Londons Lamentation, Title page – Poem
LONDON'S LAMENTATIONS: OR, A ſerious Diſcourſe concerning that late fiery Diſpenſation that turned our (once renowned) City into a ruinous Heap. Alſo the ſeveral Leſſons that are incumbent upon thoſe whoſe Houſes have eſcaped the conſuming Flames.
By THOMAS BROOKS, late Preacher of the Word at S. Margarets New-Fiſh-ſtreet, where that Fatal Fire firſt began that turned London into a ruinous Heap.
Una dies intereſt inter magnam Civitatem & nullam.
There is but the diſtance of one day between a great City and none, ſaid Seneca when a great City was burnt to Aſhes.
Come, behold the Works of the Lord, what Deſolations he hath made in the Earth. Pſal. 46. 8.
LONDON, Printed for John Hancock and Nathaniel Ponder, and are to be ſold at the firſt Shop in Popes-Head-Alley in Cornhil, at the Sign of the Three Bibles, or at his Shop in Biſhopſgate-ſtreet, and at the Sign of the Peacock in Chancery lane. 1670.
TO THE Right Honourable Sir WILLIAM TƲRNER Knight, Lord Mayor of the City of London.
Right Honourable,
IT is not my deſign to blazon your Worth, or write a Panegyrick of your Praiſes; your brighter Name ſtands not in need of ſuch a ſhadow as mens Applauſe to make it more renowned in the World; native Worth is more reſpected than adventitious Glory: your own works Prov. 31. 31.praiſe you in the gates. It is London's Honour and Happineſs, Tranquility and Proſperity to have ſuch a Magiſtrate that bears not the Sword of Juſtice in vain, and that hath not Rom. 13. 4.brandiſhed the Sword of Juſtice in the defence of the friends of Baal, Balaam, or Bacchus. My Lord, had your Sword of Juſtice been a Sword of Protection to deſperate Swearers, or to cruel Oppreſſors, or to deceitful Dealers, or to roaring Drunkards, or to curſing Monſters, or to Goſpel-deſpiſers, or to Chriſt-contemners, &c. might not London have laid in her Aſhes to this very day? yea, might not God have rained Hell out of Heaven upon thoſe Parts of the City that were ſtanding Monuments of Gods mercy, as once he did upon Sodom and Gomorrah? Wo to that ſword Gen. 19.that is a devouring ſword to the righteous, to the meek, to the upright, and to the peaccable in the land. O happy Sword! Pſal. 35. 19, 20.under which all ſorts and ranks of men have worſhipped God in peace, and lived in peace, and reſted in peace, and traded in peace, and built their habitations in peace, and have grown up in peace. Sir, every man hath ſit under your Sword as under his own Vine and Fig-tree in peace. Words are too weak to expreſs how great a mercy this hath been to London, yea, I may ſay to England. The Ancients ſet forth all their gods with Harps in their hands, the Hieroglyphick of Peace. The Grecians had the Statue of Peace with Pluto the God of Riches in her arms. Some of the Ancients were wont to paint Peace in the form of a Woman with a horn of plenty in her hands, viz. all bleſſings. The Orator, hit it when he ſaid, Dulce nomen pacis, the very name of Peace is ſweet. No City ſo happy as that wherein the chief Magiſtrate has been as eyes to the blind, legs to the lame, ears to the deaf, a father to the fatherleſs, a husband Job 31.to the widow, a Tower to the righteous, and a Terrour to the wicked.
Certainly Rulers have no better friends than ſuch as make The three things which God minds moſt, & loves beſt below Heaven, are his Truth, his Worſhip, and his People.conſcience of their ways: for none can be truly loyal, but ſuch as are truly religious, witneſs Moſes, Joſeph, Daniel, and the three Children. Sincere Chriſtians are as Lambs amongſt Lyons, as Sheep amongſt Wolves, as Lillies amongſt Thorns; they are expoſed more to the rage, wrath, and malice of wicked men, by reaſon of their holy Prof…ſſion, their gracious Principles, and Practices, than any other men in all the world. Now did not God raiſe up Magiſtrates, and ſpirit Magiſtrates to owne them, to ſtand by them, and to defend them in all honeſt and juſt ways, how ſoon would they be devoured and deſtroyed? Certainly the Sword of the Magiſtrate is to be drawn forth for the natural good, and civil good, and moral good, and ſpiritual good of all that live ſoberly and quietly under i… Stobaeus tells us of a Perſian Law, Stobaeus ſerm. 42. p. 294.that after the death of their King every man had five days liberty to do what he pleaſed, that by beholding the wickedneſs and diſorder of thoſe few days, they might prize Government the better all their days after. Certainly had ſome hot-headed, and little-witted, and fierce-ſpirited men had but two or three days liberty to have done what they pleaſed in this great City during your Lordſhips Mayoralty, they would have made ſad work in the midſt of us. When a righteous Government fails, then, 1. Order fails, 2. Religion fails, 3. Trade fails, 4. Juſtice fails, 5. Proſperity fails, 6. Strength and Power fails, 7. Fame and Honour fails, 8. Wealth and Riches fails, 9. Peace and Quiet fails, 10. All humane Converſe and Society fails. To take a righteous Government out of the world, is to take the Sun out of the Firmament, and leave it no more a foreign, a beautiful Structure, but a foreign, a confuſed Heap. In ſuch Towns, Cities, and Kingdoms where righteous Government fails, there every mans hand will be quickly engaged Gen. 26. 12.againſt his brother. O the ſins, the ſorrows, the deſolations and deſtructions that will unavoidably break in like a Flood upon ſuch a People.
Publick P…rſons ſhould have publick Spirits, their gifts and There is a great truth in that old Maxim, Magiſtratus virum indicat. In my Epiſtle to my Treatiſe call'd A Cabinet of Choice Jewels, the ingenious Reader may find ſix Arguments to encourage Magiſtrates to be men of publick Spirits.goodneſs ſhould diffuſe themſelves for the good of the whole. It is a baſe and ignoble Spirit to pity Cataline more than to pity Rome, to pity any particular ſort of men more than to pity the whole; it is cruelty to the good to juſtifie the bad; it is wrong to the Sheep to animate the Wolves; it is danger (if not death) to the Lambs not to reſtrain or chain up the Lyons: but, Sir, from this ignoble Spirit God has delivered you. The Ancients were wont to place the Statues of their Princes by their Fountains, intimating that they were (or at leaſt ſhould be) Fountains of the publick Good. Sir, had not you been ſuch a Fountain, men would never have be…n ſo warm for your continuance. My Lord, the great God hath made you a foreign, a publick Good, a publick Bleſſing; and this hath made your Name precious, and your Government deſirable, and your Perſon honourable in the thoughts, hearts, and eyes of all people. Many (may I not ſay moſt) of the Rulers of this World are as Pliny ſpeaks of the Roman Emperors, Nomine Dii, Natura Diaboli; Monſters, not men; Murtherers, not Magiſtrates: ſuch a Monſter was Saul, who hunted David as a Partridge, ſlew the innocent Prieſts of the Lord, ran to a Witch, and who was a man of ſo narrow a Soul, that he kn…w not how to look or live above himſelf, his own intereſts and concernments. The great care of every Magiſtrate Exod. 32. 10, 11. 32. Nehem. 5. 6. to 19. Pſal. 137. 5, 6. Acts 13. 36.ſhould be to promote the publick Intereſt more than their own, as you may ſee by comparing the Scriptures in the Margine together. 'Twas Caeſars high commendation, that he never had himſelf after the World had him for a Governour; his mind was ſo ſet on the …ublick, that that he forgot his own private Affairs. The Stars have their brightneſs, not for themſelves, but for the uſe of others. The Application is eaſie.
My Lord, ſeveral Philoſophers have made excellent and Carneades, Ariſtotle, Socrates, &c. The Roman Orator hath long ſince obſerved, that the force of Juſtice is ſuch, and ſo great, that even Thieves and Robbers both by Sea and Land, who live upon injuſtice and rapine, yet cannot live upon their Trade without ſome practice of it among themſelves. Cleobulus one of the ſeven Sages was wont to ſay, that mediocrity was without compare. The very Heathen could ſet ſo much divine glory in the face of a Magiſtrate, that he ſtyled him foreign, the living Image of the everliving God. Magiſtrates are (as Nazianzen expreſſes it) Pictures drawn of God. Every Magiſtrate, though in never ſo low a place, bears the Image of God; a Penny bears the Image of the Prince as well as a Shilling. Magiſtrates are not immortal Deities, neither have they everlaſting God-heads, Thoſe gods, as they had a beginning, ſo they muſt have an end. Quicquid oritur, moritur. There is a Mene Mene on them, their days are numbred, their time is computed. Hercules his Pillar ſtands in their way. Non datur ultra.legant Orations in the praiſe of juſtice: they ſay that all Ver…es are compre…ended in the diſtribution of juſtice. Juſtice, ſaith Ariſtotle, is a Synopſis and Epitome of all Vertues. All I ſhall ſay is this, the world is a Ring, and juſtice is the Diamond in that Ring; the world is a body, and juſtice is the ſoul …f that body. It is well known that the conſtitution of a mans body is beſt known by his pulſe; if it ſtir not at all, then we know he is dead; if it ſtir violently, then we know him to be in a Fever; if it keep an equal ſtroke, then we know he is ſound, well, and whole: So the eſtate and conſtitution of a City, Kingdom, or Common-weal is beſt known by the manner of executing juſtice therein; for juſtice is the pulſe of a City, Kingdom, or Common-weal; if juſtice be violent, then the City, Kingdom, or Common-weal is in a Fever, in a very bad eſtate; if it ſtir not at all, then the City, Kingdom, or Common-wealth is dead: but if it hath an equal ſtroke, if it be juſtly and duely adminiſtred, then the City, Kingdom, or Common-weal is in a good, a ſafe, and a ſound condition. When Veſpaſian asked Apollonius what was the cauſe of Neroes ruine, he anſwered, that Nero could tune the Harp well, but in Government he did always winde up the ſtrings too high, or let them down too low. Extreams in Government are the ready way to ruine all. The Ro…ns had their Rods for leſſer faults, and their Ax for capital crimes. Extream right often proves extream wrong: he that will always go to the utmoſt of what the Law allows, will too too often do more than the Law requires. A rigid ſeverity often mars all: Equity is ſtill to be perferred before extremity. To inflict great penalties and heavy cenſures for light offences, this is to kill a flye upon a mans forehead with a Beetle. The great God hath put his own Name upon Mag…ſtrates, Pſal. 82. 6. I ſaid that ye are gods Yet it muſt be granted that you are gods in a ſmaller letter, mortal gods, gods that muſt dye like men; all the ſons of Iſh are ſons of Adam. Magiſtrates muſt do juſtice impartially; for as they are called Gods, ſo in this they muſt be like to God, who is no accepter of perſons, Deur. 1. 17. Levi…. 19. 15. He accepts not of the rich man becauſe of his Robes, neither doth he reject the poor man becauſe of his Rags. The Magiſtrates eyes are to be always upon cauſes, and not upon perſons. Both the Statues of the Theban Judges and the Statues of the Egyptian Judges were made without hands and without eyes, to intimate to us, that as Judges ſhould have no hands to receive Bribes, ſo they ſhould have no eyes to ſee a friend from a foe, or a brother from a ſtranger in judgment. And it was the Oath of the Heathen Judges, as the Orator relates: Audiam accuſatorem, & reum ſine affectibus, & perſon…rum reſpectione; I will hear the Plaintiff and the Defendant with an equal mind, without affection and respect of perſons. In the twelfth Novel of Juſtinian, you may read of an Oath impoſed upon Judges and Juſtices againſt inclining or addicting themſelves to either party; yea, they put themſelves under a deep and bitter execration and curſe in caſe of partiality, imploring God in ſuch language as this: Let me have my part with Judas, and let the Leproſie of Geh…zi cleave to me, and the trembling of Cain come upon me, and whatſoever elſe may aſtoniſh and diſmay a man, if I am partial in the adminiſtration of juſtice. The Poet in the (Greek) Epigram taught the ſilver Ax of juſtice that was carried before the Roman Magiſtrates to proclaim, If thou be an offende… let not the ſilver flatter thee; if an innocent, let not the Ax … …ight thee. The Athenian Judges judged in the night, when the faces of men could not be ſeen, that ſo they might be impartial in judgment My Lord, your impartiality in the adminiſtration of juſtice in that high Orb wherein Divine Providence hath placed you, is one of thoſe great things that hath made you high and honourable in the eyes and hearts of all that are true lovers of impartial juſtice. Some Writers ſay, that ſome Waters in Macedonia being drunk by black ſheep, change their fleece into white: Nothing but the pure and impartial adminiſtration of juſtice and judgment can transform black mouth'd, black-handed, and black hearted men into white. There is nothing that ſweetens, ſatisfies, and ſilences all ſorts of men like the Iſa. 1. 23, 24.adminiſtration of impartial juſtice: the want of this brought deſolation upon Jeruſalem, and the whole Land of Jury, and upon many other flouriſhing Kingdoms and Countries, as all Auguſt. de Civitate Dei, lib. 10. cap. 21, &c. lib. 4. cap. 4. Lipſius de conſtan. l. 2. c. 13.know that have but read any thing of Scripture or Hiſtory. S. Auſtin plainly denies that ever the Rom…n Politie could be called properly a Common-weal…h, upon this ground, that, Ubi n…n eſt Juſtiti…, non eſt R…ſpublica; he calls Common wealths without juſtice, but magna L…t…ocini…: or in Lipſius his language, Congeries, Confuſio, Turba: 'tis but an abuſe of the word Reſpublica, Common-wealth, where the publick Good is not conſulted by an impartial juſtice and equity, 'tis but a confuſed heap, a rout of men; or if we will call it ſo at preſent, it will not be ſo long without impartial juſtice, partly becauſe injuſtice 1 Kings 12. 1 Sam. 8. 3.and oppreſſion makes the multitude tumultuous, and fills the peoples heads with dangerous deſigns, as you may ſee by comparing the Scriptures in the Margine together; and partly becauſe it lays a Nation open and obuoxious to the wrath and vengeance of God, as might eaſily be made good by ſcores of Scriptures. Impartial juſtice is the beſt eſtabl…ſhment of Kingdoms and Common-wealths. The King by judgment eſtabliſheth the See Numb. 25. 11. 2 Sam. 21, 14.land, Prov. 29. 4. It is the beſt ſecurity againſt deſolating judgments. Run ye through the ſtreets of Jeruſalem, and ſeek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, i… there be any that executeth judgment, and I will pardon it, Jer. 5 1.
My Lord, … the Honour of a Magiſtrate to do juſtice impartially, ſo i… …s the Honour and Glory of a Magiſtrate to do juſtice ſpeedily. Jer. 28▪ 12. O houſe of David, th…s ſ…i…h the Lord, execute judgment in the morning, and deliver him that is ſpoiled out of the h…nd of the oppr…ſſ…r, leſt my God is very ſpeedy and ſwift in the execution of Juſtice. Joel. 3. 4. Gen. 19. Numb. 16. Ezra 7. 20. In this as in other things it becomes Magiſtrates to be like to God.ſury go out like fi…e, …nd burn that none can quench it, becauſe of the evil of your doings. After examination, execution is to be done with expedition. When men cry out for juſtice juſtice, Magiſtrates muſt not cry out cr…s, cra…, to morrow, to morrow. Magiſtrates muſt do juſtice in the morning; nei…her noon-juſtice, nor afternoon▪juſtice, nor evening-juſtice, nor night-juſtice is ſo ac…eptable to God, or ſo honourable to Magiſtrates, or ſo advantagious to the people, as morning-juſtice is: to delay juſtice is worſe ſometimes than to deny juſtice; 'tis a very dangerous thing for Magiſtrates to be as long a bringing forth their Verdicts as the Elephant her young. Delay of juſtice makes many more irreconcileable; it makes many men go up and down this world with heavy hearts, empty purſes, and thred bare coats. I have read of a famous paſſage of Theodorick King of the Romans, who when a Widow came to him with a ſad complaint, that ſhe had a ſuit depending in the Court three years, which might have been ended in a few days; the King demands of her the Judges names, ſhe tells him, he ſends a ſpecial Command to them to give all the speedy diſpatch that was poſſible to the Widows Cauſe, which they did; and in two days determined it to the Widows liking: this being done, the King calls for the Judges, and they ſuppoſing that they ſhould have both applauſe and reward for their expedition haſtned to him full of joy; but after the King had propounded ſeveral things to them about their former delay…, he commanded both their heads to be ſtruck off becauſe they had spun out that Cauſe to a three years length, which two days would have ended. Here was Royal juſtice, and speedy juſtice indeed, Pſal. 101. 8. I will early deſtroy all the wicked of the land, Summomane, I will do morning-juſtice. Feſtinanter, ſo Genebrad, I will haſtily do it. Juſtice ſhould be on the wing; delays are very dangerous and injurious. Prov. 13. 12. Hope deferred, maketh the heart ſick; the Hebrew word Memuſhſhacah that is here rendred deferred, is from Maſh…ch that ſignifies to draw out at length. Men are ſhort-breathed and ſhort-spirited, and Hopes hours are full of Eternity, and when their hopes are drawn ou… at length, this makes their hearts ſick; and Ah, what a world of ſuch ſick ſouls lyes l…nguiſhing at Hopes Hoſpital all the world over. Hope in the Text is put for the good things hoped for. Now when the good things men hope for (be it juſtice or a quick diſpatch, &c.) are deferred and delayed, this makes the poor Client ſick at heart. A lingring hope always breeds in the heart a lingring Conſumption; Julius Caeſars quick diſpatch is noted in three words; Veni, vidi, vici, I came, I ſaw, I overcame.the harder travel hope hath, and the more ſtrongly it labours to bring forth, and yet is deferred and delayed, the more deadly ſick the Client grows. The ſpeedy execution of juſtice is the very life and ſoul of juſtice. Amos 5. 24. Bu… let judgment run down as waters, and righteouſ…e…s as a mighty ſtream. The Hebrew word Veiiggal that is here rendred run down, is from Galal, that ſignifies to rowl down freely, plentifully, vigorouſly, conſtantly, ſpeedily, as the grea… Billows of the Sea, or as waves rowl speedily over the Rocks. Judgment and Righteouſneſs like a mighty ſtream ſhould bear down all before it. Fiat juſtitia, tuat orb…s, let juſtice be done, whatever come of it. Deut. 16. 20. That which is altoge…her juſt ſhalt thou follow, or rather as the Hebrew hath it foreign, Tſedek, Tſedek, juſtice, juſtice ſhalt thou follow, that is, all manner of juſtice thou ſhalt follow, and nothing but …uſtice ſhalt thou follow, and thou ſhalt follow juſtice ſincerely out of love to juſtice, and thou ſhalt follow juſtice exactly without turning to the right hand or the left; and thou ſhalt follow juſtice reſolutely in spite of the world, the fleſh, and the Devil; and thou ſhalt follow juſtice speedily without delays or excuſes. A Magiſtrate that has the ſword of juſtice in his hand, muſt never plead, there is a Lyon in the way. My Lord, this will be your Honour while you live, and your Comfort when you come to dye, that whilſt the Sword was in your hand, you did juſtice speedily as well as impartially: You did juſtice in the morning, and juſtice at noon, and juſtice in the afternoon, and juſtice at night; what has been your whole Mayoralty, but one continued day of juſtice? Who can ſum up the many thouſand Cauſes that you have heard and determined, and the many thouſand differences that you have ſweetly and friendly compoſed and ended? If the Lawyers pleaſe but to ſpeak out, they muſt ingenuouſly confeſs, that your Lordſhip has eaſed them of a great deal of work.
My Lord, as it is the Honour and Glory of a Magiſtrate to do juſtice ſpeedily, ſo it is the Honour and Glory of a Magiſtrate to do juſtice reſolutely, couragiouſly, valiantly. It is obſervable, that as ſoon as ever Joſhua came into the office of Magiſtracy, God charges him no leſs then three times (in a Joſh. 1. 6, 7. 9.breath as it were) to be very couragious. A Magiſtrate that is timorous, will quickly be treacherous. A Magiſtrate that is fearful, can never be faithful. Solomons Throne was ſupported with Lyons, to ſhew that Magiſtrates ſhould be men of metal and courage. The Athenian Judges ſate in M…rs Acts 17. 22.ſtreet, to ſhew that they had Martial hearts, and that they were men of courage and metal. The Grecians placed juſtice betwixt Leo and Libra, to ſignifie that as there muſt be indifferency in determining, ſo there ought to be courage in executing. Where there is courage without knowledge, there the eye of juſtice is blind; and where there is knowledge without courage there the Sword of juſtice is blunt. A Magiſtrates heart, a Judges heart and his Robes muſt be both dyed in grain, elſe the colour of the one, and the courage of the other will quickly fade. Why ſhould not the Standard be of ſteel, and the chief poſts of the houſe be heart of Oak? It hath been long ſince ſaid of Cato, Fabricius and Ariſtides, that it was as eaſie to remove the Sun out of the Firmament, as to remove them from juſtice and equity; they were men of ſuch couragious and magnanimous ſpirits for juſtice and righteouſneſs. No Scarlet Robe doth ſo well become a Magiſtrate as holy courage and ſtoutneſs doth. As bodily Phyſitians, ſo State-Phyſitians ſhould have an Eagles eye, a Ladies hand, and a Lyons heart. Cowardly and timo r…us Magiſtrates will never ſet up Monuments of their Victories over ſin and prophaneneſs. It is very ſad when we may ſay of our Magiſtrates as the Heathen did of Magiſtrates in his time, they were very good, ſi audeant quae ſentiunt, if they Cic. de Mil.durſt but do what they ought to do. My Lord, had not the Lord of Lords put a great ſpirit of courage, boldneſs, and reſolution Rev. 1. 5, 6. Chap. 1…. 14.upon you, you had never been able to have managed your Government as you have done, counting the various winds that have blown upon you, and the ſeveral difficulties and diſcouragements that have riſen up before you.
My Lord, once more give me leave to ſay, that in a Magiſtrate juſtice and mercy, juſtice and clemency ought to go hand Truth in Scripture is frequently put for Juſtice.in hand. Prov. 20. 28. Mercy and truth preſerve the King, and his Throne is upholden by mercy. All juſtice will not preſerve the King, nor all mercy will not preſerve the King, there muſt be a mixture both of juſtice and mercy to preſerve the King, and to uphold his Throne; and to ſhew that mercy is more requiſite then juſtice, the word Mercy is doubled in the Text. Juſtice without mercy turns into rigour, and ſo becomes hateful: Mercy without juſtice turns into fond pity, and ſo becomes contemptible. Look as the Rod of Aaron and King John thought to ſtrengthen himſelf by gathering a great deal of money together, but neglecting the exerciſe of mercy and juſtice, clemency and lenity, he loſt his peoples affections, and ſo after many endleſs turmoyls, he came to an unhappy end.he Pot of Manna were by Gods own Command laid up in the ſame Ark; ſo muſt mercy and juſtice be preſerved intire in he boſom of the ſame Magiſtrate: mercy and juſtice, mildneſs and righteouſneſs, leni…y and fidelity are a ſafer and a ſtronger Guard to Princes and people then rich Mines, Munitions of Rocks, mighty Armies, powerful Navies, or any warlike Preparations. It is very obſervable, that Chriſt is called but once the Lyon of the Tribe of Judah in the Book of the Revelation, and that is in Chap. 5. verſ. 5. But he is called a Lamb no leſs then nine and twenty times in that Book; and what is this, but to ſhew us the tranſcendent mercy, clemency, lenity, mildneſs, and ſweetneſs that is in Jeſus Chriſt; and to ſhew that he is infinitely more inclined to the exerciſe of mercy then he is to the exerciſe of juſtice. It is true, Magiſtrates ſhould be Lyons in the execution of juſtice, and it is as true that …hey ſhould be Lambs in the exerciſe of mercy and clemency, mildneſs and ſweetneſs; and the more ready and inclinable they are to the exerciſe of mercy, where m…rcy is to be ſhewed, the more like to Chriſt the Lamb they are▪ God is ſlow to anger, he abounds in pity, though he be great in power. Seneca hath long Pſal. 68. 18. Pſal. 103. 13, 14. Hoſea 11. 8. Vide Aug. de civit. Dei, l. 5. cap. 26. Oroſius lib. 7. cap. 34.ſince obſerved, that the Cuſtom of anointing Kings was to ſhew that Kings above all other men, ſhould be men of the greateſt ſweetneſs and mildneſs, their anointing being a ſign of that Kingly ſweetneſs and mildneſs that ſhould be in them. Theodoſius the Emperour, by his lovelineſs and clemency, gained many Kingdoms. The Goths (after the death of their own King) beholding his temperance, patience, and juſtice mixt with mercy and clemency, gave themſelves up to his Government. When Cicero would claw Caeſar, he tells him, that his Valour and Victories were common with the reſt of his Souldiers, but his clemency and goodneſs were wholly his own. Neroes Speech hath great praiſe, who in the beginning of his Reign, when he was to ſubſcribe to the death of any condemned perſon, would ſay, U…inam neſcirem literas, I wiſh I did not know how to write. I know there are a thouſand thouſand caſes wherein ſeverity is to be uſed: But yet I muſt ſay, that 'tis much ſafer …o account for mercy then for cruelty; 'tis beſt that the ſword of juſtice ſhould be always furbiſht with the oyl of mercy. My Lord, in the management of your Government you have been ſo aſſiſted and helpt from on high, that ſtoutneſs and mildneſs, juſtice and mercy, juſtice and clemency hath like a ſilver thred run through all your Mayoralty, and by this means you have very ſignally ſerved the Intereſt of the Crown, the Intereſt of the City, the Intereſt of the Nation, and that which is more then all the reſt, the Intereſt of your own Soul. Rigour breeds rebellion. Rehoboam by his ſeverity, by his cruelty loſt ten Tribes in one day, 1 Kings 12. 16.
My Lord, your prudence, juſtice, and moderation, your burning zeal againſt the horrid, hideous, heady vices of this day, your puniſhing of Oaths, Drunkenneſs, and the falſe Ballance, your ſingular Sobriety and Temperance in the midſt of all your high Entertainments, your Fidelity and Activity, your eminent Self-denial A ſelf-ſeeking Magiſtrate is one of the worſt of Plagues and Judgments that can befal a people; he is a Gangrene in the head, which brings both a more ſpeedy and a more certain ruine, then if it were in ſome inferior and leſs noble part of the body.in reſpect of your Perquiſites, your unwearied Endeavours to ſee London raiſed out of its Ruines, and to ſee the Top-ſtone laid, your great readineſs and willingneſs to ſpend and be ſpent for the publick Good: theſe are the things that have made your Name as a precious Oyntment, and that have erected for you a noble living Monument in the breaſts and hearts of all ſober ſerious Chriſtians: theſe are the things that have made you the Darling of the people. Let all ſucceeding Lord Mayors but manage their own Perſons, Families, and Government as you have done by divine aſſiſtance, and without a peradventure they will have a proportionable intereſt in the hearts and affections of the people. For, my Lord, 'tis not barely the having of a Sword of Juſtice, a Sword of Power, but the well management of that Sword that makes moſt for the intereſt both of Prince and People, and that gives the Magiſtrate a ſtanding intereſt in the hearts and affections of the people. My Lord, the generality of people never concern themſelves about the particular perſwaſions of this or that Magiſtrate in the matters of Religion, their eyes are upon their Examples, and upon the management of their Truſt and Power for publick Good; and they that do them moſt good, ſhall be ſure to have moſt of …heir hearts and voices, l… their private opinions in the matters of Religion be what they will.
My Lord, I have not ſo learned Chriſt, as to give flattering Titles to men; the little that I have written, I have written in Job 32. 22.the plainneſs and ſingleneſs of my heart, and for your Lordſhips comfort and encouragement in all well doing, and to provoke all …thers that ſhall ſucceed in your Chair, to write after that fair Copy that you have ſet them, which will be their Honour, London's Happineſs, and Englands Intereſt. Plutarch ſaid of Demoſthenes, that he was excellent at praiſing the worthy Acts of his Anceſtors, but not ſo at imitating them. The Lord grant that this may never be made good of any that ſhall ſucceed your Lordſhip. Carus the Emperours Motto was, Bonus Dux, bonus Comes, A good Leader makes a good Follower. The complaint is ancient in Seneca, that commonly men live not ad rationem, but Seneca de vita beata, cap. 1.ad ſimilitudinem. Praecepta docent, exempla movent, Precepts may inſtruct, but Examples do perſwade. Stories ſpeak of ſome that could not ſleep when they thought of the Trophies of other Worthies that went before them: the higheſt Examples are very quickning and provoking. O that by all that ſhall ſucceed your Lordſhip in the Chair, we may yet behold our City riſing more and more out of its Aſhes, in greater ſplendour and glory then ever yet our eyes have ſeen it, that all ſober Citizens may have eminent cauſe to call them the Repairers of the Breaches, Iſa. 58. 12. Chap. 61. 4. Amos 9. 14. Ezek. 36. 33, 34, 35, 36, 38. Dan. 9. 25.and Reſtorers of our City to dwell in. Concerning Jeruſalem burned and laid waſte by the Aſſyrians, Daniel foretold that the ſtreets and the walls thereof ſhould be rebuilded, even in troubleſom times. Though the Aſſyrians have laid our Jeruſalem waſte, yet even to a wonder, how have the Buildings been carried on this laſt year?
My Lord, the following Treatiſe which I humbly dedicate to your Lordſhip, has been drawn up ſome years: the Reaſons why it has been buried ſo long in oblivion, are not here to be inſerted; the Diſcourſe is ſober and of great importance to all that have been burnt up, and to all whoſe Houſes have eſcaped the furious Flames. Whilſt the remembrance of London's Flames are kept alive in the thoughts and hearts of men, this Treatiſe will be of uſe in the world. My Lord, I do not dedicate this Tractate to your Lordſhip, as if it ſtood in need of your Honours Patronage; I judge it to be of Age both to plead for it ſelf, and to defend it ſelf againſt all Gain-ſayers. Veritas vincit, veritas ſtat in aperto campo. Zeno, Socrates, Anaxarchus, My Lord, ſome ſacrifice their labours to great Maecenas's, that they may be aton'd to ſhield them from potent Antagoniſts; but theſe Sermons which here I preſent to your Honours peruſal, being only the bleſſed Truths of God, I hope they need no arm but his to defend them.&c. ſealed the lean and barren truths of Philoſophy with the expence of their deareſt blood, as you may ſee in the Heathen Martyrologie. O how much more ſhould we be ready to ſeal all divine Truths with our deareſt blood, when God ſhall call us forth to ſuch a Service! My Lord, I humbly lay this Treatiſe at your Lordſhips foot, to teſtifie that Love and Honour that I have in my heart for you (both upon the account of that intrinſecal Worth that is in you, and upon the account of the many good things and great things that have been done by you) and publickly to teſtifie my acknowledgment of your Lordſhips undeſerved Favours towards me. My Lord, of right this Treatiſe ſhould have been in your hands ſeveral months ſince, and in that it was not, it is wholly from others, and not from me. If your Lordſhip pleaſe but to favour the Author ſo far as to read it once over for his ſake, he doubts not but that your Lordſhip will oftner read it over for your own Souls ſake, and for Eternities ſake, and for London's ſake alſo. My Lord, by reaſon of my being remote from the City ſeveral weeks, I have had the advantage but of reading and correcting two or three ſheets; and therefore muſt beg your Lordſhips pardon as to all the neglects and eſcapes of the Preſs. A ſecond Impreſſion may ſet all right and ſtraight.
My Lord, that to your dying day you may be famous in your Generation, and that your precious and immortal Soul may be richly adorned with all ſaving Gifts and Graces, and that you may daily enjoy a clear, cloſe, high, and ſtanding Communion with God, and that you may be filled with all the fruits of Righteouſneſs and Holineſs, and that your Soul may be bound up in the bundle of Life, and crowned with the higheſt Glory in that other World, in the free full, conſtant, and uninterrupted Enjoyment of that God who is the Heaven of Heaven, and the Glory of Glory, is, and (by divine Aſſiſtance) ſhall be the earneſt prayers of him who is,
Your Honours in all humble and due Obſervance, Thomas Brooks.
The Fiery Jeſuits Temper and Behaviour.
I Fain would be informed by you what ails
Theſe Foxes to wear Fire-brands in their tails.
What? did you teach theſe Cubs the World to burn,
Or to embottle London in its Ʋrn?
Are Hugonots as rank Philiſtins grown
(With you) as dwelt in Gath or Askelon?
Bold Wretches! muſt your Fire thus antedate
The General Doom, and give the World its Fate?
Muſt Hells Edict (to blend this Globe with Fire)
Be done at your grave Nods, when you require?