The Drunkards Character, Section 176
§ 176.
More especially,… the heinousnesse of this sin, and the evills which accompany it that thou maist master and subdue this abominab…e sin, does but set before thee in a generall view, the heinousnesse thereof, and the manifold evills and mischiefes, which doe accompany it, of which I have already spoken, as, that it is a vice condemned by God and men, Christians and infidells; that thereby we grievously offend God, by making our bellies our god, by unfiting and disabling our selves for his service, by abusing his good creatures, which with a pleantifull hand he hath bestowed upon us, the necessary use whereof, many better then we want; that thereby we sinne in a high degree against our neighbours generally, and particularly against the whole Church, and common wealth, strangers, and familiar acquaintance, and most of all against our owne family; that hereby we most grievously sinne against our selves, by making us unfit for our calings, and for the performance of all good duties, by disgracing our profession, and bringing our selves into contempt, by making our selves the voluntary slaves of this vice, by impovershing our estate, and bringing upon us want and beggery, by infatuating our understandings, and corrupting our wills, and affections, by deforming, disabling, weakning, and destroying our bodies, and bringing our selves to untimely death, by excluding our selves out of the number of Christs members, by quenching the gifts of the Spirit, and strengthening the flesh and lusts thereof, by causing our soules to be possessed with finall impenitency, which is inseparably accompanied with eternall damnation.
Also remember, that as in it selfe it is most sinfull, so it is also the cause of, almost, all other sinnes; as of the manifold and horrible abuses of the tongue, of many wicked and outragious actions, and particularly, of those fearefull sinnes of murther and adultery.
Also, call to mind that as it is the cause of sinne, so also of many heauy and grievous punishments, as making a man lyable to a fearefull woe, and Gods heauy curse, subjecting his name to infamy, his state to beggery, his body to diseases, infirmities, deformities, and immature death, his soule to senselesse sottishnesse, and depriv…ng the whole man of the joyes of Heaven, entereth him into the possession of eternall hellish torments: and this will be a good meanes, to make thee moderate thy greedy desires, mortifie thy carnall affections, and curbe thy unruly appetite, by putting a knife to thy thro…e, as Salomon adviseth, saying, I could, but I will not take more then is good, or fit.
Yea, the consideration of these things, and of the wofull condition that drunkards are in, will provoke thee to hate their opinions, to strive against their practice, to pity their misguiding, to neglect their censures, to labour their recovery, and to pray for their salvation. For, O how ugly doth this monster appeare to the eye of that soule, which hath forsaken it! how doth she hate her selve, for loving so foule, so filthy a fiend! for to an understanding rectified, the drukard is a strange Chimaera, more prodigious then any monster, being &c. The Drunkard a strange Chimaera, more prodigious then any Monster, being, in Visage a Man, but a Brotheus. in Heart, a Swine. in Head, a Cephalus. in Tongue, an Aspe. in Belly, a Lumpe. in Appetite, a Leech. in Sloth, an Ignavus. The Drunkard a strange Chimaera, more prodigious then any Monster, being a Ierffe for Excessive devouring. a Goate for Lust. a Siren for Flattery. a Hyaena for Subtilty. a Panther for Cruelty. The Drunkard a strange Chimaera, more prodigious then any Monster, being in Enuying, a Basiliske. in Antipathy to all good, a Lexus. in Hindering others from good, a Remora. in Life, a Salamander. in Conscience, an Ostrich. in Spirit, a Devill 1. in surpassing others in sin 2. in tempting others to sin 3. in drawing others to perdition, even the most despicable peece of all humanity, and not worthy to be reckoned among the Creatures which God made.