The Drunkards Character, Section 91
§ 91.
INdeed, other reasons may be given why they so censure us, as, first, their Ignorance causeth suspicion; yea, there is2 Their ignorance makes them suspicious. nothing so makes a man suspect much, as to know little; children in the darke suppose they see, what they see not; you shall have a Dog very violent in barking at his owne shadow, or face in a glasse. An ignorant Rusticke seeing a Geometritian drawing of lines, not knowing to what end he doth the same, is apt to judge him foolish and fantasticke. Tell a plaine country fellow, that the Sunne is bigger then his cart wheele, and swifter in course then any of his Horses; he will laugh you to scorne. The Duke of Vondozme one day looking into his Well with others, and seeing face answer face (having never before observed the like) went home in all haste, and called for ayde against the Antipodes. Paglarencis was amazed, and said his Farmer had surely coosened him, when he heard him tell that his Sowe had eleven Pigs, and his Mare but one Foale. Yea, I have read of a silly country fellow, that kil'd his Asse for drinking up the Moone.
But their owne hearts can tell them, how fruitfull a mother of jealousies their ignorance of spirituall things is, and how it conceives upon first …ight of every object which they cannot skill on, and that being once conceived, it makes the party so travell▪ to bring forth the same in words and actions of enmity, that for the interim, he is as busie headed as if a hive of Bees were in his pate, not considering, that repentance ever followes rash judgment.
Secondly,3 Their p…ssions and affections make them partiall. their passions and affections infatuate and besot them, and makes them infinitely partiall. For as in an ill pact Jury, whereof there is one wise man, another honest man, five knaves, and five fooles, the greater part over-rules the better part, these …en, over-beares those two: so fares it with a wicked man, the five senses, and as many affections are the knaves and fooles, science is the wise man, conscience the honest; now neither science the wi…e, nor conscience the honest, can be heard, nor give their verdict, but all goes with the mad senses, and frantick affections.
We know when a man lookes upon any thing directly through the aire, they appeare in their proper formes, and colours as they are; but if they bee looked upon through a glasse, be it greene, blew, yellow, or of any other colour, all the things we see, seemes to us to be of the colour of the glasse, through wch we do behold them: even so, a wicked man houlding the false spectacles of his several passions and affections before the dimme sight of his judgement, all things appeare to him in a contrary colour. The eye that is blood-shot, thinkes every thing red; those that have the Jaundise, see all things yellow: so these drunkards, being overgrown with malicious passions, thinke us in fault, when themselves are only too blame.
O how the passions of anger, and affection of love over-rules and over-perswades our judgements! wee may truly say, that love, hatred, and indifferency, lookes through three paire of eyes: what we see, or heare, being passionately transported either by love, oranger, wee neither see, nor heare it as it is. The object which we love, seemeth much more faire unto us, and that much fowler, which we loath. Yea, even love (Zaleuchus-like) will make a man put out one of his owne eyes, that so he may see his friends vertues not see his crimes. Hath not his affection rob'd him of his judgement, wh… …hinkes better of a filthy strumpet, then of his own chast wife? yea, surely if hee did not looke through the false spectacles of his flesh, it could not be.
But anger especially robs a man of his judgement, and lifts reason out of her seate, which makes these beastly, sensuall swilbowles so partial in judging between themselves and the godly. As for example, (indeed the Scriptures afford not mamy examples of it, in them which were drunkards, for drunkennesse was then as rare, as now it is common, but what is true of all the Serpents seed, must needs be true of Sathans peculiar ones. How did anger rob Haman of his judgement, who thought Mordecae's not bowing the knee to him, a more heynous offence, then his owne murthering of thousands? And Iezabel of hers, who thought it a greater sinne in El…ah to kill Baals Prophets, then in her selfe to slay all the Prophets of the Lord? And the Phari…is of theirs, who could see more unlawfulnes in the Disciples plucking a few eares of corne, and the Palsie… mans carrying his bed on the Sabbath▪ then in their own devouring of widowes houses; and could better afford themselves to murther Christ, then others to believe in him; yea, they could better afford themselves to be the greatest of sinners, then our Saviour to be in company with sinners. And lastly, Ahab, who thought Eliah troubled Israel more, in doing the wil of the Lord, then himselfe, in provoking the Lord, above all the Kings of Israel which were before him? which is the case of our drunkards, they censure more deeply, our fearing of God, then their owne blaspheming of him,; and thinke it a more heinous offence, for us to be sober, then for themselves to be drunke. What then are their censures of us, when wee do offend?
Yea, if mens passions and affections did not make them strangely partiall; how could they suffer their faithfull and painfull Minister (who lies ledger for the great King of Heaven and Earth) to feed upon Crusts, and spinne out twenty or forty Marks a yeare, into a thread as long as his life; yea, murmure at his great meanes, and boast of their large contribution, and complaine he keeps no hospitality, though indeed even books would require ten pounds of the money: I speak not of their blockish stupidity, who think none live more idly then Schollers) when yet themselves, being undeserving Attorneys, or silly Tradesmen, who doe little else, but stand in their Shops, or ungodly Ale-house-keepers, whose whole life is but a vicissitude of filling and emptying, will get, and spend one hundred, two hunderd, three hundred pounds per Annum a peece, and yet complaine of a hard world? surely they think Ministers can preach without study, as the Apostles did; or live by miracle, as Iohn Baptist did, who was in his diet, habit, and carriage indeed a miracle.
3. Another reason is,4 They see and look to us not to themselves. as these drunkards can see us, but not themselves: (without a glasse) so they looke to us, not to themselves: it faring with them as it did with the …airies, called Lamiae, who made use of their eyes, when they went abroad; but put them in a box when they came home; and they have much the more quiet for so doing, a wicked mans conscience being like a bad wife, that wil either bee gadding abroad, or scoulding at home.
In surveying their owne evill actions they are beetle eyed, or like him, Iohn the 9. who had never a seeing eye; or at least like Polyphemus, who had onelyonly one eye; but in spying ours, they have the eyes of a Basiliske, and are as quick sighted as Argos, who had his head compassed with an hundred eyes; yea, as Lynceus (who as Varro speakes) could see through a wall; or if they have two seeing eyes, yet, like the purblind, they see double, or like those women of Scythia called Bithiae, they have two sights in each eye: for if they looke upon our actions, it is with an evill eye, judging of us by what wee should bee; if upon their owne, it is with a tender eye, and so judge by what they are in their owne opinion, and the judgement of sense.
And to mend the matter, Sathan, like our cunning men, presents unto them spirituall things in a false glasse, stamping his own image on Gods silver, and Gods Image on his owne drosse, and so comes their often mistake in censuring.
Neither are their memories lesse partiall, for in remembring our faults, they are like Clement the sixth, who never forgat any thing he had once learned; but touching their own, they resemble Claudius the Emperor, who presently forgat whatsoever he did, or spake.
Now put all together, and tel me whether it fares not with drunkards, as it did with Pentheus in Euripides his Bacchus, who supposed he saw two Sunnes, two Thebes, every thing double, when his braine alone was troubled?