A Persuasive to a Holy Life, Tract · Chapter 5
CHAP. V. Of Health.
HEalth is a Bleſſing ſo neceſſary to our Well-being in this World, that without it we cannot enjoy any thing elſe, no not our own ſelves: And therefore the common ſalutation among us at every meeting of Neighbour or Friends is this, How do you? that is, are you in Health or no? And the Anſwer Well, or Ill; that is, in health, or not: As if Health were the chief or only good thing worth the enquiring after, in the preſence or enjoyment whereof we could not be miſerable whatever elſe we wanted: Nor in the abſence, happy or well, whatever beſides we poſſeſſed. Indeed there is no taſte or reliſh, no comfort or delight in any worldly good, where health is wanting; and therefore it is by all Men highly valued and purchaſed at the deareſt rate, as Biſhop Wilkins well obſerves.
Health is ſuch a juſt temper and conſtitution of all the parts of the Body, both ſolid and fluid, as may inable the ſeveral Members and Faculties duly to perform their natural Functions, from whence proceeds not only an indolency or freedom from Pain and Sickneſs, but alſo vigor and activity, alacrity and light-heartedneſs, a pleaſant and delicious ſympathy in the Soul. To this head I refer freedom from Bodily Pain, the extremity whereof is altogether inconſiſtent with Happineſs: St. Auguſtine confeſſes, That he was compelled to conſent to Cornelius Celſus, who affirmed Bodily Pain to be the greateſt Evil. Neither (ſaith he) did his Reaſon ſeem to me abſurd, viz. That Man being compounded of two parts, Soul and Body, of which the firſt is the better, the latter the worſer; the greateſt good muſt be the beſt thing belonging to the better part; that is, Wiſdom: And the greateſt Evil the worſt thing belonging to the worſer part; that is, Pain. Whether this Reaſon be ſolid and concluſive, let others judge; but I fully agree with him in the Aſſertion, That of all Evils we are ſenſible of in this World, Bodily Pain is the ſoreſt; It drowning, as I may ſo ſay, and taking away the ſenſe of all other Evils, and wholly poſſeſſing the Soul. It is ſuch an afflictive and tormenting Paſſion, ſuch a Vultur or Tyger, tearing and gnawing upon the Soul, ſo abhorrent to Humane Nature, that an exceſſive degree of it muſt needs make a Man miſerable and unhappy; unleſs we can reconcile and unite extremes, the greateſt Evil that Man is capable of ſuffering, with the greateſt good he can enjoy. Hence the Torments of Hell are every where in Scripture ſet forth by conſuming Fire, unquenchable Fire, everlaſting Burnings; and Hell it ſelf called a Lake of Fire, a Lake which burns with Fire and Brimſtone; becauſe Fire produceth the greateſt Bodily Pain; than which nothing is more terrible to Humane Nature, and more likely to affright Men from Sin. On the contrary, St John in his Revelation conſidering the abſolute inconſiſtency of Pain and Happineſs, tells us, That in the New Jeruſalem there ſhall be no ſorrow, nor any more Pain.
There is indeed a degree of Bodily Pain, which may be ſaid to be foreign, not exceeding the meaſure of Man's Patience; and there is a degree which we are not able to bear, which takes up the whole Mind, not ſuffering it to divert its thoughts one Minute to any other Object.
Away then with the fooliſh vaunts of the proud Stoicks, who boaſt that their Wiſe Man is happy in Phalaris his Bull; whom *Epiſt, 52.St. Auguſtine thus ſmartly and ingeniouſly checks and confutes, If Life may be happy in extreme bodily torment, why do they adviſe a man afflicted with the moſt grievous Pains to depart out of it? Why does not their Wiſeman rather continue in it, that he may enjoy the happiness of it? Is a happy life to be forſaken and fled from? But if ſuch a Life be really miſerable, what elſe but pride hinders them from confeſſing it to be ſo?
You will ſay, Did not the holy Martyrs endure the greateſt Bodily Torments with invincible patience, yea ſome of them with joy and exultation?
I anſwer, 'Tis true indeed they did ſo; but then I ſuppoſe, that as their Temptations and Sufferings were extraordinary, ſo they were extraordinarily ſupported under them; and that God (as the Apoſtle ſaith) did not ſuffer them to be tempted above what he enabled them to bear. It ſeems to me moſt likely, that he did quite take away, or very much mitigate the ſenſe of pain; poſſibly by obſtructing thoſe Nerves which convey that motion to the Brain, which excites ſuch a ſenſe, or how elſe it ſeemed beſt to his Divine Wiſdom.
I proceed now to prove, that this Bleſſing is the portion of thoſe who lead a godly Life, who keep God's Commandments, and abide in his Love: And that, 1. From the Promiſes of God: 2. From the natural conſequence of ſeveral Vertues commanded by him. Such are, 1. Temperance and Sobriety. 2. Labor and Induſtry. 3. A due government and moderation of our Paſſions.
1. Health and Long Life, (I put them together, the one for the moſt part being the conſequent of the other) are in Scripture promiſed as rewards to the obedience of the Commandments of God. Exod. 23.25. Thou ſhalt ſerve the Lord thy God — And I will take away Sickneſs from the midſt of thee. Deut. 7.15. And the Lord will take away from thee all Sickneſs, and will put none of the evil Diſeaſes of Egypt (which thou knoweſt) upon thee. Prov. 3.7, 8. Fear the Lord, and depart from evil: It ſhall be health to thy Navel, and Marrow to thy Bones. Prov. 3.16. It is ſaid of Wiſdom, That length of days are in her right hand. Pſal. 34.12. What man is he that deſireth life, and loveth many days, that he may ſee good? Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips that thou ſpeak no guile. Depart from evil, and do good, &c. repeated 1 Pet. 3.10. On the other ſide Sickneſs and grievous Diſeaſes and premature Death are often threatned as Puniſhments of Sin and Diſobedience: Deut. 28.60, 61. If thou wilt not obſerve to do all the words of this Law, &c. He will bring upon thee all the evil Diſeaſes of Egypt, &c. alſo every Sickneſs, and every Plague which is n…t written in this Law. Prov. 2.22. The wicked ſhall be cut off from the earth, and the tranſgreſſors ſhall be rooted out of it. Prov. 11.19. As righteouſneſs tendeth to life, ſo he that purſueth evil, purſueth it to his own Death.
2. Health and Long Life are the natural conſequents of ſome Vertues commanded by God: As,
1. Temperance and Sobriety in the uſe of Meats and Drinks: That this is a moſt effectual means to preſerve Health, I appeal to the general conſent of Phyſicians, who are the moſt competent Judges in this Caſe, all unanimouſly preſcribing a moderate Diet, not only as a principal means to continue Health, but alſo to cure many Diſeaſes. Hence Hipocrates ſaith, 6 Epid. Sect. 4. Aph. 10. foreign: The exerciſe of preſerving health is, not to eat to ſatiety, not to be ſlothful in labour.
That a very ſpare and aſcetick Diet conduces much to Health and long Life, may be confirmed by many eminent Examples: St. Paul, the firſt Hermite (as St. Jerome in his Life reports) arrived to the Age of 115 Years, an hundred whereof he ſpent in the Wilderneſs, ſuſtaining himſelf daily the firſt forty with a few Dates, and a draught of Water; and when Dates failed, with half a Loaf of Bread, which a Raven brought him. St. Anthony (as Athanaſius witneſſeth) lived 105 Years, of which he ſpent 90 in the Deſert, ſupporting his Body with Bread and Water only, to which in his extreme old Age he added a few Sallet Herbs. Arſenius, The Emperor Arcadius his Tutor, lived 120 Years, fifty five whereof he ſpent in the Wilderneſs, in wonderful abſtinence. Not long before our Times, Ludovicus C…rnarus, a Venetian Nobleman, when he had lived unhealthfully to the 35th Year of his Age, being frequently afflicted with divers Diſeaſes, at laſt by the advice of a certain Phyſician, he uſed a reſtrained Diet, whereby alone he gradually cured them all; by little and little diminiſhing the quantity of his Meat and Drink, till he deſcended to fourteen Ounces of Meat, reckoning Bread, Fleſh, Eggs, and other Edibles, and ſixteen Ounces of Drink daily; perſevering in which Regimen, he produced his Life healthful, vigorous, and free from Diſeaſes above 100 Years, as himſelf witneſſeth in a Book he put forth, entitled, The benefits and advantages of a ſober Life. Whence we may collect (ſaith Riverius) out of whoſe Inſtitutions I borrowed theſe Inſtances, That a ſpare Diet doth very much conduce, not only to the continuance of Health, but alſo to the curing of contumacious Diſeaſes, and of long continuance. For though Natural Heat having ſuddenly concocted that ſmall quantity of Food taken in, is afterwards employed about the ſuperfluous Humours, digeſting, diſſipating, and by little and little expelling them through the ſeveral Emunctories of the Body, till at laſt the Body becomes pure and free from the Cauſes and Seeds of all Diſeaſes.
Moreover, It is very remarkable, which the ſame Riverius adds, That if an exact Diet cannot quite take away ſome chronical and incurable Diſeaſes, yet doth it much alleviate them, and render them more tolerable, ſo that the Sick perſons may live a long time under them. So we ſee not a fewdaily, who produce their Lives many Years under an Ulcer of the Lungs, a Scirrhus of the Liver or Spleen, a Stone in the Reins or Bladder. Ariſtotle in his Problems witneſſeth, That there was a certain Philoſopher in his time, named Herodicus, who …ough he laboured under a Conſumption, yet by a ſtrict obſervation of Diet, attained to 100 Years.
The Benefits of Temperance will beſt appear from the Miſchiefs and Inconveniencies the contrary Vices of Intemperance and Exceſs bring upon us; eſpecially as to the impairing and ruining of our Health, which is a natural conſequent thereof. For the Stomach by immoderate repletion being overcharged or clog'd, with more than it can digeſt, muſt needs ſlubber over its work, as a Mill that is fed too faſt, and inſtead of a well concocted and benign Chyle, tranſmit to the other Veſſels a Crude and impure Juice, full of many heterogeneous and noxious Particles or Qualities, that breed an univerſal Diſtemper and Diſcraſie in the Body, and lay the foundation of many future diſeaſes; an error in the firſt concoction (as the old Phyſicians well obſerve) being ſeldom or never corrected in the ſubſequent.
That moſt diſeaſes owe their original to exceſs in eating and drinking, appears in that they are cured by blood-letting, purging, vomiting, ſweating, and other Evacuations, whereby the abundance of ſuperfluous Humours is exhauſted. It is a Proverbial Saying, Plures occidit gula quàm gladius: The Throat hath ſlain more than the Sword. Rioting and drunkenneſs offer ſuch violence to Nature, do ſo inflame the Blood, the vehicle of Life, waſte and diſſipate the Spirits, that Men guilty of them ſeldom live out half their days: Inſomuch that (as Biſhop Wilkins well obſerves) no Man of ordinary prudence, who is to take a Leaſe for Lives, will be content (if he can well avoid it) to chooſe one whom he knows to be vicious and intemperate.
It may be objected, that ſome who daily exceed all bounds in eating and drinking, feeding themſelves (as the Apoſtle ſaith) without fear, do yet live to an extreme old Age.
I anſwer, That there are but very few of theſe, and thoſe of exceeding firm ſtrength of Parts and temperament of Body; who yet if they lived temperately, might hold out much longer, and would be more fit for all the Actions of the Mind and Underſtanding: For (ſaith Riverius) Thoſe who live intemperately, muſt needs be fill'd with many noxious Humours, and often troubled with Sickneſs; neither can they, without prejudice to their Health, be long intent on the difficult Functions of the Mind; both becauſe in them the whole force of Nature, and of the Spirits is ſpent in the concoction of Meats; from which, if by any contention of mind, they be violently withdrawn, concoction will be depraved, and many crudities enſue; and alſo becauſe they have need of frequent Bodily Exerciſe to diſſipate, or Medicaments to purge out their ill Humours they daily accumulate. So that though ſuch men ſeem to live long in the Body, yet in effect they live but little to their mind, and to thoſe ends for which Life was given; being but a little while fit for the Functions of the Soul, the greateſt part of their time being neceſſarily beſtowed on the Service of the Body.
And yet even in theſe the Body is not made of Steel or Adamant, the ſtrength of their Natural Temper cannot always reſiſt and hold out againſt the rude ſhocks and batteries of ſo many exceſſes and debauches, but muſt needs by degrees be weakened and impaired, and at laſt utterly marred and ſubverted.
I might add further in commendation of this Grace of Temperance, that it conduces much to the preſervation of the External form and comlineſs of the Body, an Endowment highly valued by all men: Whereas on the contrary, Vicious Courſes, but eſpecially Intemperance, defacing the inward pulchritude of the Soul, do change even the outward Countenance into an abhorred hue; as I have elſewhere noted out of Dr. Moor.
I ſhould now diſmiſs this Particular, did not the great prevalency of this Vice of Intemperance, eſpecially in drinking invite me to ſuperadd ſomething further of the pernicious effects and conſequents of it.
1. Firſt, Then this Vice hath a very ill influence upon the Spirit and Soul of Man, degrading it, and ſubjecting it to the Body. The generality of Heathen Philoſophers (as Biſhop Wilkins obſerves) agree in this, That Sin is the Natural Cauſe of debaſing the Soul, immerſing it into a ſtate of ſenſuality and darkneſs, deriving ſuch an impotency and deformity upon the mind, as the moſt loathſome Diſeaſes do upon the Body. I ſhall add, but eſpecially Intemperance, which clouds the Underſtanding, diſabling it to any Studies of ſublime and ſubtile Speculation; the groſs fumes of ſtrong and inebriating Liquors, having a like effect upon the Underſtanding, as thick Foggs and Miſts upon our bodily Eyes, hind…ing them from ſeeing things at a diſtance, or diſcerning clearly Objects that are near. Neither doth it only darken the Underſtanding, but mightily weaken the Memory, dulling alſo and impairing all the Parts and Faculties of the Soul; depreſſing and faſtning down to the earth that Particle of the divine Breath: Atque affigit humi Divinoe particulam aurae: Stupifying and infatuating the Man by degrees, till at laſt there be little left of him but the outward ſhape, and that too very much marred and deformed.
2. This Sin not only ſows the Seeds of future Diſeaſes, but very often is the occaſion of many preſent Quarrels, and Fightings, and Wounds, and even Death it ſelf. Prov. 23.19. Who hath wo? Who hath ſorrow? Who hath contentions? who hath bablings? Who hath wounds without cauſe? who hath redneſs of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine, they that go to ſeek mixt wine. Nothing more frequent than quarrelling and brawling at drinking Meetings, and ſometimes challenging and duelling. Some alſo we now and then hear of, who being in Drink, by Falls from Horſes, or other Caſualties, have ruined or deſtroyed themſelves; and alas, in what condition muſt ſuch men die!
3. It occaſions an unaccountable expence of time, which by all Wiſe Men is eſteemed a moſt precious and ineſtimable Jewel; Cujus unius (ſaith Seneca) honeſta eſt avaritia; which alone may honeſty be coveted. Sometimes whole Afternoons and Nights being ſpent in drinking bouts, and as much time more before they can get clear of the evil effects of them. Time was not given us to waſte in the ſervice of our Luſts, but to beſtow on the duties of God's Worſhip, or ſome honeſt Calling, whereby in our Places and Stations we may be ſerviceable to our Generations, and do good in the World: No Man need want Employment, and yet if he did, he were better be idle, than not well occupied, as the Proverb is. He that hath no bodily Labor or Exerciſe to buſy himſelf in, may find Work enough in cultivating his mind, in advancing and improving his Faculties, in ſearching out the Myſteries of Nature, and Works of God; whereby he may be induced to glorifie his Creator, to admire and celebrate his infinite Wiſdom, Power and Goodneſs, and may probably hit upon ſomething, which may be of publick uſe and benefit.
When at the great day of account, the Supreme Judge of all Men ſhall demand of us, How we ſpent ſuch an Afternoon, or ſuch a Night, Think we, that we ſhall have the confidence to anſwer him, in drinking, or vain talking; or rather that we ſhall not ſtand mute, being aſhamed to confeſs how we ſpent them; or that he would be ſatisfied with ſuch an account ſhould it be given him? Let us then be careful ſo to husband and manage, ſo to expend and improve our time, that we may have a good account to make thereof at that day.
4. Intemperance is a chargeable and expenſive Vice, unaccountably waſting the outward Eſtate. Prov. 23.20, 21. Be not among wine bibbers, among riotous eaters of fleſh: For the drunkard and the glutton ſhall come to poverty. Deer it egentibus Aes laquei pretium: They ſhall not have Money enough to buy them a Halter. No Vice hath conſumed ſo many Eſtates, and reduced ſo many of the meaner ſort to poverty as this; which being ſo, men given to it would do well to conſider before-hand, how unſupportable Poverty and Neceſſity will be to them who have lived plentifully; eſpecially ſeeing inſtead of being pitied and relieved, they are like to be reproach'd and ſcorn'd by others. If Poverty makes all men ridiculous, as the Poet ſaith, much more then thoſe who have brought it upon themſelves by their own default. Men who by riotous courſes waſte Eſtates left them by their Anceſtors, I look upon as injurious to their Poſterity; ſuch Eſtates being not acquired by their induſtry, and conſequently not theirs to diſpoſe of, or make away, but only to uſe for term of Life, according to the intention of their Progenitors, by whom they were raiſed and left them. However, all are accountable to God for the expence of their Eſtates; Seneca could ſay, Tam expenſorum quàm acceptorum rationem eſſe reddendam: We muſt give an account as well of what we ſpend, as of what we receive or get.
5. Intemperance is a Vice contrary to Charity and Juſtice, diſabling us to relieve the Poor, or contribute to any good Work. Can we think that he hath the leaſt ſpark of Charity, or indeed common Humanity in him, who will ſpoil and deſtroy that, which would ſerve to ſupport and maintain the indigent and neceſſitous; who will rather miſchief himſelf, than benefit others; who will rather abuſe and ruine his own Body, than refreſh the fainting Spirits of his Brethren. Surely God intended that all that are born into the World, ſhould have a portion in the World, not that one ſhould devour and waſte more than is fit, and another ſtarve for want of Suſtenance. All came alike naked into the World, and if Providence hath divided to thee more than to another, it hath made thee but a Steward to diſpenſe thy Eſtate among others; which if thou be a good Man, poſſibly thou mayeſt do more to their advant…ge, than they would do themſelves, were they owners of it, or were it equally divided among them. And this thou art to look upon as the main reaſon why God hath given to thee more than to them. The Scripture ſaith, Withhold not good from him to whom it is due; making relief a debt to the indigent; but to diſcharge debts is a piece of Juſtice, and not of Charity.
But if he be unjuſt who relieves not the poor, though nothing related to him, what ſhall we call them of the poorer ſort, who ſpend that at the Alehouſes, which ſhould ſerve to maintain their Families? who have Wives and Children at home that want Neceſſaries, and they conſume upon their Luſts what ſhould ſupport them; theſe Men are ſomething more than unjuſt, barbarous and inhumane. We find them in the black Liſt of thoſe whom the Apoſtle, Rom. 1. ſaith, are given up to a reprobate mind; foreign, Men without natural affection.
6ly. I might add, That this Vice is injurious to poſterity, entailing Diſeaſes upon them: Children do very often inherit the Diſtempers and Infirmities of their Parents, as well as the Shape and Lineaments of their Bodies. And therefore let men, as they love their Children, and tender their eaſe and well-being in this wo…ld, have a care leſt by their debauches and exceſſes they contract diſeaſes and ill habits of body on themſelves, and derive them to their Iſſue; which if of the more painful ſort, as Gout or Stone, may give their Children (I will not ſay juſt) cauſe to curſe the day wherein they were born, and the Parents which begat and brought them forth.
Laſtly, This Vice blaſts a Man's Reputation, Honour and Eſteem in the World. As Vertue is honourable in the ſight of all Men, there being ſcarce any Nation ſo ſalvage and barbarous, but pays ſome reſpect and veneration to it: So is Vice reproachful and vicious perſons deſpicable; and among other Vices, eſpecially Drunkenneſs, which makes a man a laughing-ſtock, a ſcorn and deriſion to the very vulgar, nay, to his own Companions; none being more apt to deride him than they: It turns Reaſon out of doors, and transforms a Man into a Beaſt, or ſomething worſe.
Here ſome may poſſibly demand, What meaſures of eating and drinking are we to obſerve? I anſwer, What are moſt agreeable to the ends of eating and drinking, thoſe are the ſupport of our Bodies, and preſerving them in the moſt perfect ſtate of Health. I need give no more ſevere Rules than Phyſicians preſcribe, and therefore I ſhall borrow two or three out of Riverius his Inſtitutions.
1. foreign before mentioned out of Hippocrates; Never eat to ſatiety, but always riſe from the Table with an Appetite; becauſe in thoſe who are in perfect health, the Appetite is ſtrong, and laſts till the Stomach be too much filled; which repletion is very hurtful and prejudicial to Health.
2. If you ordinarily take ſo much Meat and Drink, that afterward you feel a certain Torpor, heavineſs and ſlugiſhneſs of body, when as before you were active, brisk, and cheerful, it is a ſign that you have exceeded the conveni…n… meaſure of eating; and the quantity of Food is ſo long to be diminiſhed, till the foreſaid inconveniencies appear no more.
3. If after Meat you find your ſelf unfit for Study, Meditation, Contemplation, and other Functions as well of the Mind, as of the Body, it is clear that you exceed the juſt meaſures of eating and drinking.
Theſe Rules are to be obſerved chiefly by Scholars and Gentlemen, who are not exerciſed in continual bodily Labour.
Secondly, Moderate Labour and Exerciſe conduces much to the maintenance and preſervation of Health, foreign as Hippocrates calls not being ſlothful in l…bor: And Galen for that purpoſe prefers it before a ſpare Diet. It puts the blood in motion thereby, increaſing the natural heat, facilitating concoction and …endring it more thin and fluid, leſs apt to ſtagnate or coagulate, and more eaſy to paſs the capillary extremes of the Veins and Arteries, and ſo to irrigate and enliven all the Muſeles and Members of the Body; by which means the Body becomes more robuſt, leſs obnoxious to external Injuries, and fit for any Action.
Moreover, keeping the Blood in a due temper and degree of heat, it inables it by inſenſible perſpiration, to caſt off any noxious Particles, which might ſpoil its craſis, and put it into irregular motions, and breed divers diſeaſes: Want of perſpiration being the cauſe of almoſt all diſeaſes. But of labor and diligence in our Callings, I ſhall have occaſion to ſpeak further under another Head.
I might add ſomething concerning reſt or ſleep, the moderation whereof hath ſome influence upon bodily Health; …hyſicians telling us, That the exceſs relaxes the tone of all the Members, oppreſſes the Head, and fills it with many Vapours and ill Humours, dulls the Wits, mars the Complexion and Habit of the Body, diminiſhes the native heat, and renders all the Parts and Members more ſluggiſh and inept to motion. Neither is it leſs prejudicial to Wealth than to Health, bringing want and poverty upon thoſe that give themſelves up to it, Prov. 20.13. Love not ſleep, leſt thou come to poverty: Open thine eyes, and thou ſhalt be ſatiſfied with bread. Prov. 6.9, 10, 11. How long wilt thou ſleep, O ſluggard? when wilt thou ariſe out of thy ſleep? Yet a little ſlumber, yet a little ſleep, yet a little folding of the hands to ſleep: So ſhall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man; which is repeated Prov. 24.33.
Thirdly, A Third thing requiſite to the preſervation and continuance of Health, is a due government and moderation of our Paſſions, the exceſs of which hath great force in altering the temper of the Body, and in bringing on grievous diſeaſes, and ſometimes death it ſelf. I ſhall inſtance in three.
1. Anger, which if not ſuppreſt at firſt, but ſuffered to kindle in the Breaſt, breaks out ſuddainly into a violent flame, bearing down all before it, dethrones Reaſon, and turns the man into a Pherenetick: Ira ſuror brevis eſt: Anger is a ſhort Madneſs; and if it be indulged to, and becomes unbridled, it may by the violent commotion of the Spirits, ſo alter and pervert the very craſis and temper of the Brain, as to introduce a laſting and perpectual one. The like happens ſometimes alſo in other paſſions; as grief, fear and love,
2. Fear: What paleneſs and trembling doth it often cauſe? ſubverting the whole Oeconomy of the Body: Fear of poverty or diſgarce hath driven many men to that extremity, as to lay violent hands upon themſelves. Fear of death hath ſometimes brought upon men that they feared. But above all, fear hath a very bad influence upon the Body in infectious diſeaſes, eſpecially in the Plague; in which a Reverend and Learned Perſon ſaith upon experience▪ It is a mortal Companion: … a late Famous Phyſician in his Treatiſe upon that Diſeaſe: Peſtis non eſt Peſtis niſi adſit terror: The Peſtilence is no Peſtilence unleſs it be attended with terror.
3. Sorrow and Sadneſs, the exceſs whereof is no leſs injurious to the health of the body than the forementione… Paſſions, abating the natural heat, and by degrees introducing a general languor and waſting; or by incraſſating the humors for want of a due motion of the Blood, bringing on Melancholick and delirous affects.
Theſe and the like Paſſions the Scripture commands us either wholly to extirpate, or at leaſt to moderate and ſubdue. 1. Anger, Coloſſ. 3.8. But now you alſo put off all theſe, Anger, Wrath, Strife. Prov. 16.32. He that is ſlow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his own ſpirit, than he that taketh a City: Suitably whereto the Poet ſaith, Fortior eſt qui ſe quàm qui fortiſſima vincit. And doubtleſs whoſoever ſhall ſubdue and maſter this Paſſion, ſhall experience much joy and delight in the victory.
As for Fear, if of Poverty or Want, we have God's Promiſe for our ſecurity, That proviſion ſhall be made for us of all thing neceſſary: Our Saviour tells us, That if we ſeek the Kingdom of God, and his righteouſneſs, theſe outward things ſhall be added to us. Death we need not fear, as being to the godly but a paſſage into a better Life; and conſequently are forbidden by our Saviour, to fear men, the worſt they can do to us being to kill the body.
Immoderate Sorrow even for our deareſt Relations and Friends is forbidden us by the Apoſtle, and yet this is an Affliction that wounds as deep as any. The uſeleſneſs of ſorrow for any worldly loſs, ſetting aſide the ill influence it hath upon our health, is ſufficient argument againſt giving way to this Paſſion: Sorrow being ſo far from helping us, that it doth but add to our burthen. For what we bring upon our ſelves by our own default or negligence, ſo much trouble may be uſeful as to make us more careful for the future, and no more,
— Flagrantior aequo
Non debet dolor eſſe viri,Juve…al nec vulnere major:
A man's Grief ought not to be immoderate, nor to exceed the cauſe of it.