothing in a complement, which thou darest not stand to in ear­nest: as there is lesse sin, so there is lesse wrong in de­nying than in not perfor­ming; to deny is at most but a discurtesie; not to performe is an injury; for if thou denyest, hee may seeke to others; if thou de­ceivest he fails of all; it is lawfull for thee not to pro­mise, it is not lawfull for thee to breake promise.

[Page 17]Observe what is good in any man, & learn it; what is evill, and eschew it; if any thing good in thy self, to be thankfull for it; or evill, if evil of punishment, to beare it; if evill of sin, to repent of it; nor deride any mans imperfections, but thanke God that they are not thine; not to scorne any friend for an errour; but be sorry that he is wrong, and be so much his friend as to endeavour to set him right.

For a servant ever to speake well of his Master; if ill, to speake the best; if ill to him, to impute it to [Page 18] his ill deserving, is a duty, yet a commendations; to thinke obedience a vertue, not servitude, and that it is not the least mastery, so far to command ones selfe, as to be contented to submit to the commands of o­thers.

Doe curtesies for others as gifts, not looking for re­quitall; receive curtesies of others as loanes, and mea­ning to repay; what fa­vours thou doest for o­thers, to forget them; if thou receivest any, ever to remember them; not to requite the injuries of an enemy with the like, nor [Page 19] the good turnes of a friend only with the like.

Speake not censoriously of thy betters, not scorne­fully of thy inferiours, not vain-gloriously of thy self, not to boast of thy selfe that w ^ch thou never didst, nor to assume to thy selfe the praise of that learning and wit, which is not thine owne; not slightly and un­dervaluingly to speake of other mens vertues, and not at all of their vices; not to think superciliousnesse ma­jesty, or a grave reserved­nesse wisdome, as if thou would'st bee therefore thought wise, because thou [Page 20] sayest little; not be a ridle which is rather to puzzle curiosity, than to benefit society, which man was made for; and therefore be such rather as men may make use of thee, than be troubled to know thee.

Be covetous of nothing but of doing good, and be prodigall of nothing but good counsell; be slow in believing ill of any, but slower in speaking it.

In place of judicature, looke not whose cause comes before thee, but what; and judge even thy brother, not as a brother, but a Iudge; not measure [Page 21] the sentence by the relati­tion; not sell judgement, nor do a profitable wrong; it will never repent thee that thou art the poorer for doing right.

Be milde to all, but know when to be severe; there is an unseasonable meekness: I know not which is worse, to be angry unjustly, or not to be justly angry; if by the first thou mayest wrong an innocent person, by the other thou mayest a guilty; sometime to be silent at, is to encourage a fault; it may be a due chi­ding would reforme that offence which takes heart with sufferance.

[Page 22]Affirme not any thing out of humour, or because thou hast affirm'd it; it is a greater disparagement to stand in a lye, than to re­cant an error; to erre is but a weaknesse, and the case of all; to acknowledge an error is a vertue, and the praise but of a few; but to maintaine an error is a sin, and it is a greater offence to justifie a sin, than to fall into it.

Love, but not bee fond of the body; to love it is a duty, to be fond of it is a sin; let the fare bee such as may neither impaire the health of it, nor the devo­tion; [Page 23] the apparell neat, not chargeable, not mimically in, nor ridiculously out of fashion; such as may a­gree with thy estate, thy yeares, thy profession; not at all to invent, and slowly to take up a fashion, and that rather because thou would'st not be singular, than because thou likest it, and as may shew thee wil­ling to be constant, but not obstinate.

Let thy recreations bee short and diverting, such as may rather fit thee for bu­sinesse, than rob thee of time; long and tedious sports do rather take away [Page 24] the stomacke to serious things than whet it; he that makes recreation a busi­nesse, will think businesse a toyle.

Submit to every fortune, and like it, not place felici­ty in wealth & greatnesse; to be without, and yet not to want these; or to want, and yet not desire them; to be able to manage a great estate, and to beare a mean; to like Gods will even when it crosseth thine; cheerefully to passe over crosses, yet to take notice of them; to be patient, but not without sense; to bee sorrowfull, but not with­out [Page 25] hope; not to grow great by corruption, not to grow proud with great­nesse; not to grow strange to others in a high estate, or think God so to thee, or you so to him in a meane; not to ebbe and flow with thy condition, and be ei­ther supercilious or deje­cted; to take the changes of this world without any great change in thy selfe; he that is contented ever with what hee is, makes himselfe happy without a fortune.

Thinke of death as a thing certaine, (it may be) at hand; that Physitians [Page 26] dye; that Kings in this are Subjects; some like crude fruit are pluckt off by ca­sualty, others like over­ripe, drop off with age; old & young, there are graves of all sizes; to endeavour therfore rather to procure eternall life, than to pro­long this; and use meanes rather to sweeten death, than to defer it.

Learne not to thinke of the things of this world as of things of continuance; and to use the things of this world, not as an own­er, but a Steward; so thou wilt bee neither loth to leave them, nor afraid to [Page 27] account for them.

Doe curtesies to thy friend, not w ^th hope to re­ceive greater; and receive curtesies of thy friend, as if thou hadst done none; think of requiting the good w ^ch thou receivest, though thou deservest it; expect no requitall of that good which thou doest, though undeserved, lest failing of what thou expectest, thou repent of what thou hast done, and losest the praise of thy goodnesse, by look­ing after the reward of it.

Commend no man to his face, and censure no man behinde his back; if [Page 28] thou knowest any good thing of him, tell it others; if any ill, or vice, tell it himselfe; so by telling o­thers of his good parts, thou wilt procure for him a good opinion; and by telling him and admoni­shing him of his faults, thou wilt make him de­serve that good opinion.

Abstaine not only from ill, but from the appea­rance of it, lest thou heare ill undeservedly, or doe ill unawares.

Let thy discourse be nei­ther light nor unseasona­ble; such as may call either thy goodnesse in question, [Page 29] or thy judgement: if thou canst not speak wel, say no­thing: so if others be not bettered by thy silence, yet they shall not be made worse by thy discourse.

Thinke meanly of thine owne sufficiency, though others thinke not so; look much upon thy defects, and little upon thy good parts; and think that thou art short, not only of what thou oughtst, but of o­thers; that that which thou know'st, is nothing to that of which thou art igno­rant; and therefore to la­bour rather truly to know thy selfe, than to make [Page 30] those small parts superfici­ally knowne to others.

Scorn not to be better'd by the good example of others, and be carefull not to make others worse with thine; do nothing in which thou would'st not be imi­tated; and imitate nothing which thou know'st is not fit to be done; it is a fault to do what thou should'st not, it is none, to learne what thou should'st doe of any.

Thinke in the morning what thou hast to do this day, and at night what thou hast done; and doe nothing upon which thou [Page 31] mayest not boldly aske Gods blessing; nor (as neer as thou canst) nothing for which thou shalt need to ask his pardon; let thy first care be, not to do ill; thy next care to repent of it; account often with thy selfe, thy last account will be the lesse, be not afraid to looke upon thy score, but be afraid to increase it; to despaire because thou art sinfull, is to be worse, because thou hast beene so bad.

Be not wicked with ad­vantage, nor be drawne to doe a gainefull sinne; not thinke that godly which is gainefull, but thinke that gain enough which is with godlinesse; he that makes his commodity the mea­sure of his actions, for a morsell of bread that man will transgresse.

Ever learne to be ever contented with what thou hast, in as much as there is nothing which by the ap­pointment of God doth not happen unto thee; and to dislike what God doth, [Page 35] is to do what God dislikes; and make that a sin, which was before but a punish­ment, and, as it might have beene used, a blessing; to finde fault with God, is to make a fault in our selves; that which God doth may be harsh, it cannot be un­just; or if that state which thou hast be bad, yet that which thou hopest for, is better.

Thinke not well of thy selfe, though others think so; yet to give no occasi­on to any to thinke other­wise, and give the glory of both to God, both of thy good parts, and their good opinion.

[Page 36]Every morning take leave of the things of this World, as thinking thou mayest part with them be­fore night, and every night to examine the imploy­ment of that day, as think­ing thou mayest account for it before morning; he that is ever providing for his going, wil lesse increase his account by tarrying; we doe not commend his providence, that hath his furniture to buy when he should take horse.

Make not a neighbours fault greater to men than it is, nor thine owne lesse to God; to excuse thine own [Page 37] sin, is to double it; detra­ctingly to aggravate ano­thers fault, is to make it thine owne.

Busie not thy selfe in searching into other mens lives; the errors of thine owne are more than thou canst answer for; it more concernes thee to mend one fault in thy selfe, than to finde out a thousand in others.

Be carefull not to fall into sin, being fallen, not to lie in it; being surprized, not to stand in it; confessi­on is some part of satisfa­ction; by denying a little sin, thou makest it great, by [Page 38] truly confessing a great sin to GOD, thou makest it none.

If thou hast liv'd long, thinke thou hast the longer account, thinke thou hast had the longer time to pro­vide for thy account, and therefore hast the greater sin, if unprovided; where GOD forbeares a great while, he expects a greater increase; as where men give long day, they expect lar­ger payment.

Performe not the things of Religion, either out of vaine-glory, or custome, since the goodnesse of these is not measur'd by what is [Page 39] done, but by what minde we do it with; Cursed bee he that doth the worke of the Lord negligently; there is that curse upon negligent doing, which upon unwil­ling leaving of it undone, is not; there is little diffe­rence betweene not doing what thou shouldest, and not doing it as thou shoul­dest; to doe thy duty for shew only, or in shew only, is to doe thy duty, and be stil undutiful; if that which thou doest be right, if the mind with which thou do­est it be not so, al is wrong, and thou forfeitst the ac­ceptation of what was [Page 40] good, by the ill perfor­mance.

Two things do not trou­ble thy selfe to know, o­ther mens faults, nor other mens estates; the estate of thine owne soule, and the amendment of thine owne faults, let that be thy stu­dy; not thinke any sinne lesse because it is hid; re­member that to him that shall judge thee it is open, and that in the last day God will not measure his judge­ment by ours, the day of judgement will condemne many a man whom wee have quitted.

Do not practise Religi­on [Page 41] in shew only, yet shew it in thy practise; think no sinne little; nor no good which thou doest great, it is from the acceptance of God that it is good at all; hope for, but not challeng a reward of thy wel doing, yet not for it selfe, but for what Christ hath done; measure thy selfe not by what others are, but by what thou oughtest to be; remember thy sinnes with griefe, and thy goodnesse, the one, for that thou hast beene so bad, the other, that thou canst be no bet­ter; and though thou canst not attaine to perfection [Page 42] on earth, yet aime at it.

Labour not only to know what thou shouldst bee (that most men doe) but to be so; nor at all to know what other men are; thou shalt not answer for it; be carefull, if thou canst, to make others better by thy good counsell, or at least, not to make them worse by thy example.

Be ever contented with thy present estate, but, if thou canst, better it; do not corruptly thrust thy selfe into any place; and being in, doe nothing that may thrust thee out; make the execution of thy office, [Page 43] a discharge of thy consci­ence, not an improvement of thy estate; and desire any place rather to doe good, than to grow rich; give no bribes to procure an unjust thing, nor take none to do one; and if thou art in the place of judica­ture, remember thy office is to give sentence, but not sell it.

Doe not make any sinne lesse by custome; for as men doe at first lesse like sinne, so with continuance they doe lesse feele it; as those that are accustomed to carry burdens, are lesse sensible of the weight; and [Page 44] if thou doest now the same things with more ease, doe not thinke that the sinne is more light, but that thou art more hardned; and thy case is so much more des­perate, by how much want of sense is neerer to death, than paine; feeling is an argument of life, thou art a dead member if thou hast lost thy feeling; but here's the misery, that thou hast lost thy feeling in regard of sin, but not of punish­ment.

Fix thy desires upon such things as may not shame thee in the obtaining; and compasse thy desires by [Page 45] such meanes as may not shame thee to own; though that which thou seekest for be good, yet while the way by which thou seekest for it is evill, thou shamest the end by the way; and shamest thy self in the end.

Thinke no sin little, and make it not great by itera­tion; what is a Mountaine of earth, but an accumula­tion of many little dusts? What is a floud, but a con­currence of many little drops; a little prick being neglected, may fester to a Gangroin; by how much that in which thou sinnest is lesse, by so much thy sin [Page 46] is the greater, that wouldst dishonour God for so lit­tle a thing.

Think of death as a thing thou must meet with; and of thy life, as a thing thou must part with; and not to love too well that life, that keepes thee from a better; nor at al to feare that death that leads thee to a better life; this life is a journey, and the world an uneasie horse, that with much jol­ting, and some fals, brings you to your home, and why art thou unwilling to alight; love rather that pas­sage that leads to eternall happinesse, than that life [Page 47] which keepes thee from it, and not without continu­all misery.

Study rather to make thy selfe fit for any em­ployment and place, than to thinke thy selfe so; and be preferred by thy desert, not by purchase; slip no lawfull meanes to doe thy selfe good, and use no un­lawfull; he which grow­eth great by buying, doth likely continue that great­nesse by selling.

Measure thy wealth by thy minde, not by thy e­state; a contented minde is ever rich; but measure thy expence by thy estate, [Page 48] not by thy minde; not what thou would'st doe, but what thou art able to doe; think not frugality a disparagement, nor out­run thy selfe to keepe pace with others; this is to pro­cure that which thou fea­rest; and lest thou shouldst be thought meane, to be­come so; many times a slow pace performes that journey, whil'st gallo­ping tyres by the way.

Let thy thoughts bee such to thy selfe, as thou art asham'd to have God know them; and thy words such to God, as thou art not afraid to have men [Page 49] heare them; and let thy whole life be such toward God and Man, as that thou neither dishonour God by thy il life, nor draw others to the same dishonour of him by thy ill example.

Pleasure not thy selfe by wronging others; nor with the unjust Steward, make thee friends with other mens monies; left while thou would'st buy other friends, thou fell GOD; comē to promotiō, if thou canst by friends, not by money; if thou deservest it not, thou wrongest o­thers; if thou dost deserve it, thou wrongest thy selfe.

[Page 50]The goodnesse of the minde, is witnessed in the outward actions; the good­nesse of the outward acti­ons, is determined by the intention and minde; in­ward goodnesse without outward showes of it, is like a Tree without fruit, uselesse; & outward shewes of goodnesse without in­ward sincerity, is like a Tree without heart, live­lesse; that thou art good inwardly in thy heart, is thine owne comfort; that thou dost outwardly pro­sesse this goodnesse in thy life, is others benefit; thou thy selfe are not the better [Page 51] for that goodnesse which thou dost not make shew of, others are not the bet­ter for that goodnesse of w ^ch thou makest no shew; so inward sincerity is re­quired in respect of God, outward profession onely in respect of men; by the first thou art a true Chri­stian; by the other it doth appeare that thou art so.

Neither undertake much, nor talke much, and that to the purpose; deliver thy minde rather in profitable language, than curious; by this, happily, thou wilt gaine more applause, but by the other thou wilt doe [Page 52] more good, and it is a greater vertue to do well, than to heare well.

Do nothing which thou disallowest; disallow thy selfe some things w ^ch thou mayest doe, but nothing which thou oughtst to do; give no liberty to thy selfe in unlawfull things; use not the utmost of that li­berty which is given thee in other things; and so use thy liberty in what thou art permitted, as that they may not hinder thee in the things thou art comman­ded.

Promise nothing which may prejudice thee in the [Page 53] performance; performe what thou hast promised, though to thy prejudice; thinke thy selfe bound by thy word, though without oath or witnesse; if thou art not well able to performe, consider thou wert able not to promise; a good man measurs his promises by his ability, but he mea­sures his performance by his promise.

Account it the greatest knowledge truly to know thy selfe; and the greatest cōquest to subdue thy self; not give way to thine own lusts; nor boast of thine owne parts; to do nothing [Page 54] that is ill, nor vaine glori­ously to tell of what thou doest well; in all things to approve thy selfe a good man and a Christian, but not boast of it.

Place not Religion in talke only; it is an easier matter to give counsell, than to follow it; some­times wee have knowne men to fall into those sins from which they have with great paines conver­ted others; but Christiani­ty (as we say of Charity) begins at home; it was Christs to S. Peter, Art thou converted? strengthen the brethren, but first be con­verted [Page 55] himselfe; hee may happily save others that is not saved himselfe, yet he will sooner save another that goes in the way of sal­vation himselfe; good do­ctrine is weakned much with ill life; he that will do good upon others, must first be good himselfe.

Speake nothing which thou would'st wish to re­call; and do nothing which thou shalt need to repent; condemne nothing in a hu­mour; nor maintaine no­thing out of fashion; never defend a false cause, either to revenge a wrong, or to doe a pleasure.

[Page 56]Think only the present time thine, for that which is past is none of thine; and that which is to come, it is a question whether ever it shall be thine; so the cer­taine time of thy life is ve­ry little, and the account which thou shalt certain­ly give of this life very great; and thy account is made greater by tarrying, but thy life lesse; so that to put off the finishing of this account till a farther time, is to make thy selfe a grea­ter account, and have lesse time to do it in; nay, thou shalt answer for the neg­lect of that time wherein [Page 57] it might have beene done, and it may be denyed ano­ther time to do it.

Measure not goodnesse by good workes onely: a Parrat may be taught to speake well; good words cost us nothing; and men are for that Religion that is cheapest; it is an easie matter to speake like a Christian; Satan himselfe can talke Scripture; Cha­rity consists not barely in knowing, or discoursing of what is good, but in pra­ctising what we do know; in Religion not to doe as thou sayest, is to unsay thy Religion in thy deeds.

[Page 58]Ever expect death, though not wish for it; let thy last houre finde thee rather willing to goe, than con­tented to tarry; put not off amendment till another day, thou art not sure to see an end of this; provide that thy death bed may rather finde thee fitted for God, than fit thee; and so order thy estate, and thy soule in thy health, that when death comes, thou mayest have nothing to do but to dye.

In point of reformation, first pluck out thy owne More; spend not thy time in exhorting others to the [Page 59] keeping of the Comman­dements, and breake them thy selfe; measure not thy goodnes by anothers want of it; nor measure thy want of goodnesse by others store of it; God doth not so: though thou art not so good as the best, yet while thou endeavour'st to be so, thou art good enough; God who workes in us both to will and to doe, doth in some case accept the will for the deed.

Reckon nothing which thou hast, thine owne; nor nothing which thou doest, at thine owne disposing; and use all, not as a Master, [Page 60] but a servant, remembring thou must one day answer for them to their Master.

Do not murmure at thy condition, if meane; nor measure Gods blessings by thy wants, but by thy de­serts; if God be better to others than he is to thee, yet while hee is better to thee than thou deservest, he is good enough.

In Christianity, not thinke to attaine the end, without the meanes; and if the same meanes do not in al produce the same effect, not to impute it to any al­teration or deficiency in the meanes, but in the [Page 61] subject; the meanes is the same, the parties are not; all men are not alike hard­ned in sin, therefore all are not alikehard, or easie to be converted; sins are com­par'd to diseases; all disea­ses are not mortall, some humours spend themselvs, others are not recovered, but with expence and dan­ger; and the same sicknesse is not remov'd with the same ease in all bodies, be­cause there is not in all the same temper; that physick doth but stir the humour in some bodies, which in others would utterly ex­pell it; it is with the sick­nesse [Page 62] of the soule, as of the body, al sins are not equal; all men are not equally sin­full; either the sins may be lesse, or of lesse continu­ance; for custome, as it be­gets a greater liking of sin, so it leaves a deeper root; continuation of things makes them partly natu­rall, therefore we call cu­stome another nature; set­led impieties, like setled humours, doe not easily stir; though the meanes are the same, yet while the subject is no [...], it is no won­der that the effects are not; there must be the same dis­position of the matter, as [Page 63] well as of the agent; it is not enough that the word be the same, if the hearers be not; as the same physick doth not worke or cure a­like, nor the same seed thrive alike in all grounds, so neither doth the same word save alike, or pre­vaile alike with all. Sodome would have repented with those meanes which Cora­Zin did not; in thine impe­nitency therfore not to ac­cuse God or the meanes, but thine owne selfe; in thy conversion, not to thank thy ownselfe, or the meanes, but God, and the meanes under God.

[Page 64]Remember that as there is one death which thou must prepare to meet, so there is another death w ^ch thou must study to avoide, the death of the soule; the naturall death consists in the dissolution of the soule from the body; the spiri­tuall death, in the dissolu­tion of the soule from God: and one day, of soule and body from God, which is the second death: now as we say of the naturall bo­dy, that the way to bee young long, is to be old betimes, so the way to live not long, but ever, is to dye betimes; if thou dye but [Page 65] once w [...]e thou livest, the death of sinne; thou sh [...]lt live eternally after thou art dead.

Love nothing in this world too well, no, not thy selfe; think of the pleasures of this World, either as sinnes, or occasions of it; and the other more neces­sary things of it; though they have thy presence, let them not have thy heart; & use them, rather because thou want'st them, than because thou likest them; and so provide, that thy death may bee the begin­ning of thy happinesse, not the end of it.

Deliberately to move to any businesse is proper to man; headily to be carried by desire, is common to [Page 72] beasts; in civill actions be led by thy reason, not thy appetite; in divine actions, by Religion; and doe no­thing that may forfeit ei­ther thy reason, or thy ho­nesty; measure the goodnesse of things by their lawfulnesse, not by their profit; nor bee drawne to doe ill for advantage; not intend thy particular good, with the forfeiture of the generall.

In Religion publish no­thing which thou darest not stand to; nor libell a­gainst the truth; if thou think it is not the truth, why doest thou publish it? if [Page 71] thou thinkest it is the truth why art thou ashamed of it? such are betweene two Rocks, either of which splits them; for either they sinne in publishing that which is a lye; or else ha­ving published it, they sin in being asham'd or afraid to stand to it, which they think is the truth: true gold flyes not the Touchstone, a good mans actions are such as he feares not to be discovered; it is a signe their workes are ill, when they dare not owne them; Oderunt lucem, is our Savi­ours note of such; if it bee the truth, they ought [Page 72] not onely (in some case) to owne it, but to dye in it; if it be a lye, they ought not to live in it, much lesse to give it life; every lye is a sin, but to print a lye, is to justifie a sin; and in Religi­on to print a lye for truth, is to father a lye upon God; a good Man will publish nothing in God's Name, to which he dares not set his owne.

Measure not thy selfe by what men say of thee; they may mistake thee; it is their sin, not thine, if others slander thee; to be ill spo­ken of, and undeservedly, is neither thy fault, nor [Page 73] alone thy case; Christ him­selfe was thought a Wine­bibber; and S. Paul mad; if ill tongues could make men ill, good men were in ill taking; never regard what any can say against thee, but thine owne conscience; though all the World condemne thee, while God and thy self do not, thou art innocent e­nough; the wickednesse of ill tongues doth but dirt themselves; the mire that is cast upon thee is not thine; care not to have ill men speake well of thee; it may bee if thou wert worse, thou should'st heare [Page 74] better; Parcit cognatis ma­culis similis fera; the divell doth not accuse his owne; if thou wert one of them they would speak more fa­vourably; be carefull to be cleane to God, what ever thou art to the world, and bee slow in soyling and blacking others; if they are not so clean as thou couldst wish, their foulnesse be to themselves; let them bee never the fouler for thy mouth; they that are for­ward in censuring and ac­cusing others, are usually such themselves.

To al thy promises need no other bond but thy [Page 75] word; nor no other wit­nesse but God; be carefull never to promise any thing of which thou shalt wish to bee forgiven the perfor­mance; nor plead either want of ability or testimony; an honest man doth not promise more than he meanes; nor a wise man more than he is able.

Be not a servant to those things which thou shouldst command; thy money, thy body, and thy appetite, or thy sensitive part; but use thy estate, to serve thy bo­dy, and thy occasions; and thy body to be subservi­ent to thy soule; and thy [Page 76] soule to serve God; thus while either of these serve in their proper office, God is serv'd in all; if thou art commanded by the first of these, thou art neither thine owne Master, nor fit to be Gods servant.

Resolve nothing but up­on good ground, nor alter thy resolution but upon good reason; not incon­stantly to waver, nor obsti­stinately to persevere in things; to heare others judgements besides thine owne, and if right, to sub­mit to them; not to thinke it a disparagement, that there are wiser than thy [Page 77] selfe; to think it a fault ra­ther to stand in an errour, than to fall into one; not choose to defend a lye, ra­ther than descend to yeild to others in that which is the truth; to maintaine an opinion because it is thine, not because it is true, is to maintaine thy selfe, not the truth; and to preferre thy selfe to the truth.

So farre intend thy pro­fit, as that thou still subject it to your religion; not make thy commodity the sterne of thy conscience; he was not the best Disci­ple that had the bag; so procure or continue to thy [Page 78] selfe a place upon earth, as that thou lose not thy place in heaven.

Learne not to examine thy selfe by what thou art not; as the Pharisee, not like other men; and while some others are worse, to think thou art wel enough; we measure crooked things by that which is straight, not by that which is more crooked; the rule of good­nesse is Gods Word, not other mens deeds; not to measure the straitnesse of thy life, by the crooked­nesse of anothers; he that measures his beauty by a­nothers deformity, may [Page 79] stil be unhandsom enough; if a drunkard shall measure himselfe by some debau­chednesse, he will seeme a sober man: in the day of judgement, God will not examine thee by what o­thers were, but by what thou wert commanded to bee.

Plead not for licentious­nesse of life, under liberty of conscience; as if Chri­stian liberty consisted in doing what they lift; or that Christ hath so freed thee from the yoke of the Law, as that thou art not stil subject to the comman­dements; not thinke that [Page 80] Christ was therefore obe­dient unto the death, that thou shouldst be tied to no obedience of any thing du­ring thy life; that the me­rits of our Redeemer hath obtain'd, not that the Commandements of God should not stil be observ'd; but that the not sufficient observing of them, should not be imputed.

Make not other mens sinnes thine by imitating thē; nor thine other mens, by teaching of them; doe nothing in which thou wouldst not be follow'd; follow nothing of which thou canst not well justi­fie the doing.

[Page 81]Affect not much business, especially of other mens; yet to hate idlenesse; to use recreations, but not dwell in them; to affect rather what is needfull, than cu­rious; not to overdoe; and in all these things to suffice nature, not humour it.

Be slow in choosing a friend, but slower in chan­ging him when thou hast chosen; be curteous to all, but inward onely with a few; thou mayest use that freedom to a friend, which thou wilt not to every ac­quaintance; thy acquain­tance is but thy neighbour, but thy friend is thy selfe.

[Page 82]Scorne no man for his meanenesse, and humour no man for his wealth; do nothing to please any whereby thou shalt dis­please God; never be drunk to please the company, or thinke it uncivility to part sober; or cease to bee a good Christian, that thou mayest be thought a good companion.

Be displeased with no­thing which God doeth, and as neere as thou canst, doe nothing wherewith God is displeased, doe all thou doest as in Gods pre­sence, and speake all as in his audience; and let nei­ther [Page 83] thy words nor actions be such, as to which thou mayest willingly desire Gods absence, or not de­sire his assistance.

It is the goodnesse of God to us, that is the cause of the love of God to us; and it is the goodnesse of God in us, that is the cause of the love of God in us; confesse that the good w ^ch thou receivest is not for thine owne sake, nor the good which thou doest is not by thine owne power; it is the mercy of God that moves him to doe for us; that inables us to doe that which pleaseth him.

[Page 84]Account that good which is lawful, not which is pro­fitable; and endeavour rather to serve God than thine own turne in al; make these two the rule of thy self, justice and godlinesse, and thou shalt fullfill the dutys of both Tables, God and thy neighbour.

Not repiningly to com­plaine of thy sufferings of this life; since it is partly in thy power to make thē blessings; and if to make them blessings bee in thy own power, then that they are otherwise it is thy own fault; God intends amend­ment in it, if it doe not a­mend [Page 85] thee, thou makest it a punishment, not he.

Labour to see thy owne mortality in other mens deaths; and thy own frail­ty in other mens sins; and since thou must shortly die, be afraid to sin; and so or­der thy sins, as thou may­est not be afraid to die; that thy sins doe not bring thee to a worse death, and that this death may lead thee to a better life.

Do what thou art com­manded, not what others doe; make no mans exam­ple a rule, not the best mans; all may erre; and he that in all things followes [Page 86] him that may erre, will be sure in some things to fall into errour.

Call to thy minde often what thou hast done; and then compare with it what thou hast suffered; & what thou hast received; and when thou shalt finde, that thou hast received more good than thou hast done; and hast done more evill than thou hast suffered; fear that there is lesse good behinde for thee, and more evill; and therefore betake thee to repentance, and a new life; and by that thou mayest prevent the evill which thou hast deserved [Page 87] to suffer, and procure to thy selfe, though not de­served, a reward of that good which thou hast done.

Let it not trouble thee that some others have livd longer than thy selfe; not the length of thy life, but the goodnesse is the mea­sure of thy happinesse; if thou hast lived well, thou hast lived long enough; if thou hast not lived well, thou hast lived too long.

Never think it too soon to repent, thou doest not know how soon thou may­est dye, and after death it is too late; he that puts off [Page 88] his amendment with hope of living, loseth eternall life in a presumption of this.

Intend rather the effe­cting of a publike good, than a particular, for by in­tending onely thy particu­lar good, thou mayest doe wrong to the publike, whereas thou canst not ef­fect a publike good with­out thine own good in par­ticular; for what ever is beneficiall to the whole, cannot be prejudiciall to the parts; so then thou be­ing a member of the whol in performing a generall good, even by that thou [Page 89] art so farre good to thine own particular, as thou hast an interest in the generall; whereas by seeking thy private good with the neg­lect of the publike, thou dost both decline from the common nature of things, and from the nature of goodnesse, which is by so much the more good, by how much it is good to more, and doest rather that which is good to thee, then what is truly good in it selfe; this is to make thine owne selfe and thy advan­tage the rule of goodnesse, that should'st make good­nesse the rule of thy selfe [Page 90] and thy actions.

Think that in death thou dost not lose a life, but ex­change one; death is but a change; and therefore not to feare a change, that art every day so acquainted with changes; every chang is a kinde of death, in as much as that which it changeth from, doth die to what it was; if the beasts and creatures themselves did not change from what they are, how should we be fed? Nay, if their skins and clothing did not change from it's naturall use to them, how could it be usefull to us; if the Sun [Page 91] it selfe did not change his place; if the yeere, and the parts of the yeere, did not change, how should wee either have life or necessa­ries? thou then that doest thus subsist by changes, why doest thou feare a change? especially consi­dering that other things being ever altering in thē ­selves, doe yet ever conti­nue alterable; whereas we changing but once, and for the better, shall ever after remaine immutable; so that to be loth to change, is to contradict what thou do­est; to feare a change, and yet love a life that is full of changes.

[Page 92]If God have made thee handsome, let not that make thee proud; beauty is an ornament, doe not thou make it a snare; why should'st thou have cause to wish that thou had'st beene ill favour'd: show nothing naked of thy selfe to others but thy face, and that only that thou mayest be knowne, not seene; be curteous to all, but no [...] fa­miliar; stay not to heare thy handsomenesse prais'd; much lesse to praise it; think no time so ill spent about thy selfe, as in dres­sing; nor no money, as in fashions, yet in neither be [Page 93] ridiculous, allow for both; acknowledge no beauty in thy selfe, but of the mind, nor strive for none; if God have made thee beautifull in others eyes, let it be thy care to make thy selfe so in his; beauty without grace, is the greatest deformity.

In Gods house and busi­nesse forget thine owne; be there as a member of the Church, not of the Com­mon-wealth; empty thy selfe of this world, thou art conversant in the next; let al thy senses have no other object but God; let thy eares be open, but thy eyes shut; if anothers beauty [Page 94] draw thy eyes from God, that beauty is become thy deformity, and hath turn'd God's eyes from thee.

Love no woman, but a wife, and use no familiarity with her, but in publike; thou knowest not whi­ther it may grow; many have thought no hurt in the beginning of those things that after have pro­ceeded to impiety: and in all thy behaviour, examine not what thou doest, but with what minde thou do­est it, else that which hap­pily in it selfe was indiffe­rent, is to thee unlawfull; to a good minde, all com­pany [Page 95] is safe, and all familiarity is harmlesse.

Love thy Neigbour as thy selfe in the kinde, un­fainedly; but love thy friend as thy selfe in the degree; doe as much as thou canst, but love more than thou canst doe; he that doth but little for his friend, because his ability is so, loves more, than hee which doth much, but lesse than he is able.

Revenge no injury though thou canst; and require e­very curtesie if thou canst; yet shew that thou art wil­ling to requite a curtesie where thou art not able; and shew that thou art a­ble to revenge a wrong [Page 98] (if thou canst) though thou art not willing; so by shew­ing that thou couldst re­venge this, thou wilt hap­pily prevent another; and by not revenging it thou wilt prove thy selfe better then thou shouldst; for to revenge a wrong done, is to doe a wrong to God; so thou wilt be guilty of do­ing that which thou com­plainest of, and therefore unjustly complainest of that which thou thy selfe doest.

Let thy conceit of thy selfe bee low, but thy de­sires high, even as high as heaven; think thy selfe not [Page 99] worthy of the least good, yet by the grace of God capable of the greatest: thinke often upon Christs death, it wil sweeten thine; and account it his, he ac­counts it so; he dyed not for himselfe, but for thee, and if thou live not to thy selfe, but to him, then he lives not for himselfe nei­ther, but for thee, to make thee partaker of eternall life, which already thou hast in the certainety, though not in the fruition, and believest all this and more, very humbly, but very confidently.

That thou mayest avoid [Page 100] sin, avoid the occasion of it; as he that complaines of heat removes farther from the fire: omit no o­portunity of doing good; & do no evill though thou hast oportunity; it is a grea­ter commendations of thy goodnes, that thou mightst and wouldst not.

Meditate often upon thy death, thou wilt like it the better; and often upon the next life, thou wilt like this the worse; thinke of this World as a thing in trust, and provide to discharge it; account nothing thine owne, but as being short­ly to give an account of it to the right owner.

[Page 101]Be not angry without cause; bee merry without offence; admit a seasona­ble anger; and shun an un­seasonable jest; be mode­rate in both; do not forget thy selfe in thy anger, nor thy friend in thy mirth; by the one thou wilt be bur­thensome to thy selfe, by the other to the company.

Love the body, but sub­ordinate to the soule; the Tenant is more noble than the House: the most beau­tifullest body is but a bo­dy of earth; and the Iewels which adorne it are but stones in the earth; and the gold and silver which it [Page 102] prides in, are veines in this earth; the clothes which thou wearest, were the cloathing of some beast, or the labour of some Worme, or at the best, of a man like thy selfe; think then with what vile things thou art made fine; which yet do but make thee so in the esteeme of others, not truly so in thy selfe; and doe but hide those parts which thou art ashamed to shew, not adorne that inner part which doth truly shew thee; therefore to bee so much a Christian to prefer that part which thou hast common with Christ in [Page 103] respect of his humane na­ture, thy reasonable soule; or so much a man, not to preferre that part which thou hast common with the beast, an earthly body.

If thou art a Master, let thy family be aw'd rather by thy example, then thy word; be angry for small faults, it will prevent grea­ter: commend and encou­rage those that doe well, they will do better; com­mendations of former goodnesse is a provocation to more.

Thinke upon this life as a current, ever running; do not hope to live long, but [Page 104] be assur'd not to live still, and account it thy com­fort that thou shalt one day dye; to wish thy selfe ever upon earth, is to wish thy selfe ever out of heaven.

Be imploy'd only in such wayes as thou wouldst not blush to be met in; Thamar goes disguis'd, when to play the harlot: tell no­thing of another which thou wouldst not have told him; believe nothing of another which thou mayst not tell; doe not construe seriously what is spoken but in jest, and forbeare those jests, which may be construed to earnest: heare [Page 105] no ill of a friend, but reply and speake no ill, though of an enemy.

In thy house, let thy en­tertainment bee free, not costly; bid thy friends welcome to thy ability, not beyond it; never make one meal so, as thou must be faine to fetch it up out of many; be hospitable, but provident; thinke nothing too much for thy friends, which is not too much for thy estate; hospitality bids thy friends welcome; and providence makes thee a­ble to bid them welcome; if hospitality be the life of neighbour-hood, provi­dence [Page 106] is the life of hospi­tality; he is not thy friend that expects more than thou art well able; thou art not thine owne friend if thou doest lesse; to live a­bove thy meanes is folly; to live too farre below thy means, is a disparage­ment; doe all like thy selfe, so as may neither weaken thy respect, nor thy estate.

Love not ill company, left thou learn the ill of the company; it is hard, not to bee like the company thou keepest; it is rare, if we deny not Christ in Cai­phas his house; with Solo­mon, [Page 107] it is hard having the Ethiopian without her I­dols; we see people change their complexion with the Climate; Vessels smell of the liquor they containe; by ordinary communicati­on in the wayes of sinners without a great deale of care you will communi­cate with their sinne; With the froward, thou wilt learne frowardnesse; he that goes to the meetings of wicked men, will come a wicked man out; or to say the best, worse than he went in: for thy conversation, let this bee thy rule, if thy company bee better, [Page 108] imitate them; if worse, con­vert them; if equall, and as thou art, joyne with them.

Feed the poore often at thy dore, sometime at thy Table; whatsoever thou givest to Christ in his members, he will one day give back againe to thee in thy person; it is but just if God deny thee thy daily bread, if thou daily deny him the crummes.

Let it not trouble thee what is talk'd of thee when thou art absent, more than what will be talk'd of thee when thou art dead; an ill report doth not make thee an ill man; be carefull to [Page 109] doe nothing that deserves to be ill spoken of, let it not trouble thee to bee ill spoken of undeservedly.

Let thy prayers be fre­quent, thy wants are so; and thy thanksgivings fre­quent, thy blessings are so: pray daily at home, and if thou canst, at Church; God is every where, but there hee hath promised to be; misse not the confession and absolution, unlesse thou hast no sinnes to con­fesse, or carest not to bee forgiven them.

Thinke not the worse of the ordinances of God for the sinnes of the Preacher; [Page 110] those that are ill them­selves, may yet be instru­ments of good to others, God hath promised his blessing to the thing, not to the person; the sacrifices of Elies sons were effectu­all for the people; it is not the peoples fault that the Preacher is wicked, and as it is without their fault, so it is without their preju­dice; it was our blessed Sa­viours of the Pharisees, Af­ter their sayings doe ye; wee must follow their sayings whose deeds we may not; thou mayest not refuse the word of God from any, if they teach what they [Page 111] should, though they doe not what they teach; the wickednesse of the messen­ger doth not abate the power of the meanes; as the intemperance and de­bauchednesse of the Physi­tian doth not hinder the working of the physick.

Remember often that thou art a Christian, and doe nothing that may dis­prove it; be not a law to thy selfe, but be regulated by that which is a law to us all, the word of God; study not much how to make thy life longer, but better; consider that the longer thou art here, the [Page 112] longer thou art from God: let it be thy care rather to lead a good life, than a long; endeavour to thy a­bility to do wel, and grieve that thou canst not do bet­ter; doe not wrong to o­thers; forgive the wrongs which others doe thee; strive what thou canst to keepe a good name; but ra­ther a good conscience; if men mistake thee, comfort thy selfe that God which shal reward thee, doth not; looke upon the necessities of others, not as a stranger, but a member, as thou would'st have God looke upon thine; be good to all, [Page 113] God is so; but with a diffe­rence, Especially to the hous­hold of faith; cherish no sin in thy selfe, & countenance none in another; acquaint thy selfe rather with the commandements of God, than the decrees; and con­clude of thy salvation to thy selfe, rather by a di­ligent observing of his re­veal'd will, than by search­ing into his secret will; let not the changes of this World, to preferment or want, make thee either fond of thy life, or weary of it; be contented to live, but be desirous to dye, To bee dissolv'd, and to bee with [Page 114] Christ; and if thou canst not attaine to perfection upon earth, aime at it.

Let thy first care be to be good thy selfe, thy next care to make others so; be not a Christian in shew on­ly, yet in every thing shew thy selfe a Christian; doe nothing but what is good, and speake nothing but what is truth; hee is the best Christian that speakes well, and doth as hee speakes.

[Page 124]Let it trouble thee more to do a fault, then to heare of it; if thou art ill spoken of by another, first call thy selfe to account; before him, it may be thou deser­vest it; be more sorry that it is true, than that it is knowne; if false, it is not thy fault that thou art be­ly'd; it is thy comfort that it is a lye; doe not think to be ever free from censure, here, nor sometimes from faults; he is the best man that erres seldomest, he is more than a man that ne­ver erres.

In Religion receive no opinion upon credit, and [Page 125] vent none upon discon­tent; bee of that opinion that may save thee, ra­ther than that may raise thee; let not the doores of thy lips move upon the hinges of another mans tongue; speake what thou thinkest, not what others speake: so follow good men, as remembring they are but men; goe rather the way which you ought, than the way that is gone; make others companions but not copies, or so farre copies as they agree with the Original.

Take whatsoever God doth, thankfully; and doe [Page 126] whatsoever he commands cheerefully; labour to make a good use of ill accidents; hate every mans sin, love every mans per­son, and love no mans sin for the persons [...].

Feare rather to doe ill, than to suffer for thy ill doing; he that truly feares sinne shall never feare pu­nishment; think upon the goodnesse of GOD and thou wilt love him, and thinke upon the justice of God, and thou wilt feare him, & so by consequence, love that which may free thee from this feare; and so betweene these two, [Page 127] thou wilt feare to doe any thing against him whom thou lovest, and thou wilt at (least) not love to doe any thing against him for feare.

If the actions of another reflect to thy harme, ex­amine not what is done; but what was intended; and if hee intended no ill, thinke hee hath done thee none, though in effect hee have; willingly doe no wrong; winke at those wrongs that are unwil­lingly done thee, GOD▪ doth so, and measures what wee doe by what we meant to doe; he that [Page 128] shot at a marke and kill'd a man, by the Law of God was not held a mur­derer; God that workes in us both to will and to doe, as hee doth some­times accept the will for the deed; so hee doth u­sually measure the deed by the will.

Doe not easily enter­taine a friend, nor easily part with him; thinke him no true friend, whom one injury can make thine ene­my; or that accounts eve­ry errour an injury; he must have no friends, that will have a friend with no faults; make no man [Page 129] thine enemie by doing him wrong; become not an ene­my to every one that wrongs thee, account e­very man thy neighbour, though thine enemie, that needs thee.

In Religion look to the end but by the meanes; thinke not to partake of what God hath promis'd, but by doing in some measure what hee hath commanded; though hea­ven bee had without our desert, yet it is not had without our paines; then mayest thou hope that God will be as good as his word to thee, when thou [Page 130] sincerely endeavourest to bee as good as his Word commands thee to bee to­wards him.

Doe nothing which is ill, nor every thing which is lawfull; measure not thy liberty by the law­fulnesse of the thing, but the expediencie; many times an unseasonable good, though it bee not ill in it selfe, yet it is, in the occasion of it; hee which will at no time for­beare to doe something which hee may, will at sometime doe something which he may not.

Be content to heare of [Page 131] anothers prayses before thee without repining; and to tell of anothers praises without detracting; to speak well of all men, or not at all; for as it is flattery to speake that good of ano­ther which is false; so it is detraction, to speak that ill of another unnecessarily which is true.

Forgive the wilfull in­juries of any, yet tell him of them; by shewing him his fault, thou shewest him his duty; doe not love him lesse for it, but trust him lesse; but if hee bee thorowly sorry for it, bee thou thorowly satisfied; [Page 132] GOD askes no more for thine; consider that to suf­fer wrongs is common to thee with Christ, and to forgive wrongs is proper to thee as a Christian; GOD doth suffer such wrongs to bee, that hee may exercise thy patience; and he commands thee to forgive those wrongs, that thou mayest exercise thy charity.

So live as thou mayest not bee afraid to dye, as thou mayest bee assur'd of a better life after death; doe nothing which shall need an excuse, or feare a witnesse, and so use this [Page 133] world, as remembring you must account for it in the next.

Let thy discourse bee ever of goodnesse, but not of thine owne; or of the good which thou hast re­ceived of God, not which thou hast done; if thy talk be good, thou doest at once both shew goodnesse, and teach it.

Be good without much noise; be provident with­out perplexedness; be mer­ry without lightnesse; be bountifull without waste; live to the benefit of all, but to the service only of GOD.