The Drunkards Character, Section 63
§ 63.
NOw if you will know the reason,7 … of excessive drinking. why their Heaven is the Taverne, whence they never depart, untill thy have cast up the reckoning; why, like Horses, they are onelyonly guided by the mouth; in short it is mostly, that they may drive away time and Melancholy.
First,1 To drive away me…ancholy which is increased thereby the pot is no sooner from their lips, but they are mela…choly, and their heart so heavy▪ as if a milstone lay upon it; somewhat resembling the flye Pyrausta, which dyeth, if out of the fire. I call it melancholy, because they call it so; but the truth is, they are vexed, like Saul, with an evill spirit, which nothing will drive away, but drinke and Tobacco, which is to them, as David's Harpe was to him, I Sam. 16. 23. They so wound their consciences with oathes, intentionall murthers, rapes, and other actuall uncleanesse, and so exceedingly provoke God, that they are, even in this life, rewarded with the strappadoes of an humane soule, rackt in conscience, aud tortured with the very flashes of Hell fire; which makes them, many times, lay violent hands upon themselves, being never well, nor in their owne place, till they be in Hell, Acts, 1. 25. though mostly they bribe conscience to hold the peace; as Cerberus must be made with a sop, by him that goes to Hell.
You know Caine having murthered his brother Abel, to put away the sting of his conscience, fell to building. And Ahab having kild Naboth, went to recreate himselfe in his Vineyard, Gen. 4. 17. I King. 21. 16. 19. And Saul, when God had cast him off, would have pleased himselfe with the honour of the people, 1 Sam. 15. 30. so these, when the horror of their oathes, blasphemies, thefts, whoredomes, and other prodigious uncleannesse, hath caused a dejection of spirit, and the worme of conscience to sting them, how should they remedy it?
How! why (as if Sathan alone could expell Sathan) straight to the Taverne, and drinke sorrow and care away; or perhaps there is a Factor of Hell present, that cheares him up, as Iesabel did Ahab when he was sicke for want of Naboth's Vineyard, 1 King. 21. 7. crying, come, you are melancholy, let us both to the Taverne and Brothel-house: and so cures all his sadnesse, for that time, with a charme, wherein neverthelesse the principall ingredient is drinke, the common refuge of melancholy sinners, their constant, and never failing friend, to which also they are as constant: for when did the Sunne ever see some men sober? and how are our Cities and Townes pestered, and our streets strewed with these filthes? and this is the maine ground of all. For as they that have curst and shrewish wives at home, love to stray abroad: so these men being molested with a scoulding conscience, are faine continually to drinke, play, riot, goe to bed with their heads full of wine, and no sooner awake then to it againe; so that their consciences must knocke at the dore a thousand times, and they are never within, or at leasure to be spoke withall: indeed at last they must be met, and found by this enemy, even as Ahab was by Eliah; stay they never so long, and stray they never so farre, they must home at last; sicknesse will waken them, conscience must speake with them, as a Master with his truant Scholler, after a long absence; and then there are no men under Heaven, who more neede that prayer, Lord have mercy upon them; for a wicked mans peace will not alwayes last, in the end his guilt will gnaw him, with so much a sharper tooth; yea, they are not more jocund in prosperity, then in disasters they are amazed.
Whereas they should eate, and drinke, and doe all things to the glory of God; they drinke, to this end onelyonly, that they may the easier forget God, forget him in his threats, which sticke in their soules after some Sermon; forget him in his judgments, which have taken hold of some of their companions; they drinke, to the end they may drowne conscience, and put off all thoughts of death, and Hell, and to hearten and harden themselves against all the messages of God, and threats of the Law; as that franticke Musition fell to tuning his Violl, when his house was on fire about his eares. For most men take no notice at all of the strokes of Gods wrath, but with the mirth and madnesse of wine and pleasures, take away the knowledge of it, and the noyse of conscience when it cryes; as the Sacrificers in the valley of Hinnon, by the noyse of Instruments, tooke away the cryes of their sacrificed children: and so much the rather, that others may not take notice thereof; for though their consciences be often in paine, yet they will not complaine that this shoe wrings them.
Their consciences would faine speake with them, but they will by no meanes heare them; whereas if they had wit, and were not past grace, they would both invite, and welcome this Angell, or messinger of the Lord, so soone as the waters be troubled, with sackcloth, ashes, fasting, going into the house of mourning, and pouring forth whole Buckets of water, as is the manner of Gods people, 1 Sam. 7. 6. But many a time is poore Christ (offering to be new borne in thee) thrust into the Stable; while lewd companions, by their drinking, playes, and jests, take up all the best roomes in the Inne of thine heart.
Indeed, blind worldlings and besotted sinners, may call it melancholy, or what they will; but in Gods Dictionary (the holy Scriptures) it hath no such name. And they may thinke to drive it away with carnall delights, but this will not doe it: yea, let ten Consorts of musicke be added, it shall not drowne the clamorous cryes of conscience. These are but miserable comforters, and Physitians of no value, and no way a fit expiation for a griefe of this nature; neither can the world afford an expurgation of this melancholy.
Alasse! this is but like some spritly musicke, which though it advanceth a mans mind while it sounds; yet leaves him more melancholy, when it is done, as Euripides observes. Yea, I'le appeale from your selves in drinke, to your selves in your sober fits, whether it fares not with you, as it did with Menippus, who went downe into Hell to seeke content: for what is this other (in mitigating the pangs of conscience) then as a saddle of gold, to a gal'd Horse; or a draught of poyson, to quench a mans thirst.
Alasse! Lot being expuls't Sodom, dranke somewhat freely to drive away melancholy (as we may conjecture) but what came of it? the wine made him commit incest, whereby he became ten times more melancholy, then he was before. And surely, they which strive to cure their present misery, with present mirth; have not their misery taken away, but changed, and of temporall, made eternall; thou hast taken thy pleasure, saith Abraham to Dives, therefore art thou now tormented, Luke 16. 25. I love no such change; I love not to cure one evill by another, yea, by a worse mischiefe: as Empiricks in curing one disease, cause another which is worse. And let them looke to it, for surely if men call for pleasure, to please the conscience, as the Philistins did for Sampson to make them sport, it will but pull downe the house upon their heads. No sooner were the bellies of Adoniah's guests full of meat, and their heads full of wine; but their eares were full of clangor, their hearts of horror, the Trumpets at once proclame Salomon's Triumph, and their confusion: the feasts of the wicked end in terror, as it fared with Belshazzar, Daniel chap. 5. v. 1. to 7. after the meale is done, ever comes the reckoning. Wherefore let my spirit never come and enter into their Paradise, yea ever abhor to partake of their brutish pleasures, lest I partake of their endlesse woes. And indeed who would buy repentance and misery so deare? as Demosthenes answered Lais the harlot, when she asked him ten thousand Drachmes of money, for her company but one night; who would pay so deare for so short a lease? as the Country man replyed, seeing the great preparation, labour, cost, and study for a great triumph, when they told him it was to last but an houre: for could they have Nectar and Ambrosia to swallow, yea, could they drinke, with Cl… opatra, the riches of Egypt at a draught, and that upon free cost, (which as Diogines conceived, did adde sweetnesse to the wine) yet it is but a draught, and quickly downe the throat.
Yea, as vaine and comfortlesse are all worldly joyes, when they are used to mitigate the panges of conscience, as it was for Callico to stuff his pillow (a brasse pot) with straw to make it soft.
Indeed, your charmes may, with their pleasantnesse, bring conscience into some short slumbers; but it waketh eftsoones, and in spite of all your spells, rageth as before. Yea, if but sicknesse come, these carnall delights will runne from you, affrighted like Rats from a house on fire: pleasure, like Orpah, kisses, but parts; only griefe, like Ruth, weeps, and tarries with you: no joy will downe till there be hope of a pardon; so that no hand can heale you, but the very same which wounded you: the wounds of the mind can only be cured by the word of God, which teacheth what may bee said, what is to bee known, what to bee believed, what to bee avoyded, yea, and what not.
Thus instead of repenting, and labouring in a lawfull calling, which is the only cure of Melancholy (Fulgentius aptly terming exercise, the death of diseases, the destruction of all vices, and only cure of Melancholy) they adde sinne to sinne, leaving Gods remedies, to seeke remedy of the divel; whose office is not to quench fire, but to kindle it, even the fire of lust, with the fire of drunkennesse here, and with those two the fire of hell hereafter.