The Preaching Bishop Reproving, Part 7
Part of the Fifth Sermon of Master Latimer, Preached before King Edward.
1 Sam. 8. 1. &c.
It came to passe when Samuel was old, &c.
FAther Samuel, a good man, a singular Example, and a singular pattern, a man alone, few such men as Father Samuel was.—
He thought his Sons would have proved well.Ver. 2. But Samuels Sons walked not in his wayes.—
VVhy is the Son alwayes bound to walk in the Fathers way? no, ye must not take it for a general rule; all Sons are not to blamed for not walking in their Fathers wayes. Hezekiah did not follow the steps of Ahaz, and was well allowed.—
Samuel would never have thought his Sons would have been so corrupted, they felt the smack of this world,Ver. 3. A perillous thing.
It is a perillous thing, a dangerous state to be a Judge—I have told you of scala coeli: This I am sure is scald inferni, Note,the right way to Hell, to be covetous and take bribes, and pervert justice.
If a Judge would ask me the way to Hell, I would shew him this way. First, let him be a covetous man, let his heart be poisoned with covetousness; then let him go a little farther, and take bribes; and at the last pervert judgment. Lo, here is the Mother, and the Daughter, and the Daughters Daughter: Avarice is the Mother, she brings forth bribe taking, and bribe taking perverting of judgment. There lacks a fourth thing to make up the Messe; which (so God help me) if I were Judge should be Hangum Tunum, a Tiburn Tippet to take with him, and it were the Judge of the Kings Bench, my Lord chief Judge of England; yea, and it were my Lord Chancellor himself, to Tiburn with him.—
One will say you speak unseemly, so to be against the Officers, for taking of rewards in doing pleasures.Note. You consider not the matter to the bottom; their Offices be bought for great sums, how should they receive their money again?—
And is it so, trow ye? are civil Offices bought for money? Lord God! who should have thought that?—
God fore-fend that ever any such enormity should be in England, that civil Offices should be bought.—
And if ye be a selling civil Offices, ye are as they which fell their benefices, and so we shall have omnia venalia.
I marvel the ground gapes not, and devours us. Surely, it is the great lemity of God that suffers it. O Lord, in what case are we.—
There was a Patron in England, that had a benefice faln into his hand, and a good Brother of mine came to him, and brought him thirty Apples in a dish, and gave them to his man to carry them to his Master; it is like he gave one to his Man for his labour, to make up the game, and so there was thirty one. This Man cometh to his Master, and presented him with the dish of Apples, saying; Sir such a man hath sent you a dish of fruit, and desireth you to be good unto him for such a benefice. Tush, tush, quoth he, this is no Apple matter, I will none of his Apples. I have as good as these (or as he hath any) in my own Orchard.
The Man came to the Priest again, and told him what his Master said: Then quoth the Priest, desire him yet to prove one of them for my sake, he shall find them much better then they look for. He cut one of them and found ten pieces of gold in it. Marry, quo…h he, this is a good Apple. The Priest standing not far of, hearing what the Gentleman said; cryed out and said, they are all one Apples I warrant you Sir, they grew all on one Tree, and have all one tast. Well, he is a good Fellow, let him have it, quoth the Patron. Get you a Graft of this Tree, and I warrant you it shall stand you in more stead then all St. Pauls learning. Well, let Patrons take heed.—