Works, Part 4 · Religious instruction · Chapter 23
CHAP. XXIII. Of Examples, and how we must not sinne vponupon example, and of diuers occasions of sinne.
OVr plaine excuses now adaies are mosest, it is a custome, sic vinitur, there be many others that liue so. Are not our arguments now adaies such, as the Eunuches, 1. King. 22. vntounto Micheah. See all the Prophets which are foure hundred speake good to the king. i. as the king would hauehave them, therefore I pray thee, say thou so too. This is one argument, and how do ye answere it? Euen as Chusa said to Absalon, that hee went not with his friend, because the multitude was not with him, for where the multitude is, euen there will I be. Heere is the practise, but where is a precept for it? I will shew you where ye shall hauehave a precept for it. There is a fellow, a controller of Moses, the child of Belial, that hath aAntichrist. precept. Deny nothing that you may win the multitude. But, if hee had staied there, hee had not bin clean contrary to Moses. Exo. 23. 2. but he goeth further & saith; Though they goe wrong, thou must go with them, and do as they do. Oh that this leade not to perdition: We are naturally inclined to this; eueryevery man is first euil, eueryevery one by nature is a Papist, a Machiuelist, eueryevery one is giuen to follow a multitude. Of this doctrine some may hauehave vse now, & some hereafter. And seeing, as Aeschines saith, we must learne that now whilest we be yong, which we must practise when we be old: I shall think the word of God hath it fruit, if any shall beware by it, & practise it hereafter. First, I note, wher the holy Ghost flatly forbiddeth the following of a multitude, that it is a thing that commeth to passe daily: we must not think the holyDe raris non praecipitur. Ghost giueth precepts of those things, that come not to vse in 7. yeeres, this is one chief point in all offices. Plato in his Alcibiades had perswaded Alcibiades to liue iustly al his life time: he promiseth that he will do so. I pray God, saith Socrates, you may begin, and also continue, but I feare least the sway of the multitude carrie you away: and to an Elder he writeth, though the multitude do not change you, yet it may be as rubs in your way. I will shew you a reason hereof, Rom. 7. Paul saith, there be many good things that I would doe, and cannot, and many euill things, which I would not do, and yet doe them. And why? because there is a law in my members rebelling against the law of the Spirit. But when there is a law of companie comming to, then the case is dangerous, and in a double perill.Note.
2 There is an vse of following, and this word follow is often in the Scriptures. We mustHow far we may follow others. follow with choise, iudgement and limitation. The wise man saith, it is the propertie of a foole to follow vniuersally, that, whatsoeuer he seeth others do, he must needs do the same That eie is very weake that cannot look on a bleare eie, but it must be bleared; and Seneca saith in his booke *De vita beata. Pecora campi.of the blessed life: We follow the droue like the beasts of the field; when we thinke we goe to the pasture, it is very like we should go to the shambles. S. Iames vouchsafeth not to compare vsus to liuing creatures, but to the froth of the sea, which is caried vp and downe with the water; so we be caried and goe not. The reason why we doeHard to iudge, but we soone credit. thus is, because it is an hard matter to iudge, but an easie matter to giuegive credit. We beleeue, how we should liue we iudge not. We may see what their iudgement is by the Logicke, which they vse: they rest only in examples and similies, which how weake argumēts they be, eueryevery man knoweth, no man will admit them in disputation. Yet when we come to examples, see what iudgement we shew, we take them by tale and number them not, we neuer waigh them, as he said. No man would so receiue his groats, as we doe examples, weNemo sic denarios suos. ought not therefore to follow without choise. We must not pleade simplicitie, and say we came but behind: for if we cōsent, it is enough, though we be not the foremen, Rom. 1. 31.To consent to sinne is cosen to the committing of sinne. we must not onelyonly eschew those that do euill, but those also, that consent to euill, and Ephes 5. 7. we are charged not to be companions with them. And how is that? Dauid telleth you, Psal 50. 18. thou seest a theefe, and dostrun with him. 1. Tim. 5. 2…. Lay hands sodainly o…no man, neither be partaker of other mens sinnes, Act. 7. Saul threw neuer a …one at Steuen, but kept the clothes of them, that stoned him: and yet the holy Ghost bringeth him within the compasse of murther. And so because the Iewes chose not Christ rather than Barrabas, the spirit of God saith, They killed the Lord of life, wherefore with Augustine I say▪ it is euill enough to follow and consent to euill.
3 Many and few be respectiue words, for so it is said in one place, that Dauid had manyHow this word vulgus is to be taken. sonnes. How many? seuen: and in another place Dauid is said to hauehave a few souldiers. How few? seuen hundred. So in that respect seuen are a great many, and seuen hundred a few. Againe least we should thinke a multitude to consist onelyonly of rude and vnlearned, and poore people, we must know, that by vulgus is mēt not only those that hauehave chl…mydes, but those that hauehave coronas also, not only those, that goe in round caps, but them that goe in square caps also, & we may heare as vulgar speeches of the learned, as of the vnlearned. The 400. Prophets although they were learned, yet they were a multitude, and had a lying spirit in them. And certaine it is, they neuer proue truely learned, that lacke religion, and the true feare of God, their wits serue them but to vulgar vses, and to discouer themselues.
4 The best things hauehave not commonly most voyces, and it is a great presumption thatGreat things are not alwaies good, and the greatest number is not alwaies best. the things are the worse, if they hauehave a common consent. This part is great, therefore the worse, saith Seneca. So Aristotle, great and good is not all one: the first finder out of mans wisedome found out this, and alwaies after made it his poesie; The most the worse. He found it by the earth, seeing much pot-earth, and little to make golde; so there is much pot-reason. And Aristotle giuing a reason of the hardest & fairest, saith, first that they be so by nature: and secondly, because of the multitude of them, that resist it. This is a common prouerbe with Lawyers, such as be ouercome appeale to the people. This is espied out of the heathen, and ye… our Christians cannot see. But let vsus come to the scripture, Gal 1. 10. If I Vict… est prouocare ad populum.should please men, I should not be the seruant of God, i. the most men. The Angels come by two or three at the most, but the diuels are said in the scripture to come by legiōs, the scripture willing vsus to flie the wicked, saith flie the world, because they are the most. Hoseah compareth the good to gleaning after the haruest, then the great haruest is the diuels, & a smal number the Lords. Againe, seeing they are so great a number, they must hauehave a broad way, but it leadeth to destruction. Indeed it must be a great way, in the which most must trauell; and the godly hauehave a narrow way, and therefore Dauid saith, Lord shew me thy pathes, and he lookes at the iournies end. In heauen there is roome enough, but hell, as Ezechiel saith, must be enlarged; so dāgerous it is to follow a multitude which is alwaies like it selfe, & ye may see how iudgemēt passeth on their behalfe, when it is put to them. There was a voyce put vp for making a golden Calfe, and there was not one against it. There was a voyce what should be done with Iesus, and all cried, crucifie him. Another was, whether God should be God, or B…al should be God, and none held with God but Eliah. Also whether Christ or Barrabas should be loosed, and all chose Barrabas. And in a good matter, whether Ioseph should goe into the pit or no, and all but Ruben consented he should. In religion we can grant, that vniuersality is no note of the truth: and if any obiect vntounto vsus, what, so many Princes, so many Nobles, and yet hauehave they not the true religion? we can answere out of Paul: not many noble, not many mighty hath the Lord chosen, but in our life we cā not be drawne to confesse the same. Wherefore let vsus beware of following the multitude.
5 Particular examples may be made generall instructions, when the cause of them is generall. When an example is grounded vponupon a generall equitie, then may it be followed, but when it hath some particular respect and contrarie to the generall equitie, it may not be followed, though it were well done. Yet that was not well done of Zipporah, because itCircumcisiō by Zipporah. Exod. 4. was the office of a man to doe that she did, as appeareth, Gen. 17. for, in that the Lord departed, it was rather for the faith of Moses, than that the thing was right. So was it in the example of Simeon and Leui, who sinned: yet had the Lord more respect of their fathers faith to crowne it, than of their sinne to punish it; yet was it still sinne. Therefore when we cannot doe well, as we thinke, because of others, as wife, friend, husband, &c: let vsus know that the fault is in our selues: for if we were faithfull, they should be so farre from hindering vsus, that euen by vsus perhaps they might be saued. 1. Cor. 7.
6 It were a good thing to make other men our looking glasse, and in their falles and infirmities either to behold ours present, or to suspect them to come.
7 It is not good to binde any to our examples.
8 It is euermore a safer thing to insist in the generall rules than in the particular examples.Examples in Scripture how to be followed.
9 We may not follow eueryevery good example in Scripture, and when we follow any, we must looke we hauehave the same spirit and the like affection.
10 Many call euill good, by speaking for it, by not speaking against it, by defending it in themselues, defending it in others, who are worse than Saul, 1. Sam. 15. for after a while1 he bethought himselfe, he cōfessed: but these men after they hauehave once taken vponupon them2 to defend a sinne, will defend it still, they will dwell in it, liue in it, die in it, goe to hell in it.3 4. Proctors they are of ill causes; parasites, I would they were only in comedies, such as soweThe defence of sinne. qui laudant peccatores. pillowes, Ezech. 13. and Psal. 10. such as they Act. 12. the voyce of a God: such as Absalom, 2. Sam. 15. that said that all matters that came before him, were good. These perswade others to sinne, either by shew of reason, Gen. 3. or by shew of religion, as Absalom did, or1 by shew of stature, Ioh. 19 we hauehave a law: by faire promises, as the diuell to Christ, all this I2 will giuegive thee; or by saying, ye shall finde more ease, Ieroboams reason for the Calfe, with a3 Pilate voyce; or if you will not, say as N…buchadnezzar saith, you shall into the furnace.4 But some of these doe say. 1. I neuer spake word in commendation of this or that euil matter.5 But hauehave ye not heard the common saying, *the thing it selfe speaketh. The heauens declare 6the glory of God, Psal. 19 and yet speake neuer a word: Their actions speake lowder andRes ipsa loquitur. plainer than their tongues. These in iudgement absolue Barrabas and condemne Christ, and so bestow on the euil such things, as belong to the good. They bestow preferments onPrefermēts. them, that least deserue, as Ieroboam did the Priests office on the basest sort of the people:Simile. and so it is in our times, for many hauehave places both in Church & cōmonwealth, which canImpedire qui potest, si non v…tat iubet. Alicna peccata si feras, facis tua Seneca. Ambros. ad Rom. 1. Sunt quidam qui se reos non putant, si non operentur quae mala sunt, assentiunt autem facientibus, (assentire enim est si cum possint reprehendere taceant) qui quia fomitem praebent illorum peccatis, digni sunt vt pari crimine censeantur. serue for nothing but to be cōsonāts, alwaies following the sound of their vowels, hauing none of their owne. 2. Some speake not against sinne: when Hely had let his sonnes faults passe, God said he hououred them more than him, & God counteth vsus honoured of sinne, when we see and say nothing, Psalm 50. When thou sawest a theefe, &c. Though we doe but stand by and looke on, as Paul did, we are made allowers of the fact: So Peter makes the Iewes, Act. 4. You hauehave killed the Lord of life. We say the gardiner is the cause that weeds doe growe, because he letteth them grow: And so it may be said in Church and common-wealth of them which will not rebuke sinne, when they may, because they will not be medlers. 3. But some hauehave a little more care, but yet thinke it sufficient to be of Gamaliels minde, Let it alone, if it be not of God it will come to nought, loth to speake against euill; and so they see it and say nothing. 4. Or as those which say something, but yet as good as nothing, as Ely did ye doe not well my sonnes: they speake as a seruant to his master softly because he would not wake him, they hit peraduenture the skirt when they should smite the head, and sometimes misse altogether, or hit those they should not. 5. Or seeme to speake somewhat roundly, but be so short witted, or so short winded, that they cannot speake much, a little they doe and soone leaue off, as King Ioash, 2. King. 13. 14. 10. 11. 6. Some speake out of time, when they first let an ill matter passe, then they speake against it. 7. But some are worse than all these, which giuegive men some morsell to stop their mouth, as Aeneas is said to giuegive Cerberus a soppe that he might not barke, or muzzle thē that they cannot speake, taking away their tongues and liuings; or prescribe what they shall say: as Micah. 2. 11. Prophesie of wine, or as Amazias said to Amos, Prophesie not against Israel. Amos, 7. 11. 12.
11 Wee must learne a Logick of the holy Ghost, Exod. …3. 2. to answere the topicks of the world, which defend their doings by; Others doe so, and learnedner and wiser than you hauehave d… it. And indeed we must not onelyonly forsake a multitude, but we must also adde this to dissent from the traditiōs of the elders. It commeth all to one end: for it differeth not, whether we say many, or one great one as many for if one thing be equiualent to a multitude, we may say as the Hebrue and the Greeke doe, that they are al one; ten shillings and an angellMulti perentiunt vt gra… dines. are all one. There be that thinke it is of more force many smite like haile stones, but great men like great thunderbolts. And if we consider it well, if one be slauish, the multitude is as a waspe, the great man like a Lyon with bloodie …eeth, and therefore of greaterPotentes vt fulmina. force. If we vrge the multitude, a man may caution against them▪ they are but sculles without braines: authority is a great scholler, if such a Rabbi be of the opiniō, it is not like they should be out of the way. Men commonly say, that there are but the great matters of the Church and common-wealth to be cared for, other matters are but rattels for children to play with: But Dauid prayeth as well for the little hils as for the great mountaines; and Christ saith, we must be faithful in little, and if we cannot better one talent, the Lord should do iustice if he shuld put no moe into our hāds. Elihu supposeth, that in the Rabbins must needs be wisedome, yet after he perceiueth that the greatest is not the wisest, but the inspiratiō of the Almighty giueth wisdome. Kimkie writeth, that in their colledges they suffered the younger schollers to speake first, & to shew their opinions, that they might not be oppressed with the authoritie of the elders, and then afterwards the Rabbins; and this orderMal… errate cum Pla…one quàm verum dicere cum alio. is kept in diuers Vniuersities vntill this day. Many will say, I had rather erre with Plato than speake truth with another, a most prophane sentence. And marke how these men going thus against the holy Ghost doe euen destroy Logike it selfe. For what argument is this? such a one saith it, therefore I may doe it? It is not against reason? And to doe that which is nought, and then to affirme it by authoritie, young schollers hauehave learned to hisseAuthorem magnum sequi est penè sape…e. A. It is rather desipere quod exemplo fit i… iure fieri videtur. A. The Lawyers answere videtur sed stultis. it out, and yet our Rabbins vse it themselues, and cannot learne to denie it when it is vsed of others. Againe in authoritie we know that it is required, both that the author be not deceiued (for if he be blind, the blind followeth the blind) & also that we be sure, that he will let vsus know the truth. But the holy Ghost saith all men are lyers, & therefore they will deceiue, and our knowledge is in part, & euen in that part of our ignorance may the controuersie fall out, and all our goodnesse is as a stained cloth, and therefore no warrant is for vsus in men but in God onelyonly, who hath all skill & goodnes, and therefore him we may follow, not men; and vnlesse Christ come down and worke among vsus we may follow no mans example: Cursed is the man, saith the Lord, Ierm. 17. that maketh flesh his arme: This Axiome and error was once in diuinitie: The Pope cannot erre, & therfore the curse of God was on it; we at this day denie it, and say; Pope, Councels & Church may erre. This we say and hold in diuinitie, but in morall matters, wherein are most slippes, wee hauehave let in the former Axiome. Here Protestants will set themselues vp a Pope, yea many Popes, but the curse of God remaineth on it; for flesh is their arme. With great reason therefore the holy Ghost setteth it downe. This were plaine enough, if men had not a prodigious spirit of errour in them: but for all this, this is the fig-tree still, and they that hauehave eaten the forbiddenPatres, principes & propheiae. fruit come hither for fig-leaues, Rabble such a one. Looke through the bookes of the Prophets, and you shall heare the people alwaies answere: our fathers did it, our Princes gaue vsus leaue, our Prophets defended it. Let vsus resume the argument of the Eunuch to Micheas, he saith: behold all speake good to the King, for therein lieth the force of his argnment: for it is as forcible to a carnall man to say the King would hauehave it so, as all the Prophets to denie it. Now I will shew you how a King was moued with this argument, that you may see the force of it. 1. Sam. 29. Dauid must be gone from Achish, to morrow before day, saith1. Sam. 29 6. the King, looke you be gone. Why, saith Dauid, what hauehave I done? thou hast done good in my sight, saith the King, neither hauehave I found any euill in thee. Why then must I goe? my Princes fauour thee not, saith the King, they thinke thou art not good. Is that enough? Dauid proceedeth and defendeth himselfe. The King replieth; thou art in my sight as an Angell of heauen, but the princes of my people will hauehave thee gone. Here the King is carried away with his Rabbins. A strange thing that the King should thrust him out, whom his owne heart iustified, for two or three sonnes of Beliall. Ioh. 7. they send to Christ two or three to entrap him in his speech: they returne and say, we neuer heard man speake as hee doth: this was it onelyonly that caried them, Doe any of the Scribes and Pharisies, or of the rulers fauour him? But (Ioh. 19.) yee shall see the strangest thing of al, they would hauehave Christ to be put to death, wee hauehave a law, say they, by which he must dye. The maior followeth, for he made himselfe the sonne of God, the law is Leuit. 24. So that their syllogisme might seeme very good, but their minor was naught. Well the law would nothing moue Pilate, therefore they seeke a new argument for Pilate, and that is: If you let him goe Pilate, you are not Caesars friend. Presently against his owne conscience hee condemneth him to death. Will you not doe it, why Caesar will hauehave it so? yee see then what force is in this Logicke argument, and no doubt it will moue, vnles wee put off both Pilates and King Achish nature.
12 EueryEvery sin hath two reasons for it, an open and a secret reason; the open is to blindWe hauehave two reasōs for sin, and we often bolsterit with authoritie of great men, or example of the learned which wee must not doe. the world withall: yee shall see it in Iudas, his open reason was the poore: better it is the poore should bee prouided for, than waste should bee made: his secret argument was the bagge, hee carried the bagge, and paid himselfe for the carrying. So that whatsoeuer they pretend, the secret reason is the bagge. The second argument is made out of the Smiths forge, but schollers cannot answere it. By Diana wee get our gold, saith Demetrius, and therefore great is Diana: So that Diana shall be great, if wee can get by het. This is their secret argument: profit makes it honest. Thirdly, we set downe with our selues euen to consume our selues, so we may get. And for this looke, 1. Sam. 23. in Sauls oration: Hearken yee sonnes of I…mini, can this sonne of Ishai giuegive you fields and vineyards, and make you captaines ouer hundreds and thousands? No, no, it is I that can doe it: and will yee then follow him? So that he that can preferre you, or giuegive you a field or a vineyard either in Church or Common-wealth, him yee follow. So Balaac saith to Balaam. Why come ye not when I sent for you? am not I able to preferre you? So that is alwaies their inward argument, whatsoeuer is pretended outward. Their fourth reason is this. It is foolish to stand against him: the King will hauehave it so, hee will hauehave the vineyard, so that Naboth was a foole to dye. Let vsus come to the open reasons for sinne, which are two: Commaundement to doe the sinne, or example for it; commaundement from them in authoritie, example from the learned: for commandement you shall see it in Esay. 36 Rabsakah his commandement, the King saith so, he bid▪ me doe it. Now if he had spoken this of Dauid as he did of Rabsakah a most wicked wretch, yet had it not been enough for his warrant. For, if that were sufficient, then were it enough to slay Amon at Absolons commaundement, and as soone as the seruants shall hauehave taken witnesse that their master gaue them leaue or bad them they might kill Amon, they might doe it; and because Iesabel commandeth to slay Naboth, the Elders may by this reason lawfully slay him, if they bee so wise as to keepe Iezabels letters to shewe for themselues. And if Plato could say, that the Common-wealth is like a fish, that perisheth first at the head, and as a cunnies skinne that strippeth off easily, vntil it come at the head, & there stayeth; so alwayes reformation stayeth there. The second argument, which is example, ye shall finde, Ierem. 18. The Iewes being reproued of Ieremy say, Come, let vsus imagine somewhat against him, let vsus smite him with the tongue. Why? Counsaile shall not perish from the Priests: We follow them, therefore we cannot erre. Can my Lord Pashur not know this, and shall it be reuealed to this Ieremie? So in the Gospell: Can Caiphas and Annas not knowe this Christ, and shall we receiue him? Nicodemus was learned, and saide, you may not condemne this man: Oh: say they, you must looke better on your booke: Caiphas he saith, you are starke fooles, and see nothing, better it is that one die, than the people perish. Looke what the statutes of Omrie will affoord, and Achab suffer, so farre God shall bee serued: but if Caesar bid me doe no more, God shall hauehave no more. At the first comming to Balaac Balaam thrice setteth down a good proposition, I would wee could followe it; I would not for this house full of gold doe otherwise: he thought by keeping this good rule to hauehave beene preferred by the King. But the King saith to him, goe your wayes, I had thought to hauehave preferred you: and afterward for lesse than halfe a house full of gold hee willeth the King to mingle harlots with the children of Israel, so to cause them to sin. And this I see to be generall in men, that if they presse not, and guide not their affections by the word, they wil carry them away.
13 EueryEvery sinne hath a small beginning. First the diuell will craue of vsus to yeelde himIt is not good to smother sin whiles it is young. but a little, but in the end he will come further. Hee will, and so will his champions at the first binde vsus with a little corde, that we may breake when we list: but in the end it groweth to a rope, and then we cannot breake it. Moses would not yeeld for one hoofe, because hee had no commaundement for it. A marueilous strange fellow, will he not yeeld a little? what not for so little as for an hoofe? why men thinke it nothing to yeeld a little, de minimis non …urat lex. But a great matter is made of a little pricke, and a great tree will arise of a little mustard seede.