Concerning the Truth of Christian Religion, Chapter 16
The xvj. Chapter.
That mans nature is corrupted, & man falne from his first originall: and how.
YET for all this, let not man bee proude of the excellencie or immortalitie of his Soule: for the more he hath receyued of his maker, the more is he indebted to him; and the more excellent that his nature is, the more lothsome and daungerous is the corruption therof. The Peacocke is sayd to be proud of his gay fethers, when he sets vp his tayle round about him: but when he hath once stretched out his wings, he falles into a dump, and as soone as he lookes vponupon his féete, he casts mée downe his tayle and is ashamed. Euen so, as long as we thinke vponupon the liuelinesse of our Spirit, and the excellencie of our Soule as in respect of the nature thereof; surely wee hauehave whereof to glorifie God that gaue it vntounto vsus, and of his gracious goodnesse hath voutsafed to honor vsus aboue al other creatures. On the other side, if wee consider how this nature of ours is straungely defiled and corrupted, and how farre it is digressed from the first originall thereof: surely there is no remedie but we must be ashamed of our selues, and woonder to see from how great a heigth we be now falne and sunke downe. Euen so the best Wine becommeth the sharpest and eagrest Uineger, and of Egges (which were in old tyme the delicats of Kings) is made the rankest poyson. For looke what degrée of goodnesse a thing holdeth while it abydeth in his nature, the same degrée of euill doth it come vntounto, when it falleth into corruption. Now then, looke how much our originall generation was the better; so much shall the corruption that lighteth into it be the woorser: which thing according to the order which I hauehave vsed hetherto, wee may examine towards God, towards the world, towards men, and towards our selues.
Greatly in good sooth is man bound vntounto God,Mans corruption appeereth in his respect to Godward. if he would consider it; and very blynd is hée if he hauehave not the skill to perceiue it. Of the great multitude of Creatures which God had created, hee hath giuen to some but onelyonly bare béeing; to some, both béeing and lyfe; and to other some both béeing, lyfe, and sence; But vntounto man he hath giuen all these, and moreouer a reasonable mynd, whereby he (and onelyonly he héere beneath) knoweth in all things what they hauehave and what they bee, which thing they themselues knowe not. Which is an euident proof, that whatsoeuer they hauehave or whatsoeuer they be, they hauehave it and are it for man, & not for themselues. For to what purpose are all their vertues and excellent properties, if they themselues knowe them not? The Sonne excellent among the celestiall bodyes, and the Rose among flowers. The beast is a degree aboue the Trees, and among the Beastes, one hath some one poynt which another hath not. But what skilles it what thou art or what thou hast, if thou knowe it not? What booteth thee the light, if thou see it not? what art thou the better for swéete sents, if thou smell them not? Or what auayleth it thee to excell in any thing if thou discerne it not? Of a trueth, only man of al the things in this inferior World, can skill of these things and how to inioy them; and therfore it must néedes be that they were made for none but him; that is to wit, that to speake properly, GOD hath giuen vntounto him whatsoeuer all other creatures either hauehave or be; and he hath not dealt with him simply as with a Creature, but rather as with a Child of his, for whom he hath expresly created this worlde and giuen it him to possesse. Now if the thing that is possessed bee infinitely lesse than the possessor thereof; and the world is giuen to man to possesse: how farre then doth man excell the world? And how greatly is man bound vntounto God, who created him of nothing that is to say, not only hath giuen the world vntounto man, but also giuen euen man to man himselfe? Wherefore if he acknowledge not him to whom he is beholden, not only for this inheritance but also euen for his owne being: what shall we say but that he is an vnnaturall and bastardly Childe, euen such a one as hath lost not onelyonly his right mynd, but also euen his sences? But of so many men, of whom all and singuler persons stand bound, both ioyntly and seuerally in the whole and for the whole of that great bond for performance of the Condition thereof, how fewe be there which doe once thinke of it, and how much fewer be there which thinke well of it? Nay, how fewe bee there which knowe that there is such a bond, and how much fewer doe dispose themselues to acknowledge it? And if perchaunce some one or two among many doe dispose them selues thereunto, yet notwithstanding who is he that euer was able to atteyne vntounto it, considering that it importeth a yéelding vntounto God of that which is his due: that is to wit, the imploying of our selues and of all that he hath giuen vntounto vsus, euen our whole being and life, our Sences, our Reason, our doings, and finally all that euer we hauehave both within and without vsus, in his seruice? and that wee contrarywise turne all things to our selues as to their proper ende, yea and euen our selues to our selues which are nothing? If we kept a reckoning of our life, how small a part thereof do we bestowe vponupon God? How fewe of our steppes doe wee walke in his seruice? How fewe of our thoughts are directed vntounto him? And if wée looke vppon our very prayers, what are they but continuall offences, seeing that euen in the middest of our greatest vehemencie, we vanish away by and by into vayne imaginations, and are caried as farre away from our prayers into wandering conceyts, as heauen is distant from earth, and further? What Sonne will not fall out with him that speakes euill of his Father? or els all that stand by will count him a coward if he passe it ouer with silence? Contrarywise, which of vsus is moued when he heareth Gods name blasphemed? or if he be moued, that setteth himselfe in defence of him: or if he set himselfe in defence, doth not by and by forget it? What then doth this argewe, but that in very trueth, our Soule liueth not, but our Body; and that our Soule hath not her mouings and actions free and liuely, seeing it is not moued at the iniuries that are done to the Soule and to the father that made the Soule, but at the wrongs that are done to the body and to the father of the bodie? If a man breake the Scutchions of our Armes, wee take it to bee a great disgrace to vsus, and a touching of our credite; and if hée breake our Images or Pictures, we fall out with him and will neuer be reconciled: And if it be done to a Prince, he makes it a poynt of high Treason; and that we doe not the like, it is not for want of pride, but for want of power to reuenge it. On the contrary parte, which of vsus is greeued at the wrong that is done to his neyghbor, or rather which wrongeth not his neyghbor eueryevery day? Or which is much moued when he seeth a man slayne before his face, vnlesse he be his brother or néere friend? Nay, which of vsus our selues doth not daylie kill his brother, eyther in very déede, or in heart, eyther with the Sword I meane, or by hatred, euen for the least offence that can be pretended, and so teareth or breaketh not the Image of God which he hath paynted and ingraued in man, euen eueryevery hower without any regard? Now what els is this, but that we know not this Image of God to bee in our selues? For otherwise how durst wee bee so presumptuous, as to offer any hurt or harme vntounto it, but because the secret consent of all mankinde in such outrage, confesseth it to be quite and cleane forgone, or at leastwise to bee so disfigured and defaced, and so straungely berayed, that it can scarsly bee discerned any more? And because the kindred that is betwéene all men, deriued from the father of their Soules, moueth vsus very little, but the vyle kindred of the flesh moueth vsus very much, which is as farre inferiour to the other, as there is oddes betwixt ye soule and a lump of earth, or betwéene the fathers of eyther of them; that is to wit, betwéene GOD and Man: Yet notwithstanding, seeing that the wickeddest man in the world, and such a one as seemeth to bee touched with nothing, hauing once slayne him whom he hated most of all men, doth by and by after the deede done, feele a hart… byting in his mynd, and a torment in his Conscience; which thing he feeleth not for the killing of a thousand beastes eueryevery day; what can we say to be the cause thereof, but only the remaynder of Gods Image common to all men, which putteth him in mynd of the wickednesse that he hath done, and is highly offended at his owne offence, and which (according to this saying The good blud lyeth not) maketh our indytement of it self, and would fayne euen it self be reuenged of vsus within vsus? Therfore let vsus say (which thing we cannot denye vnlesse wee denye our selues) that God created man to be to him as a Child, and that man is growne out of kynd, yea straungely growne out of kynd, not regarding (as wee see in most men) to bee knowne eyther of his father or of his brethren, (which thing notwithstanding the bastards of this world do seeke to their vttermost to doe) but by his will going about to abolish his pedegrée and al his titles of kindred, that he might be called the Sonne of the earth,The sonne of the earth. (which was the name of Bastards in old tyme) rather than the some of him that begate him, and created so many things for him to inioye. For proofe whereof to be true, what ame we at in all our studies and indeuers, but the earth and earthly things? Had we continued still in our originall creation, wee should according to the spirituall substaunce of our Soules, hauehave naturally pursewed spirituall things, yea and hauehave mounted vp aboue the very heauenly things. But where seeke wee now our inheritance, our welfare, and our felicitie, but in these transitorie things? And whereof are al our suites and quarrels in this world, but of Cattell, of Corne and of Land? Wherefore we must néedes confesse, that it is a witnesse of the dishereting of Mankynd from the heritage of his father, and that he is in his fathers displeasure and dissauour, and that he doth but runne after Peasecoddes as the prodigall Childe did, when he had wasted his inheritance licentiously.
But now to come to those which make most profession of godlinesse; whence (thinke we) commeth the distrust that all of vsus hauehave naturally of Gods goodnesse and assistance; but of the feeling of our iust disherison, which our conscience is greeued at within vsus? The sonne of a good and rich father behighteth himselfe as much reléefe as his father is able to yéeld, and as he himselfe hath néede of. If not; but that the Child doubt thereof: we presume so farre of the fathers goodnesse, that we conclude that his sonne hath offended him, and made himself vnworthy of his goodnesse by some great cryme. Now then, seeing that God is the very goodnesse and riches themselues, wherof commeth it that no man can assure himself of them? that no man can rest himself boldly enough vponupon him? that no man can trust vntounto him so assuredly as his goodnesse requireth? and finally that our requestes are so full of distrust, and our hearts so full of vnbeléefe? Surely, séeing the fault cannot be in Gods goodnesse, which is a fountayne that cannot be dreyned drye: it must néedes be that the fault remayneth alonly in the naughtinesse and frayltie of our selues, which dare not hope for good at the hand of him which is most excellently good, because our whole nature telleth vsus that we bee vnworthie of his grace, by reason we hauehave offended him too gréeuously.
If we consider the gouernment and order of the World,In respect of the World. wee may euen there also find apparantly, that man holdeth not himself in his state, but is falne from the seate of honour wherein God had placed him. God had set him aloft, aboue the Stones, aboue the Plantes, aboue the Brute beastes, yea and aboue the world it selfe. If he abyde still in his degree, whence commeth it that so many men make themselues bondflaues to Gold and other mettals? and that so many men doe leade the life of Plants and brute beastes in the bodyes of men? some giuing themselues to nought els than to eating, drinking and sléeping, and neuer lifting themselues vp any higher; and othersome consuming and wasting themselues in most beastly delights & pleasures? For what beast is there that would be a Plant, or Plant that shooteth not vp to get out of the ground? To be short, what thing is there in the whole world sauing onelyonly man, which doth not very precisely kéepe the owne state and degree? I pray you if a man should see one with a princely Crowne al myry on his head, tilling the ground and following the Plough; what would he thinke but that he were deposed from his Throne, and that some mischief were befalne him? And what then is to be sayd of that man, which toyleth in Doonghils and skulketh into corners to wallowe himselfe in a thousand sorts of filthines, and imployeth all his wit vponupon such things: but that he is falne from the toppe of his mynde, and that by the greeuonsnes of that fall, he hath so lamed and maymed all his abilities, that it lyeth not in him to returne againe from whence he is falne? For who can deny but he is borne to greater things than hee doeth? Or who can thinke that GOD hath giuen him an immortall Soule, to the intent he should imploy himselfe altogether about things which are not so much as worthy to be mortall? Or a countenance which he calleth continually to the mynding of Heauen, to looke groueling on the myre? Or a Scepter, to play the dizard with it in a Playe? Or a triple Mace to rake Dounghilles withall, or too digge the ground withall?
Againe, how is the Lawe and order of gouernement which shineth forth in the whole world and in all the partes thereof, turned vpside downe in man who is the Litle World, by the disobedience of the Body to the Soule? In Plantes, in Trees, and in brute beastes, the soule distributeth nurrishmēt by proportion. Their bodyes obeye the direction of their Soules without geynsaying, and eueryevery abilitie performeth his duetie accordingly. The nurrishing abilitie followeth his appetites, and goeth not beyond them. The sensitiue followeth his naturall delights, but it violateth them not. But as for man, what shall wee say of him? Surely that his body commaundeth his Soule, as if the Plough should drawe the Horses, as they say; that his will suffereth it selfe to be ruled by his appetites; that his reason is an vnderling to his sences, and that his very whole nature is most commonly quite out of order. So must we needes confesse an ouerthrowe of nature, in him for whom neuerthelesse nature it selfe was made, and that man was swarued aside from his right way, seeing that all other partes of the World doe followe their Nature, and that Nature itselfe teacheth vsus it. What is to be sayd then, but that man is not onelyonly falne from the state wherein he was, to be set in lower degree than he was afore; but also that he is falne in himselfe and from himselfe, in and from his owne peculiar nature? Moreouer it is manifest that the world was created for mans vse; for the world knoweth not it selfe, nor the creatures that are therein. And ageine, as for the Angels, they needed it not; and as for the brute beastes, they hauehave no skill to vse it. OnelyOnly man hath vnderstanding to vse the seruice thereof, and a body that hath neede of their seruice. Sith it is so, who can doubt that God created man with a knowledge of his creatures, and also gaue him power ouer them? Whereof commeth it then that the beastes doe naturally knowe their seasons, the remedies of their diseases, and the Herbes that hauehave a proprietie of nature to heale them; and that only man among all other liuing things, knoweth them not, insomuch as he is fayne to goe to Schoole to the brute beastes to learne them? Also whereof commeth it that these creatures (which surely GOD made not to be snares to man, for that had bene repugnant to the goodnes of the Creator, but for mans benefite and seruice) doe now kicke and spurne ageinst man, yea euen those which hauehave no power or strēgth at all to withstand him? Let vsus omit Woolues, Leopards, and Lyons, which seeme to hauehave some force to ouermatch the weakenes of man. What meaneth it that wormes make vsus warre within our Bowels, yt vermin deuoureth our Corne, and that the earth yeeldeth vsus not any kind of fruit which hath not a peculiar enemie in it, to marre it ere it come to our hand: but to driue vsus to confesse, that man must needes hauehave offended his maker right greeuously, and that whereas Gods putting of his creatures in subiection to man, was to the end that man should hauehave continued in obedience vntounto GOD, now because man hath rebelled against Gods Maiestie, God also suffereth those to rebell against man, whom he had put in subiection to man, yea euen to the very off kourings of the earth? For what els is this contrarietie of the earth to him that tilleth it, of the Sea to him that sayleth it, and of the aire to the successe of all our labours and trauels, but a protestation of whole nature, that it disdeineth to serue a creature that was so presumptuous as to disobey his Creator; a creature I say, which by doing seruice to the creatures, hath forgone the authoritie which he had receiued of this Maker?
Now consequently let vsus consider man towards man.In respect of Man. What is there more disordered or more cōtrarie to nature, than is the nature of man himselfe? If beastes of one kind doe kill or eate one another; wee take it for an ougly thing. What an ouglynesse then ought it to be vntounto vsus, when wee see how men (who alonly be indued with reason,) doe eueryevery howre kill one another, and roote out one another? Nay rather is it not a great wonder to see good agreement and frendship, not among Nations, not betwéene Coū tries, not among Companies; but euen in households, yea and betweene Chamberfellowes? Wolues are cruell: but yet in what race of Wolues shall wee find Caribies and Cannibals? Lyons also are cruell: but yet where were they euer seene in Battell one against another? Now what is warre, but a gathering and packing vp together of all the sorts of beastlines that are in the world? And yet what is more common among men than that? A Beast (say some) will barke or grunt ere he byte; a house will cracke ere it fall downe; and the Wind whistleth ere it breake things. But contrariwise what is man towards man? who euen in laughing, threatneth, in saluting sleaeth, & vnderunder faire countenance of courteous interteynement, cloketh a thousand Serpents, a thousand Lyons, a thousand Quickesands, and a thousand Rockes at once? Well: let vsus leaue the wicked which discouer themselues too much. What doe wee in all our bargayning, buying and selling, but beguyle one another? or what doe we in our dalying, but delude one another? And what els is the whole societte of man which we so highly commend, but a selfgaine, and a very incroching one vppon another, the greater sort as tyrants vppon the meaner, the meaner vponupon the inferiour sort, and the inferiour sort one vppon another too take him in some trippe? To bee short, if wee doe any good, it is but to the end to bee seene; asfor in secret, wee will doe none at all. Ageine, if wee forbeare to doe euill, it is but for feare least the World should knowe it; and were that feare away, wee would stick at nothing. Wherto then serueth vsus our reason which should further vsus vntounto all goodnes, but to couer our naughtinesse, that is to say, to make vsus woorse and more vnreasonable? yet notwithstanding how vnreasonable so euer wee bee in all our doings, we cannot but knowe that there is a reason; and were it not in vsus, we could not conceiue it; and were it not corrupted, we should not swarue from it; and yet if we examine oure selues, we shalnot bee able to deny, but that we digresse very farre from it. Therefore we may well deeme of our reason, as of an eysight that is either impayred or inchaunted. It hath the ground of sight still; but yet it standeth the partie in no stead, but onelyonly to beguyle him by false images and illusions.
Let vsus come to man in himselfe,Man in respect of himself. and see whether at leastwise he louelove himselfe better than other men: and the more wee stirre him, the more shall we feele the stinche of his corruption. When a diseased man feeles peine, wee say there is corruption in his body; and furthermore that there is a default in Nature, or that the partie hath taken some great surfet, which hath brought him to that case. Nowthen what shal we say of the great nomber of diseases wherwith mankind is peyned, and wherewith he is so wholy ouerwhelmed, that there is not any age of his life, any part of his body, or any small string in any part of his flesh, which hath not some peculiar disease? Nay I say further, that man alone is subiect too mo diseases, than all other liuing things in this World togither. The Philosophers sawe it, and hauehave made bookes expresly thereof, and are vtterly amased and graueled in seeking out the cause thereof; and they could neuer yet yéelde any Reason thereof which might satisfie others or themselues. Neuerthelesse the most parte of them come to this point, that man is the most vnhappiest of all liuing wights; and they find fault with God and nature for it, whom notwithstanding they confesse to hauehave doone nothing but iustly in that behalfe. One sayes, that onelyonly Man fleaeth himselfe through impatience of greef. Another sayes, That the lyfe of man is such, as that death is rather to bee desired of him than lyfe. And of such speeches doe all their Schooles ring. There is another which with great woonderment, reckeneth vp certeine hundreds of diseases whereunto the eye alone is subiect. Now which of all the beastes hath so much as the thirtith part of them in his body? Is it likely that God, which hath giuen to Man so great preheminence aboue all his creatures, created him of purpose to torment him aboue all other creatures? Or rather is it not to be sayd, that man in his originall was created farre after another sort than he now is, whether it be in respect of the Creator himselfe, or of the ende for which hee created him? Surely then, let vsus say as we hauehave sayde afore, that the very cause why Man alone hath mo diseases in his body, than all other Creatures toogither; is for that hee hauing abused Gods gracious gifts, hath doone more euill than all they could skill too doe: and that the very euill and vntowardnes that is in them, is but to punish man withall: as for example, the Hayle and Snowe serue not to hurt the earth or the fruites of the earth, but to punish him that should take the benefite of them.
Againe, when we come to consider the Soule and the body knit together; what a number of affections doe we méete withall there, (which as saith Plutark) are so much more sorowfull and gréeuous than the bodily diseases, as the Soule is more sinfull and blameworthie than the bodie? To bring these passions to some reasonable order, the Philosophers hauehave made bookes expresly of Morall vertue, and giuen precepts (say they) to bring them to obedience: wherein they confesse the rebelliousnesse that is naturally in vsus against reason. But who feeleth not in himselfe, that their remedies serue not so much to take away the mischief, as to cloke it? Which is a playne declaration, that it is not a spot which may bee washed away, but a déepe impression bronded in nature as it were with a fearing yron, which in very déede is not to bee wyped out agayne, but couered; nor to be subdewed and ouercome, but with much a do to be restreyned and hild short. Furthermore, seeing that reason is so much more excellent than passion or affection, as the forme shape or fashion (say they) is more excellent than ye matter or stuffe wherin it is: whence commeth this infection in vsus, that maketh the matter to ouermayster the forme, and causeth the forme (as ye would say) to receyue shape and fashion of the matter; that is to say, which putteth reason in subiection to affection, & to the impressions which affection yéeldeth, contrary to the order which is obserued in all the whole world beside? For what els is this Intemperance of ours, but reason (such as it now remayneth) imprinted with lust and concupiscence? And what els is anger, but reason atteynted with choler, and so foorth of the rest? And if a man will say, that these things are naturall in vsus; whereof commeth it that of these affections, wee conceyue inwardly remorse, and outwardly shame; yea and that so naturally, as wee must of necessitie néedes feele them whether wee will or no, and can no more let them than we can restreyne the beating of our Pulses or the panting of our Hearts: but because that shame and remorse for sinne are naturall in vsus, but the sinne it selfe is against nature? As for example, there be things the doing wherof is in vsus vyce; and in brute Beasts, nature: for they be angry, they aduenge themselues, and they company together indifferently and in open sight: and of so doing they bee not ashamed, because it is their nature. Now, were these affections and fleshly pleasures as naturall in vsus as in the Beastes; as little should we bee ashamed of them, as they. But contrarywise, if an honest man come in while wee bee angrie, by and by our rage is repressed, as who would say our vyce did hyde it selfe from him: and if a man come vponupon vsus vnawares in taking our pleasure (yea though it bee well lawfull) wee blush, as if our blud were desirous to hide and to couer our doings. Yea and how secretly soeuer we be alone by our selues in executiō of our vyces; wee incounter continually with a companyon in our selues, which not only beareth witnesse of them, but also condemneth and punisheth them in vsus. Soothly then, the motions of anger and lust against reason in man, are not naturall nor originall, that is to say,Diodorus lib. 4. they procéede not of his first creation; but are come in afterward by corruption.Herodotus in his Clio. And therefore the remorse which happeneth vntounto vsus in those passions, is nothing but a secrete (howbeit very liuely) warning of nature, which is ashamed to play the brute beast; which thing she would not be, if those things were originally of mans nature. And in very déede, the vniuersall consent of mankynd in being ashamed to goe naked,Austin in his woork of the Citie of God, lib. 14. Chap. 17. and 18. insomuch that they had leuer to see the skinne of a Beast, or the excrement of a Woorme vppon themselues, than to sée their owne flesh: and the thing which Saint Austin noteth in all men; namely, that they will rather doe open wrong in all mens sight, than hauehave to doe with their lawful wines openly; doe euidently shewe that the beastlinesse (that is to say the concupiscence or lust) that is in carnall copulation, is not an originall nature, but a mere corruption thereof. Which thing our present age (but surely nothing to her prayse) may better proue vntounto vsus, than al the reasons in the world. For certeynly, considering the excessiue ouerflowing of vices which is to be seene, & ye customable vse of them, yea euen of such as are against nature, turned almost into nature; if euer voluptuousnesse could hauehave transformed it selfe into nature, and preuayled against nature, it must néedes hauehave bene in this our age; wherein notwithstanding, as strongly armed, authorised, and reigning as vyce seemeth to be, yet is she inforced to hyde herselfe euen in the middest of her tryumphs, vndoubtedly as acknowledging that she reigneth not ouer her owne, but ouer another mans.
Agayne, if ye hauehave an eye to friendship, to charitie, to the bringing vp of Children, to societie in Mariage; who will not say that for all our trayning vp to leade vsus thereto, and for all our reading to instruct vsus therein, yet we had néede to resort to the brute beastes to learne of them, and to take example of them, which is a token (as I sayd afore) that their nature is lesse corrupt than ours? If the case concerne the turning away from the vyces of Intemperance; Lecherie, Drunkennesse, Incest, & such others: who would thinke that our nature being so excellent, and (besides the discourse of reason (hauing so many Lawes, Statutes, Penalties, & Magistrates to helpe it; and being brydled with so many daungers, sorowes and paynes insewing the same; should yet notwithstanding not bee restreyned: whereas on the contrary part, the brute beastes doe naturally forbeare both foode and pleasure, sauing onelyonly so farre foorth as nature requireth, that is to wit, for the maintenance and preseruation of them selues and of their kind? And séeing their nature doth so vphold it selfe, and that our nature beeing stayed so many wayes, and closed in with so many barres, cannot bee vpheld nor kept within compasse: who can say that our nature (in case as it is nowe,) is not in worse plyght than theirs is? And yet who wil say that the Nature of the excellentest of all other Creatures, hath alwayes bene such from the first originall beginning thereof? All the sayd things are comon both to Man and Beast: but yet moreouer, Man glorieth of an excellencie of mynd inriched by God with infinite goodly gifts. What is to be said then, if in the thing whereby he surmounteth them, he be found inferiour to them? Or if in that which of it self is vncorruptible, corruption be most open and euident? Of so many men indewed with Reason, I pray you how many be there that vse it? That is to say, Of so many men, how many be not brute beastes? Or what rarer thing is there among men, than a very man in deede? And of such as vse Reason, how many be there that vse it well; that is to say, how many bee there which be not Diuels? Now take mee out of mankind the beastes and the diuels, and who will thinke it straunge that a Philosopher tooke a Torch at high nooneday, to seeke for a Man in the middes of a multitude? One sort all their life long doe set their mynd vppon nothing but this lyfe; they spare not so much tyme as to consider what that power is which woorketh that thought in them. What booteth it these more to hauehave a mynd, than it booteth a man to hauehave eyes that doth nothing but sléepe? Others imploy it about the defyling of some mans wife, or the deflowring of some maiden, or the glosing of some wrong, or the eluding of some right, or the sowing of discord in some household, or the setting of fyre on the fower corners of some Realme. To what purpose ageine is it for these men to hauehave a mynd, which is bent and intended to nothing but mischief? Or what els is such a mynd, than ye eye of the*The Catopleb and also the Cockatryce. beast of AEgipt, which killeth those whom it looketh vponupon, and it self also by ye rebounding back of his owne sight? Some in deede doo lift vp ye eye of their mynd aloft; but how farre or what see they? Surely (as saith Aristotle) euen as much as an Owle in the bright sunne. The Edge of vnderstanding rebateth at the outside of the least things that are: and how then shall it be able to enter into them? Our mynd is dazeled with vapors; and what will it be then at the vnaprochable light for which it was created? GOD created the World for man; therefore his intent was that man should hauehave the seruice thereof: and that he might hauehave the seruice of things, it behoued him to knowe them. Contrariwise, what thing doe wee knowe-sufficiently? What knowe wee in comparison of that wee knowe not? And how can wée vse the seruice of them, seeing euen the least things commannd vsus; not the Beastes, the Herbes, and the Stones only, but also euen the Earth and the very drosse thereof? God hath created man for his owne glory; and as man is the end of the World, so is GOD the end of Man. And it is not to be doubted, but that as God gaue man knowledge of the worlde, that hee might vse it too his behoofe; so hee gaue him knowledge of his Godhead, that he might serue him. But how many be there which ame at this marke? and how shall wee hit it if wee ame not at it? and how shall we ame at it, if we see it not? and how shall wee …ee it, if we thinke not on it nor passe not for it? Againe, let vsus bend our wittes to it as stoutly as we can; who is he that féeleth not him selfe to quayle, when he is to think vponupon God? Who is he that bursteth not, if hee streyne himselfe to farre? And whereof commeth this, but that the string of this Bowe hath falne into the Watter, and is made so wet that it wil serue to no purpose any more? This mynd bringeth foorth deedes; and because they be somewhat slow, they be done with the more aduisement. But what are the best of those deedes but sinne? If wée commit any cryme, all our whole mynd goeth with it, and our doing of the euill is for the euils sake. But if we doe any good; which of vsus doth it not as a bywoorke for some other things sake, rather than for the louelove of the good itselfe; as one for honour, another for gaine, and a third for feare? And what elles is this, but a seruing of vanitie, and not an obeying of vertue? And whereas euill is nought els than a bereuing or wanting of good: who is hée on the contrarie part, which thinketh not himself a man goodynough, if he doe no euill? As who would say yt good also were nothing els but the bereuing or absence of euil. And in very deede whome doe we call good and honest men, but such as absteyne from dooing men wrong, from stealing, from extorting, and from lending vppon Usurie, albeit that it behoue them to procéede further, and to be liberall in giuing, forward in helping, and diligent in seruing, forasmuch as goodnes is not a defect or a notdooing of things, but an effect or dooing of things, and consisteth not in onelyonly refreyning or ceassing, but in woorking and performing. And in effect, what els is it to define an honest man to be such a one as doth nothing atal; than to define a good Archer to be such a one as neuer shooteth at all? This mind of ours doth also yéeldfoorth words: and they passe out more swiftly than déedes, yea euen from the wisest. If a man would keepe a reckening of his words but for one day; what should hee find at night but a heape of vanities, as backebytings, slaunders, leasings, raylings, besides a thousand sortes of slipperdeuices and idle words, which euen by their onelyonly idlenesse doe well bewray our vanitie? And sith i… is euident that whereas speech was giuen vsus to procure and mainteyne societie, we see it is commonly applyed to the breaking thereof, by sowing of discord and debate: who can deny but that there is a notable corruption in the mynd, which vttereth forth that speeche? Ageine, séeing it is an vniuersal vyce, ageinst which the better sort do striue with all their force and cannot ouercome it: who can say it is a vice that is incident but to some peculiar persones, and not to the whole kynd of man? What is to be sayd then of our thoughts and witts, whereof whole thousands passe through our mynd in an hower, which our mynds can neither represse nor expresse? O how many doe we esteeme to be good men, whome we should sée to be wicked men if their thoughts lay open, or if we had eyes to see into them? O what a sort of wilde beastes should wee see harbered in a mans heart as in a Forest? And what is then our skil, but ignorance; our wizdome, but vanitie; and our holines, but hipocrisie? Wherein consisteth our vertue, but in concealing our vyces, whenas in truth (as sayth Aristotle) it were both more for our behoof and more approching to rightuousnes, if we layd them open? Moreouer, what is all our inforcing of our selues to vanquish our vices, but a laboring to outronne our owne shadowe, which (doe we what we can) will alwayes accompany vsus whether wee will or no? And surely we ought to be ashamed, not so much for that wee bee such, as for that either we knowe not our selues to be such, or be not sufficiently ashamed that we be such. Neither is there a stronger proof of our corruption, than that: in like maner as we déeme them to be filthie and stinking, which are raking in Priuies and féele not the stinche of them: and those to be more sick which féele not themselues sick, than those which are most peyned with their disease: and those too be more frantick which find not them selues to be braynsicke, than those whiche seeke to the Phisition for the curing of their frenzie. For had we the wit to consider our chaunges, to féele the vnéeuennesse of our Pulses, and to obserue the steamingvp of our humors with the impressions which they make in our brayne: wée should by such discerning of our diseases, become halfe sikfolke and halfe Phisitions. But surely considering the state wherein wée now bée, how we liue as it were by a borrowed Soule; I wote not wherevnto I should compare vsus, except it be to certeine diseased persons, of whom Hippocrates maketh this expresse Aphorisme,foreign. saying: When such as are very sore sicke, do feele no payne, but fall to playing with their Couerlet, pulling out the heares, and picking out the motes; the case goeth very hard with them, and there is small hope or lykelihod that they shall liue. And what els is this life of ours, but euen such? We lay sticke to sticke, stone duplicate page duplicate page to Stone, and Penny to Penny, no more minding the life of our Soule, than if wee had no Soule at all. If any man doe yet still doubt hereof, I offer him a condition, which if he will put in tryall, I dare assure him hee will doubt thereof no more. Let hym but set downe in writing, all the thoughts and imaginations that come in his head by the space of one day, and at night let hym reuiew them and take the account of them; And I dare vndertake he shall fynd in them so many vanities, so many crymes, so many Hobgoblins, and so many Monsters; so straunge, so fond, so foule, and so ougly; that he shalbe afraid of himselfe like the beast that starkleth at the sodeine sight of himself in a lookingglasse; and that he shal not stand gasing, enamored at his owne beautie as Narcissus did; but ronne away ashamed of his foule deformitie, to séeke where to wash away the myre that he hath wallowed in. What a thing then were it, if he considered it thus all the weeke long without putting it in writing. And how much more were it, if hee should doe it a whole yere; and finally all his whole life? To be short, to set man in fewe words before our eyes, we reade comonly that there are fower powres or abilities in mans Soule, namely, Wit, Will, the abilitie of béeing angrie, and the abilitie of lusting, and in these fower wée lodge fower vertues, that is to say, in Wit, Wizdome; in Will, Rightfulnesse; in the abilitie of being angrie, Hardinesse; and in the abilitie of Lusting, Stayednesse. Now, Wit is maymed with ignorance; Will, with wrongfulnes; Hardinesse, with Cowardlines, and Stayednesse, with Licentiousnes; so as in this worlde they can neither be cured without skarre, nor be brought to a skar. Also we perceiue there are in man the outward sences, Imagination, and Appetite, which thrée the brute beasts hauehave as well as he, ouer and besides the which, hee hath also wit and will as peculiar giftes giuen him of God. And if we be men, we estéeme our selues better than beastes, and looke to hauehave them to be our vnderlings. Contrariwise, whereas Imagination ought to rule the Sences, and Reason to rule Imagination, and will to rule Appetite: now the outward sence carieth away Imagination, Imagination Reason, and Appetite will, insomuch that the onelyonly sence being bewitched or beguyled, carieth a man headlong into all euill after the maner of Phaeton whom the Poets speakeof. It is a playne case therefore, that man hath made himselfe an vnderling to the beast, and consequently that mankind is turned strangely vpsidedowne, and doubtlesse farre more monstruously, than if we sawe him goe vponupon his head with his heeles vpward. Nowthen, seeing that man is so ouerturned, whereof can he brag, but of offending God vncessantly in this life, and of infinite punishment in another lyfe, according to the infinitenesse of him whom he hath offended? And to what purpose therefore shall his immortalitie serue him, but to dye euerlastingly and neuer to be dead?
But let vsus leaue this matter to another place.Whence mans corruption cō meth. And forasmuch as by considering man what he is to Godward, to the worldward, to Manward, and to himselfe, I hauehave euidently proued his corruption & frowardnesse; namely, that he is vtterly contrary to the ende to which he was created of God, to the order of the whole World, to the welfare of all Mankinde, and to his owne benefite: Let vsus henceforth cōsider from whence and from what tyme this mischief may hauehave befalne him, and what may hauehave bene the cause thereof. Certesse, if we say it came of God and that he had it of his creatiō; we blaspheme God too too grossely. For God is good, and the very goodnesse it selfe: and therfore he cannot hauehave made any thing euill. Also it appeareth throughout the whole gouernmēt of the world, that he is the mayster and mainteyner of order. And therefore how is it possible that he should make the little world (namely man) to be a mould of confusion and disorder? Agayne, no other thing than his owne glorie and the welfare of man, moued him to create man; and yet man beeing in case as hee is, forbeareth not to blaspheme Gods name, and to purchase his owne destruction. Néedes then must it be that Man was made a farre other creature at the beginning, than he is now: as in very déede the Husbandman createth not the wiuell in the Corne, nor the Uintener the sowernesse in the Wine, nor the Smith the rust in the yron; but they come in from elswhere. Neuerthelesse, the man that neuer dranke other drinke than Uineger, would think it to be the naturall sap and taste of the Grape. And wee likewise who neuer felt other in ourselues than corruption, and are bred and brought vp in darknesse like the Cimmerians, would beare ourselues on hand, that GOD is the cause and author thereof. Now, let vsus which hauehave tasted both the Wine and the Uineger, iudge what maner of creatures we may hauehave bin in our first creation: in doing whereof there is yet notwithstanding this great difference, that the pa…at of our bodily mouth is able to discerne the swéete frō the sower; but the palat or tas… of our soule, is vnable to do eyther of them both the one, because corruption can not iudge of cleannesse; and the other, because it cannot iudge well of it selfe. In Wine and Uineger we discerne a liquid nature common to them both: but as concerning their qualities, the Wine is swéete, warme, and friendly to nature; whereas the Uineger is sharpe, cold, and corrosiue: yea and the very colours of them are vnlike one another. Lo here two things vtterly contrary; and yet notwithstanding, the Uineger is nothing els but Wine altered from his nature. And because we hauehave seene the one as wel as the other; we will neuer bee made to beléeue, that the Uineger was Uineger from the very Grape. Let vsus iudge of our Soules with like discretion. We finde there a spirituall nature, immateriall and immortall; and that is the onelyonly remaynder of her first originall. But yet this Spirit of ours is foreward to nothing but euill, nor inclyned to any other thau bace and transitorie things. It clingeth to the earth, and is a bondslaue to the body. To be short, in stead of stying vp, it crauleth I wote not how, contrary to the nature of a Spirit, which mounteth vp on high, and cannot bee shut vp in these vyle and drossie things. Therefore it must néedes bee sayd, that this nature of ours was not so of nature; it departed not such as it now is from the hand of the workmayster: but contrarywise, good, frée, pure, and indewed with farre other qualities than it hath now: for now it is steyned with naughtinesse, bondage of sinne, and corruption. Nay will some man say, seeing it was created cléere from all corruptiō, who was able to corrupt it as we see it to be now? Sure wee be that it is a spirituall nature: and therefore neyther the Elements nor any other bodie, could naturally do any hurt vntounto it; and as little also could tyme doe any thing thereto: for tyme is nothing but the mouing of bodies. Moreouer it was free of it selfe, and Ladie of the bodie, and therefore could not receyue her first corruption from the bodie. And yet notwithstanding wee see, that as now it is subiect to be corrupted, both of her owne flesh and of the vanities of the world, which by nature had no power ouer it. Néeds then must the maker of nature himselfe, hauehave giuen a power to these things aboue their nature, whereby they might preuayle agaynst the nature of the Soule; the doing whereof surely could not but hauehave bin rightfull in him, considering that he is the very rightuousnesse it selfe. For Iustice layeth not any punishment, but where some fault or offence hath gone afore. Therefore it must néedes bee sayd, that man had committed some hey…s crime against his maker, whervpon such penaltie and bondage were appoynted iustly vntounto him. And therefore let vsus say, that the Soule of man being the first corrupter of it self, did of it owne accord vanish away as Wine turneth in it selfe and of it self into Uineger: whereas if the Soule had hild her selfe in awe and vnderunder couerture, and had rested on her Lées as is sayd of Wine; that is to say, if she had abidden stedfast in beholding her maker, without seeking her welfare in her selfe: she might hauehave continued vtterly vncorrupted still. And agayne, that by turning so away from GOD to her selfe, she offended her maker, and forwent the gracious giftes which she had receyued of him; wherevpon followed the curse of the Creator, and the sentence of his iust wrath vppon his creature; wherethrough it came to passe, that the same was not onelyonly bereft of all the grace wherewith it was replenished by beholding it selfe in him, but also was made an vnderling to the selfesame things which were made to hauehave done it seruice. Now what this sinne was, wee cannot better vnderstand, than by the punishment thereof. For punishment and sinne hauehave a mutuall respect one to another, as a sore and a salue, and may after a sort be knowne the one by the other. Order would that our wit should obey GOD, and that all our sences and appetites should obey our reason: but wee see that as now our sences and appetites hold reason vnderunder foote. This punishment ought to set our fault before our eyes, when as wee see our selues falne downe and thrust vnderunder our selues; namely, that man intended to hauehave mounted vp aboue God. The same order would also that all the whole world and worldly things should hauehave serued man, and man hauehave serued GOD; that God might hauehave bene the marke of man, as man should hauehave bene the marke for all other things to hauehave amed at. But wee see that at this day man is an vnderling to the least things that are: insomuch that euen those which hauehave neither sence nor life doe resist him, and he pitcheth the ende of all his desires in earthly things, as if they were of more valewe than himselfe, accordingly as all of vsus know, that the end is alwaies better thā the things that tend to the same. Séeing then that nature is reuolted from man, it is certeyne that man is reuolted from God: for it is the ordinary punishment of rebellious Subiects, that their owne seruaunts and vnderlings also do kicke and spurne agaynst them. And moreouer, seeing that man not only findeth all maner of mischiefe and misfortune in himselfe, but is also so blynd as to seeke his felicitie in the myre, and in the durtie dunghils of this world; it is a token that he sought his happinesse in himself, and elswhere than in God? To bee short, wée bée striken in our Soules with ignorance of the things that are most néedfull for vsus; and in our bodies with continuall infirmities, and finally with death: and that is because we hauehave bene curious in seeking trifeling things, as not contented with the lesson that GOD had giuen vsus; and would néedes hauehave made our selues immortall, howbeit not by the euerlasting power of Gods quickening spirit, but by the forbidden vse of transitorie things, yea euen which had no life in them. Thus see we now whereof the corruption of mankynd is come, namely euen of our owne transgression, and of the punishment that followed vponupon the same.
But it is demaunded of vsus yet further,How long ago corruption came into mā. how long it is ago since this befell. If wee had espyed this corruption in vsus but from some certeyne hundred yéeres hence; it were not for vsus to seeke any further for it. But let vsus hold on our course vp the streame of Mankynd euen to the Riuers head, and wee shall finde it still alwaies foule and muddy; and we shal from age to age heare these outcryes euen among the best, I louelove well the good, but I cannot doe it; and (to bee short) that man is inclyned to doe euill, and subiect to receyue euill; which are in one word both the fault and the punishment. Agayne, were it but in some households, or but in some Nations only, men would not sticke to father the fault vppon the Clymate and the Soyle, or vppon the misteaching or misexample of the Parents. But when we see that in that respect all men are in one selfesame taking, aswell the men of old tyme as the men of our daies, sauing that sinne increaseth continually, as well vnderunder the Equinoctiall lyne as betwéene both the Tropicks, and as well on the further side as on the hether side of them, sauing that some take more payne to keepe it from sight thā others, and that those which hauehave most wit are woorst; forasmuch as I hauehave alreadie sufficiently proued the creation of the world and of the first man: wee be driuen to mount vp agayne to the same man, and to say that as he is the roote of our ofspring, so is he also the welspring of this corruption which reigneth in vsus, as in whom our whole race was both atteinted with sinne, and attached with punishment. In this behalfe it is not for vsus to pleade against GOD, but to submit our shoulders to his Iustice, and to lift vp our eyes to his merciemercy. For necessarily from poynt to poynt doth this consequence ensewe: The Soule is corrupted in all mankynd: Who is so corrupted that he feeleth it not? This corruption cannot procéed from the Creator. For when did euer purenesse yéeld forth corruptiō? The other creatures could not hauehave defiled it. For what maketh a thing vncleane, but the taking of vncleannesse vntounto it? and what causeth the taking of vncleannesse vntounto it, but the touching thereof? and what touching one of another can there be betwéene a Spirit and a Bodie? It remayneth therefore that our Soule corrupted it self by forsaking her duetie, eyther of her owne accord, or by the admitting vntounto it of some wicked Spirit, that is to say by perswasion of that Spirit, which perswasion is vntounto Spirits, as touching is vntounto bodies. And agayne, this coruption is from all tyme: then comes it not of trayning. And in all Nations: then comes it not of Constellation. And in all ages, both old young and middle sort: then comes it not of imitation or exampletaking. Therefore it must néedes procéed both from one only man, and from the firstcreated man, who turned away from God through pride, whervpon God also did iustly turne away from him, as wee reade of our first father Adam in the holy Scripture. Now then, what remayneth more for vsus, but to conclude that thing by nature, which wee beléeue through Scripture? namely, That God created man good: That he told him his will: That man chose to liue after his owne lyking, and would néedes become equall with God: That therevpon he was banished from Gods presence and fauour: That the Earth became rebellious against man, and man against himselfe: and to bee short, that man was wrapped in the wretchednesse of this world, intangled with sinne in himself, driuen to liue euer dying in this life, and (were not Gods wrath appeased towards him) sure to dye euerlastingly in the life to come.