Thirty-Six Sermons, Collection of sermons 2 · Group of sermons 1 · Sermon 1

Thirty-Six Sermons · Collection of sermons 2 · Group of sermons 1 · Sermon 1

p. 357The first Sermon.

WHITE-HALL, November 1631.

Eccles. 7. 1.

A good Name is better than precious Oyntment: and—

1. WHere the Author professeth himself a Preacher, it cannot be improper to stile the Treatise a Sermon. This Book is such; a Sermon▪ and, the Preacher being a King, a Royal Sermon. He took a very large, but withal a very barren Text. His Text the whole World, with aaQuicquid agunt homines votum, timor, ira, volu…tat, Gaudia, discursus.—Juvenal. Satyr. 1.all the pleasures, and profits, and honours, and endeavours, and businesses, and events that are to be found under the Sun. From which so large a Text, after as exact a survey thereof taken, as unwearied diligence in searching, joyned with incomparable wisdom in judging could make, he could not yet with all his skill raise any more than this one bare and short Conclusion; proposed in the very entrance of his Sermon, as the only Doctrinal Point to be insisted upon throughout: Vanity bbEccles. 1. 2.Eccl 1:2of Vanities, saith the Preacher, Vanity of Vanities, all is vanity. This he proveth all along by sundry Instances, many in number, and various for the kind, to make the induction perfect: that so having fully established the main Doctrine, (which he therefore often inculcateth in his passage along,) that all things in the World are but Vanity; he might the more effectually enforce the main Use which he intended to infer from it, and reserveth (as good Orators use to do) for the close and Epilogue of the whole Sermon; namely, that quitting the World and the Vanities thereof, men should betake themselves to that which alone is free from vanity, to wit, the fear and service of God, ccEccl. 12. 13.Eccl 12:13Hear the conclusion of the whole matter: fear God, and keep his Commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

2. To the men of the world, whose affections are set upon the World, and who propose and promise to themselves much contentment and happiness from the things of this World: as the main Doctrine it self is, so are most of the Proofs and passages of the whole Sermon, very Paradoxes. We may (not unfitly) therefore call this Book Solomons Paradoxes. Look no further than a few of the next following verses of this very Chapter. To prefer aaVer. 2.the house of mourning before the house of feasting; bb—3.sorrow before laughter; cc—5.rebukes before Praises; dd—6.the end of a thing when it shall be no more, before the beginning of it, when it is p. 358ing and coming on; a soft patient suffering spirit before a stout and haughty mind; and ee—12.learning before riches, as the Preacher here doth: what are all these, and other like many, if we respect the ffforeign. Chrysip. apud Plutarch. de contrar. Stoic.common judgment of the World, but so many Paradoxes? The Writings of Zeno and Chrysippus, (if we had them extant) with the whole School of Stoicks, would not afford us Paradoxes more or greater, than this little book of Solomon doth. There are no less than two in this short verse. Wherein, quite oppositely to what value the World usually setteth upon them, Solomon out of the depth of that Wisdom, wherewith God had filled his heart, preferreth a good Name before precious Oyntment; and the day of death before the day of ones birth. Paradoxes both: Besides the common opinion; but ggforeign. Cleanthes apud eund.most agreeable to truth and reason both: as to him that shall duly examine them both, will clearly appear. It will find us work enough at this time, to examine but the former only, in those words. A good name is better than a precious Oyntment.

3. Wherein before I come to the pith of the matter; I cannot but take notice of an Elegancy observable in the very bark and rind of the Letters in the Hebrew Text, foreign. The Figure Paronomasia, as Rhetoricians call it; a near affinity both in the Letters and Sound, between the words, whereby the opposite Terms of the Comparison are expressed, foreign the Name, and foreign the Oyntment. Such allusions and agnominations are no strangers in either of the holy Tongues: but of frequent use both in the Old and New Testaments. Examples might be alledged many: As out of the Old Testament: Jer. 1. 11. 12. Ose. 9. 15. Amos 5. 5. and 8. 2. Ezek. 7. 6. And out of the New many more: foreign and foreign, Joh. 15. 2. foreign, and foreign, 2 Thes. 3. 11. foreign, Heb. 11. 37. foreign, three together as it were with a breath, Rom. 1. 29. 31. But omitting the rest, I shall commend unto you but two, but those very remarkable ones: out of either Testament, one. The one in Isa. 24. where the Prophet expressing the variety of Gods inevitable judgments under three several appellations. aaIsa. 24. 18. See also Isa. 5. 7.Isa 24:18Isa 5:7The Fear, the Pit and the Snare; useth three several words, but agreeing much with one another in letters and sound: foreign Pachadh, the Fear; foreign Pachath, the Pit; foreign Pach, the Snare. The other in Rom. 12. where the Apostle exhorting men not to think of themselves too highly, but according to sobriety, setteth it off with exquisite elegancy thus, bbRom. 12. 3.Rom 12:3foreign.

4. The more inconsiderate, (that I say not, uncharitable and unjust) they, that pass their censures very freely (as I have sometimes heard some do, fondly and rashly enough) upon Preachers: When now and then in their popular Sermons they let fall the like Elegancies, scatter in here and there some flowers of Elooution among. As if all use of Rhetorical ornaments did savour of an unsanctified spirit; or were the rank superfluities of a carnal Wit; or did adulterate, corrupt, and flatten aa1 Pet. 2. 2.1 Pet 2:2the sincere milk of the Word. Or as if they that made use of such exornations, did bb2 Cor. 4. 5.2 Cor 4:5preach themselves and their own wit, rather than Christ Iesus and his Cross; or else sought to make cc1 Cor. 2. 5.1 Cor 2:5the Faith of their hearers to stand rather in in the wisdom of men, than in the power of God.

5. These are the common Objections, but they are soon answered. I confess there may be a fault this way, and (in young men especially, before their judgments are grown to the just ripeness) many times there is: And so far the exceptions made here against, may be (in some degree) admitted. aaforeign—caeterá que hujusmodi scitamenta, quae isti foreign - immodicè faciunt & rancide. A. Gell. 18. noct. 8.Affectation in this, as in every other thing, is both tedious and ridiculous: And in this by so much more than in other things, by how much more the condition of the person, and the nature of the business, require a sober, serious and grave deportment. Those Preachers therefore, by a little vanity in this kind, take the readiest way to bring, both their own discretions into question, and the Sacred Word they handle into contempt, that play with words as children do with a feather. A too too bbTranstucida illa & versi…olor quorundam elocutio, res ipsas effeminat, quae illo verborum habitu vestiuntur. Quint. 8. in prooem.—nimiumque depicta. Cic. in Oratore.lightcoloured habit, certainly suteth not well with the gravity of a Sermon. But, as it will not ill-become a sober grave Matron (though she will never be light and p. 359garish, yet) to be always decent in her attire; yea, and sometimes also (upon fit occasions) to put on her Iewels, and other costlier ornaments: So neither is it blame-worthy, but rather a commendable thing in Preachers of the Gospel, (though they ought to avoid by all means all fruitless ostentation of a frothy Wit, yet) to endeavour at all times, so far as their gifts and leisure will permit, to express themselves in pertinent and proper forms of speech; yea, and sometimes also (as occasion may require, and especially ccDandum nonnihil temporibus atque auribus, nitidius aliquid atque affectatius postulantibus. Quintil. 12. 10.the disposition and temper of the hearers) to put their matter into a more accurate and elaborate dress, and to adorn their discourses with the choicer habiliments of Art.

6. Provided, First that it be done seasonably, discreetly, and with judgment: Sparingly, and as it were aaQuod est in dicendo pulcherrimum, sed quam sequitur, non cum affectatur. Quint. 8. in proem Sententia sine pigmentis, fucoque puerili. Cic. 2. de Orat.offering it self fairly, and without enforcement. And secondly, that it be directed to the right end: Which is, not to gain glory or applause to the speaker (that is a base and unworthy end:) much less to poyson the Iudgments, or pervert the Consciences of their Hearers, by drawing them the more easily thereby into Errour or Sin (that is a cursed and pernicious end.) But either thereby the better to inform the Understanding, or bbExcitatoria lamina. Quint. 12. 10.to work upon the affections, or to quicken the attention, or to succour the memories, or some other way to ccRom. 15. 2.—hic ipso proderat, quod placebat. de Cicerone Quintil. Ibid.Rom 15:2please their Neighbour for his good unto edification. I may not dwell on a by-note: therefore in brief thus. If Preachers seek with wisdom to find out pleasant words: besides the practice of the holy Prophets and Apostles to warrant them therein, they have our Preachers warrant also for it. Who, as he professeth ddEccl. 12. 10Eccl 12:10elsewhere the doing of it, so here he hath actually done it. Look but at the very outside, the shell of the Letter, and you must grant, that the Preacher hath found out pleasant words.

7. But where he professeth that, he professeth another thing withal; without which, pleasant words would be either to none, or to bad purpose; and that is, that the things that should be written, should be upright, even words of Truth. Search we therefore a little into the pith and kernel of the matter; and see if he have performed that part also, as well as the other. A good name is better than precious Oyntment. The Terms of the comparison are foreign and foreign; a Name, an Oyntment. The common Attribute wherein they both agree, is Goodness: The name good, the Ointment good. The difference is in the inequality of degree: Name and Ointment both good; yet so, that of the two Goods, the good Name is better than the good Ointment. A good Name I understand then to be, when aaConsentiens laus bonorum. Cic. 2. Tuscul.the common voice of men, (either all, or most, or best) doth from the approved evidence of a mans worthy carriage in the constant tenour of his life and conversation, give bbGloria est frequens de aliquo fama cum laude. Cic. 2. de invent.a frequent and commendable testimony thereunto.

8. Then for the other Term in the comparison; whereas we read it Ointment, the Greek calleth it aaforeign. Sept.Oil. Between which two tho' there be some bbSee Luk. 7. 46.Luke 7:46difference, and accordingly as well in the Greek and Latine Tongues as in the English, that difference is acknowledged by allowing them distinct names ccforeign. Eustath. in Iliad. & psgr;.foreign and foreign in the Greek, Unguentum and Oleum in the Latine, as well as Ointment and Oil in our English: yet the same Hebrew word comprehendeth both; and the words are very often promiscuously and reciprocally used the one for the other in the Greek, Latin, and most other Languages; because they agree much in the same qualities, and are much of like use: and the most ancient confections of Ointments did consist for the most part of Oil, ddforeign. Athenae. lib. 5.with some addition of herbs, spices, or other ingredients. Yea, and even yet, in the most precious and exquisite Ointments (such as are either most aromatical for smell, or of most soveraign operation for medicine) eeUnguentum; oleum conditum. foreign. Clem. Alex. 2. paed. 8. Omnia Unguenta fiunt mixto olivo: nam o'eum est materia apta suscipiendi… odoribus, servandisque Casaub. ad Pers. Sat 2.common Oil hath a very great part in the confection, and is therefore esteemed as the basts or foundation of all Ointments. But whether Oil or Ointment, the word seemeth to be here used (by a kind of Synecdoche) to signifie all the delights of the Sons of men. Because anciently, and in those Eastern Countries especially, ffSee Marsil. Cognat. 2. var. observ. 9.Oils and Ointments were much in use, and in great request for pleasing ggRecreans membra olei liquor. Plin. 12. nat. hist. 1.the senses, or comforting the brain, for refreshing the spirits, for chearing the countenance, for suppling the joynts, and for fundry other services p. 360tending to delight and chearfulness; Wherein they abounded even unto Wantonness and Luxury. Whose excess therein, as in all other manner of riotous and voluptuous living, was soon followed by the Greeks: and thence derived into Italy; and entertained once at Rome, quickly over-spread the greatest part of the World, then under her Empire, as appeareth by the frequent complaints, and other passages in the Writings of the Learned of those times. Not to speak of the great use of hhUnguentis legatis, non tantùm ea legata. videntur, quibus unguimur voluptatis causà, sed & valetudinis. 1. in argento. ff. de aur. & arg. leg.—Oils and Ointments then, and ever since, in order to health, as well as pleasure.

9. The Epithete here given to Ointments, is in some former Translations Good; and so the Hebrew foreign properly signifieth: but in our last rendred Precious. All to one effect, for good things are ever precious; and the better they are, the more precious. The meaning is, as if Solomon had said, A good Name is better than the most fragrant and odoriferous Ointments, which for their exquisite pleasantness are held in greatest price and estimation.

10. The word Better, which decideth the whole controversie between the compared terms, and is the just importance of that which the Hebrews in their Idiom (for want of the comparitve degree) express by the Preposition foreign prefixed; must here be understood agreeably to the subject matter; and with reference to Bonum jucundum Better; that is to say, more pleasant, more contentful: or as Solomon saith aaProv. 22. 1.Prov 22:1elsewhere, comparing a good Name with Gold and Silver, Desiderabilius, more to be wished or desired than a precious Oyntment; or Eligibilius, in the choice to be preferred before it.

11. From the Words thus opened, the whole result is briefly this: A good Name is a thing very worthy to be of every good man highly esteemed; and to be held much more valuable than Riches, pleasures, honours, or whatsoever other outward things the men of this World can place their utmost felicity in. Wise Solomon hath elsewhere delivered his judgment as positively as may be in this matter, concerning one of these, and that aaPrima ferè vota & cunctis notissima templis, Divitiae. Juvenal. Sat. 10.the chiefest of all the rest in most mens account, the Worldlings Summum bonum, Riches (Prov. 22.) bbProv. 22. 1.Prov 22:1A good name is rather to be chosen than great Riches: and loving favour rather than silver and gold. And the wise Son of Sirach also preferreth a good name before ccSirac. 41. 12, 13.a thousand great Treasures of Gold. Observe the gradation; Before gold, Treasures of Gold, great treasures of gold, thousands of great treasures of gold, yea and put life it self in to boot, Sirach 41. Compare we a little the most esteemed delights of the sons of men, those Ointments that are most precious in their esteem, with a good Name: and see if it do not in very many respects go beyond them all.

12. If we should take an exact Inventory of all the particulars the World affords, which worldly men hunt after with such eagerness, that they not only spend all their strength and travel, but adventure their healths also and lives in the pursuit; not so only, but for the obtaining whereof they truck away their precious souls too: We shall find them all to come under one of these three heads, whereunto St. Iohn hath reduced them, summing them up as it were in the gross (1 Ioh. 2.) aa1 Joh. 2. 6.1 John 2:6The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. (Haec tria pro trino numine mundus habet.) These are the things so much magnified and adored in the World; with one or other of these baits Satan tricketh up all his temptations, when he layeth wait for our souls; Riches, Honours, and Pleasures. And to each of these may the word Ointment in the Text (either by way of Metaphor, or Metonymie of the adjunct) be very well extended. For Riches first, it appeareth that Ointments were of ancient time accounted, and are so taken notice of by Historians, as a special part of bbCastris Darii Regis expugratis, in reliquo ejus apparatu Alexander cepit scrinium unguentorum. Plin. 13. nat. hist. 1.the Royal treasure of Kings and Princes. And therefore are cc2 Kings 20. 13.2 Kgs 20:13the spices and precious Ointments reckoned amongst the things which Hezekiah shewed to the Babylonish Ambassadors, when with vain ostentation he desired they should see the royal wealth & magnificence of his Treasures Ointments also secondly, were the Ensigns & Symbols of the greatest honours, as being used in the solemn consecration and inauguration of men into the Kingly and Priestly dignities. Among the Heathens indeed in imitation of the Hebrews (as p. 361many other of their rites came in upon that account,) but among the Hebrews, by special appointment from God himself. Insomuch as ddPineda.some Interpreters conceive it not improbable, that Solomon in this place might have respect to those Regal and S…c…rdotal anointings. But above all, thirdly, Ointments were the special emblems and expressions of mirth and jollity▪ and therefore were used in entertainments, and at feasts. Testimonies hereof from the Writings of Poets and Histori…ns, both Greek and Latin, in great abundance, besides that I find them ready eev. Franc. Luisin. 2. parerg. 16. Bochi. observ. in Ps. 22. F.Ps 22collected by sundry learned men, are of themselves obvious every where. But finding store enough also in the holy Scripture, I need not recite any other. There we read ffIsa. 61. 3.Isa 61:3of the Oil of joy, and ggPsal. 45. 7.Ps 45:7the Oil of gladness. When thou fastest, saith our saviour, do not by an affected sullenness and sadness make ostentation of thy fasting▪ … hypocrites do: but hhMat. 6. 17, 18.Matt 6:17Matt 6:18unge caput, &c. make semblance rather, by anointing thy head, and washing thy face, as if thou wert going to a feast; that so thou maiest be out of the reach of all temptation to vain glory that way, while thou dost not appear to men to fast. When David recordeth in Psal. 23. how …ountifully God had dealt with him and shewed him his goodness plenteously, he setteth it forth in this manner; iiPsal. 23. 5.Ps 23:5Tho hast prepared a table before me, thou …ust anointed my head with Oil, and my cup runneth over. To omit other places, hitherto tendeth that ironical speech of our Preacher to the Epicure, Chap. 9. kkEccl. 9. 7, ….Eccl 9:7Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy drink with a merry heart. Let thy garments …e always white, (another sign of rejoycing that) and let thy head lack …o ointment. Riches, Honours, Pleasures▪ you see Ointment hath somewhat to do with them all, and so the word may well comprehend them all.

13. Now then to enter into the Comparison: First, all these Ointments (even the most precious of them) are equally common to the Good and Bad. The worst of men may have as large a share in them, as the best: the most notorious vicious liver, as the most …minently vertuous▪ person. For though they be in truth secretly disposed by the most wise and just hand of a divine providence: yet to the outward appearance (and farther our eye will not pierce) the dispensation of them seemeth to come from Chance rather than Iustice, and Fortune rather than Merit. This the Preacher took into his consideration and complaineth of it, Chap. 9. as one of the great evils and vanities among those that are done under the Sun▪ that aaEccl. 9. 1, 3.Eccl 9:1Eccl 9:3all (outward) things come ali…e to all, & that there is one event to the righteous and to the wicked: & thence inferreth, that no man can know (so as to pronounce thereof with any certainty) whether he be in the love or hatred of God, by all that is before him. If in respect of these outward things there be any difference between the Good and the Bad; the advantage is rather on the worse side, bad men oftentimes having a larger portion thereof, than good men have. Why the holy and wise God, the first cause of all things that happen▪ suffereth it so to be as to particulars; that is counsel to us, and we may not search into those secrets: only we are assured in the general, that he doth it for just & gracious ends best known to himself. But as to second causes, we see evidently reason enough to satisfie us, why it should be likely to fall out thus rather than otherwise; if but in this, that wicked men, what worldly ends they propose to themselves they pursue to the utmost, not boggling at any thing that they think may conduce to the obtaining of the same, be it right or wrong; whereas godly, and vertuous men make conscience both of End & Means, and will neither pitch upon any unworthy End, nor adventure upon any unlawful means. Hath it not been always seen, and still is, and ever will be (more or less) to the worlds end, That extorting Usurers, oppressing Landlords, unconscionable Traders, corrupt Magistrates, and griping Officers, have gotten together the greatest wealth, and most abounded in riches? That obsequious Flatterers, temporizing Sycophants, per…idious Traitors, bold and insolent Intruders, bribing and Simoniacal Chafferers, have climbed up the highest rounds of Civil and Ecclesiastical perferments? That men of base and unmanly condition, rather to be called beasts than men, if not Monsters rather than either of both, (such as some of the old Assyrian and Persian Monarchs, and after them some of the Roman Emperours p. 362were) have surfeited of pleasures to the full, and wallowed in all manner of luxury and sensuality? Worthless and wicked men may swim up to the chin in Rivers of oil, and have their heads and beards, yea & the very skirts of their garments too, bedrencht in great abundance with the choicest of these outward Ointments.

14. But a Good Name is Peculium bonorum. Gracious and vertuous men have a more special interest, a kind of peculiarity in it: as being (in the ordinary course of Gods providence) the proper effect, and (by his good blessing) for the most part the most certain temporal reward of Vertue and Piety. aaPhil. 4. 8.Phil 4:8Si qua virtus, si qua laus, saith the Apostle, Phil. 2. If there be any vertue, if there be any praise: As if there could be no praise where there is no vertue; no more than there can be a bbGloria umbra virtutis est. Senec. Ep. 79.shadow, where there is no body to cast it. It was ccHeb. 11. 2.Heb 11:2by faith (and the fruits of faith) that the Elders obtained a good report. The Projectors of the Tower of Babel aimed by that building to get themselves ddGen. 11. 4.Gen 11:4a name; and so they did: but the name was ee—9.Babel, a name of Confusion; little comfort or honour to them. Many men are ambitious of a great name; and sometimes they ff—& quidem quod petierat, assecutus est. de Paus… niâ V…ler. Max. 8. 14.get it too: as he that set Diana's Temple on fire, gg—voto adispiscend e samae latioris. Solin. c. 43.only to be talked of. But a great name is one thing, and a good name another. Greatness may get a man a great name; but goodness only a good name. You that are great men, if you be not good withal; do what you can for the preservation of your name and memory, use all your best wit and art, spend the most costly perfumes and precious ointments you have about it: when you have done your utmost endeavours, we may justly put that rebuke upon you, which the Disciples did unjustly upon the good woman in the Gospel, hhMatt. 26. 8.Matt 26:8Quorsum perditio haec? Whereunto serveth this waste? Oleum & operam: you shall not be able, after all this expence of oil and toil, to preserve your names from stench and putrefaction. It is nothing but godliness and righteousness that can do that. iiProv. 10. 7.Prov 10:7The memorial of the just (when Envy and Calumny have done their worst to blast it) shall yet be blessed: but the name of the wicked (when Hypocrisie and Flattery have done their best to prevent it) shall rot notwithstanding. A good name then is therefore first more excellent than any precious Ointment (either in the Letter or Metaphor) because less common.

14. Compare, secondly, the delight and comforts, and contents of both: and see the issue. Oils and Ointments do give exceeding great delight to the senses; so as scarce any one kind of thing more: which perhaps might be some cause, why Solomon should here make choice of them, rather than any other things, whereby to express outward and sensual pleasures. And this they do by three distinct qualities: whereby they affect three distinct senses. The Qualities are; Laevor, Nitor, Odor: The Senses affected therewith, Feeling, Seeing, Smelling. The first Quality is Laevor; a kind of gentle softness, and smoothness, and supple glibbiness: wherewith the touch is much delighted. Upon which quality David the Father, and Solomon the Son, do both reflect in those proverbial speeches of theirs: where speaking, the one of flattering dissemblers, saith aaPsal. 55. 21.Ps 55:21Molliti super oleum, Their words are softer than Oil, Psal. 55. the other of the whorish woman, saith bbProv. 5. 3.Prov 5:3her lips drop like a honeycomb; and her mouth is smoother than Oil, Prov. 5. The second quality of Oils and Ointments is Nitor, a kind of brightness and varnish, which they cast upon other bodies, making them look fresh and glister: which quality taketh the eye, and affecteth the sight. As colours laid in Oil, have graceful verdure and lustre beyond those that are not so laid. Of which quality the Psalmist maketh special mention, Psal. 104. where describing the manifold works of God, among other things he saith that God bringeth food out of the Earth, as namely, Wine to make glad the heart of man, ccPsal. 104. 4.Ps 104:4and Oil to make him a chearful countenance, or (as our last Translation hath it, somewhat nearer the Letter, but to the same sense) to make his face to shine. Their third Quality is Odor; the sweet fragrancy which they send forth round about them to a good distance: which maketh them wondrous pleasant to the Smell. The Poets therefore sometimes call Ointments and Perfumes dd—perfusus liquidis urget odoribus. Hor. 1. carm. 5.Odors in the abstract: as if they were nothing else but smell. To this quality do refer those reciprocal speeches in the Canticles, of the Spouse to her wellbeloved p. 363in the first Chapter, eeCant. 1. 3.Song 1:3Because of the savour of thy good Ointments therefore do the Virgins love thee; And of him again to her, in the fourth Chapter, ff——4. 10.How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse? How much better is thy love than Wine? And the smell of thine Ointments than all Spices? When Mary poured out her costly Spikenard on Christs feet, the Story telleth us, that ggJoh. 12. 3.John 12:3all the house was filled with the odour of the Ointment, Joh. 12.

16. Ointments then are good and pleasant. But as Aristotle sometimes pronounced of the Rhodian and Lesbian Wine, when he had tasted of both; that aa—utrumque oppido bonum sed foreign. A Gel. 13. noct. Attic. 5.the Rhodian was good too, but the Lesbian was the pleasanter: So it may as reasonably be pronounced in the present contest, that though the precious Ointment be good and pleasant in his kind, yet the good Name for goodness and pleasantness is far beyond it. For whereas the precious Ointment, though it have in it much variety of pleasure in regard of the three now-mentioned qualities: yet can it bring all that delight no farther than to the outward senses of Touch, Sight and Smell. As for that passage in Psal. 109. bbPsal. 109. 18.Ps 109:18It shall enter like Oyl into his bones: It is perhaps rather to be understood as an hyperbolical expression, than to be taken as exactly true in rigore loquendi. But as for a good Name, that pierceth farther than either bones or marrow: It entereth into the inner man, and bringeth rejoycing to the very heart and …oul. ccProv. 15. 13.Prov 15:13A good report maketh the bones fat, saith Solomon: and that, I ween, is another-gates matter, than to make the face to shine. This for material Oil. Then for those other outward things, which for some respects (I told you) might be also comprehended under the name of Ointments; Riches, Honours, and worldly Pleasures: alas ddforeign. Eurlp. in Hecub. Act. 2.Acts 2how poor and sorry comforts are they to a man that hath forfeited his good Name; that liveth in no credit not reputation; that groaneth under the contempt and reproach, and infamy of every honest, or but sober man! Whereas he that by godly and vertuous Actions, by doing Iustice, and exercising Mercy, and ordering himself and his affairs discreetly, holdeth up his good Name and reputation, hath that yet to ee—tamen, dum existimatio est integra, facilè consolatur honestas egestatem. Cic. pro Quinct.comfort himself withal, and to fill his bones as with marrow and fatness; though encompassed otherwise with many outward ffEgo si bonam famam mihi servasso sat ero dives. Plaut. Mostel. 1. 3.wants and calamities. Without which, even life it self would be unpleasant, I say not to a perfect Christian only, but even to every ingenuous moral man. The worthier …ort of men among the Heathens, would have chosen rather to have died the most cruel deaths, than to have lived infamous under shame and disgrace. And do not those words of St. Paul (1 Cor. 9.) shew, that he was not much otherwise minded? gg1 Cor. 9. 15. foreign. Pind. Olymp. 7. 2.1 Cor 9:15It were better for me to dye, than that any man should make my glorying void. Thus a good Name is better than any precious Ointment (take it as you will, properly, or tropically) because it yieldeth more solid content and satisfaction to him that enjoyeth it, than the other doth.

17. Compare them thirdly, in those performances whereunto they enable us. Oils and Ointments, by a certain penetrative faculty that they have, being well cha…ed in, do aa—ut corpus unctione recreavi. Senec. Epist. 53.supple the joynts, and bb- foreign. Joach. Camerar. problem. decur. 8. 1.strengthen the sinews very much, and thereby greatly enable the body for action, making it more nimble and vigorous, than otherwise it would be. Whence it was, that among the Greeks, and from their example among the Romans, and in other Nations, those that were to exercise Arms, or other feats of Activity in their solemn Games, especially ccExercent patrias oleo labente palaestras. Virgil. Aen. 3.Wrestlers, did usually by frictions and anointings, prepare and fit their bodies for those Athletick performances, to do them with more agility and less weariness. Insomuch as Chrysostom and other Greek Fathers almost every where use the words foreign and foreign, not only when they speak of those preparatory advantages, (such as are prayer, fasting, meditation of Christs Sufferings, or of the Joys of Heaven, and the like) wherewith Christians may fortifie and secure themselves, when they are to enter the combate with their spiritual enemies; but more generally to signifie any preparing or fitting of a person for any manner of action whatsoever.

18. But how much more excellent then is a good name? Which is of such mighty consequence & advantage for the expediting of any honest enterprise that p. 364we take in hand, either in our Christian course or civil life in this World? It is an old saying, taken up indeed in relation to another matter somewhat distant from that we are now treating of; but it holdeth no less true in this, than in that other respect: Duo cum faciunt idem, non est idem. Let two men speak aa—foreign Euripid. in Hecub. act. 2.the same words, give the same advice, pursue the same business, drive the same design; with equal right, equal means, equal diligence, every other thing equal: yet commonly the success is strangely different, if the one be well thought of, and the other labour of an ill name. So singular an advantage is it, for the crowning of our endeavours with good success, to be in a good name. If there be a good opinion held of us, and our names once up, (whether we deserve it or no:) whatsoever we do is well taken; whatsoever we propose is readily entertained; our counsels, yea, and rebukes too, carry weight and authority with them. By which means we are enabled (if we have but grace to make that good use thereof,) to do bbNec verò negligenda est fama: nec mediocre telum ad res gerendas existimare oportet benevolentiam civium Cic. de amicit.the more good, to bring the more glory to God, to give better countenance to his truth, and to good causes and things. Whereas on the other side, ccforeign Chrysost. Tom▪ (edit. Savil) 6. Orat. 17.if we be in an ill name (whether we deserve it or no:) all our speeches and actions are ill-interpreted; no man regardeth much what we say or do; our proposals are suspected; our counsels and rebukes, though wholsom and just, scorned and kickt at: so as those men we speak for, that side we adhere to, those causes we defend, those businesses we manage, shall lie under some prejudice, and be like to speed the worse, for the evil opinion that is held of us. We know well it should be otherwise: Non quis, sed quid. As the Magistrate that exerciseth publick judgment, should lay aside all respect of the person, and look at the cause only: so should we all in our private judgings of other mens speeches and actions, look barely upon the truth of what they say, and the goodness of what they do, and accordingly esteem of both; neither better nor worse, more or less, for whatsoever fore-conceits we may have of the person. Otherwise how can we avoid the charge of having ddJam. 2. 1.Jas 2:1the faith of our Lord Iesus Christ the Lord of Glory with respect of persons? But yet since eeforeign Menand.men are corrupt, and will be partial this way, do we what we can; and that the World and the affairs thereof are so much steered by ffforeign Arist. 1. Rhet. In homine virtutis opinio valet plurimum. Cic. in Topic.Opinion: it will be a point of godly wisdom in us, so far to make use of this common corruption, as not to disadvantage our selves for want of a good name, and good Opinion, for the doing of that good (whilst we live here among men subject to such frailties) which we should set our desires, and bend our endeavours to do. And so a good Name is better than a good Ointment, in that it enableth us to better and worthier performances.

19. Compare them Fourthly, in their Extensions: and that both for Place, and Time. For place first. That Quality of the three before-mentioned, which especially setteth a value upon Ointments, advancing their price and esteem more eminently than any other consideration, is their smell: those being ever held most precious, and of greatest delicacy, that excel that way. And herein is the excellency of the choicest Aromatical Ointments, that they do not only please the sence, if they be held near to the Organ; but they do also disperse the fragrance of their scent round about them to a great distance. Of the sweetest herbs and flowers the smell is not much perceived, unless they be held somewhat near to the Nostril: But the smell of a precious Ointment will instantly diffuse it self into every corner, though of a very spacious room; as you heard but now of the aaJoh. 12. 3.John 12:3Spikenard poured on our Saviours feet, Ioh. 12. But see how in that very thing, wherein the excellency of precious Ointments consisteth, a good Name still goeth beyond it. It is more diffusive, and spreadeth farther. Of King Uzziah, so long as he did well and prospered, it is said, that bb… Chro. 26. 15.his name spread far abroad, 2 Chron. 26. And the Prophet saith of the People of Israel, in respect of her first comely estate, before such time as she trusted in her own beauty, and played the harlot, that ccEzek. 16. 14.Ezek 16:14her name went forth among the Heathen for her beauty, Ezek. 16.

20. Besides, a good name, as it reacheth farther, so it lasteth longer than the most precious Ointments: and so it excelleth in the extension of Time, as well as of Place. As for Riches, Pleasures, Honours, and whatsoever other delights of mortal p. 365men, who knoweth not of what short continuance they are? They many times aaProv. 23. 5.Prov 23:5take them wings and fly away from us, leaving us behind to grieve for the loss. If it happen thy stay with us to the last (as seldom they do) yet then is the parting uncomfortable: we can neither secure them from the spoil of others; nor can they secure us from the wrath of God. However, part we must: If they leave not us whilest we live, sure enough we shall leave them when we die. It may be when we are dead, some pious friend or other may bestow upon our carcasses the cost of bbJoh. 19. 40.John 19:40embalming with Spices, Odours and Ointments: as we see the Custom was of old both amongst the Heathens, and the People of God. And those precious Ointments may perhaps preserve our dead bodies some few months longer from putrefaction, than otherwise they would have endured. But at length, howsoever, the worm and the grave will prevail: and we shall turn sooner or later; first to dirt, and then to dust. And here is the utmost extension, continuance, and period of the most precious Ointments (literal or Metaphorical) the World can afford.

21. But a good Name is a thing far more durable. It seldom leaveth us, (unless through some fault or neglect in our selves;) but continueth with us all our life long. At the hour of death also it standeth by us, and giveth some **Mors tum aquissimo animo appetitur, cùm suis se laudibus vita occidens consolari potest. Cic. 1. Tuscul.sweetning unto the bitterness of those last pangs; when our consciences do not suggest to our expiring thoughts any thing to the contrary, but that we shall die desired, and that those that live by us and survive us, will account our gain by that change to be their loss. Yea, and it remaineth after death precious in the memories, and mouths, and ears, of those that either knew us, or had heard of us. Surely no Ointments are so powerful to preserve our bodily ashes from corruption, as a good name and report is to preserve our Piety and Vertue from Oblivion. aaSirac. 44. 14.Their bodies are buried in peace, but their name endureth for evermore, Ecclus. 44. And upon this account expresly it is, that the same Ecclesiasticus elsewhere (as you heard before) preferreth bb—41. 12.a good Name, not only before the greatest riches, because it will out-last a thousand great treasures of gold; but even before life it self, yea, before a good life (at least in this, though in other respects it be below it, as but an appurtenance thereunto) that whereas cc—41. 13.a good life hath but a few days, a good Name possibly may endure for ever.

22. Now lay all together that hath been said, that a good nàme is a more peculiar blessing; That it bringeth more solid content; That it enableth us more, and to more worthy performances; That it is of greater extension both for place and time, reaching farther and lasting longer than the most precious Ointments, either literally or Metaphorically understood: and then judge, if what Solomon hath here delivered in the Text, how great a Paradox soever it may sound in the ears of a Wordling, be not yet a most certain and clear Truth, viz. That a good name is better then a precious Ointment: and therefore in all reason to be preferred by every understanding man before Pleasures, Riches, Honours, or whatsoever other outward delights of wordly men.

23. But it is needful you should be here admonished (lest what hath been hitherto said should be in any part either mistaken, or misapplied) that all this while I have spoken but of material Ointments, and such other contentment, as the outward things of this World can afford. The preeminence of a good Name thus far just, beware ye make not unjust by over-stretching. For there is besides all these a spiritual Ointment also; an inward anointing, the anointing of the inner mán, the Soul and Conscience with oil of the Spirit, the saving graces and sweet comforts of the Holy Ghost; that aaPsal. 45. 7.Ps 45:7oil of gladness, wherewith the blessed Son of God was anointed above his Fellows, and without measure, and whereof all the Faithful and elect Children of God are in their measure his fellow partakers. bb1 John 2. 20.1 John 2:20Ye have an Unction from the Holy One, saith St. Iohn: And again, cc—27.The anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you. This is a singular and right precious Ointment indeed: infinitely more to be preferred before a good Name, than a good name is to be preferred before other common and outward Ointments. The inseparable adjunct and evidence whereof is that foreign, which we usually call a good p. 366Conscience. God forbid any man should so far tender his ddforeign Plutarch. Augustin.good name, as for the preservation of it to make shipwrack of the other. eeforeignDuae sunt res, Conscientia & Fama, &c. saith St. Augustine. Two things there are, saith he, whereof every man should be specially chary, and tender: his Conscience, and his Credit. But that, of his Conscience, must be his first care: this, of his Name and Credit, must be content to come ffforeign Pin. Pyth. 1. 15.in the second place. Let him first be sure to guard his Conscience well: and then may he have a due regard of his Good Name also. Let it be his first care to secure all within, by making peace with God, and in his own breast; that done, (but not before) let him look abroad if he will, and cast about as well as he can, to strengthen his Reputation with & before the World.

24. A very preposterous course the mean while is that, which those men take that begin at the wrong end; making their Consciences wait upon their Credit. Alas, that notwithstanding the clear evidence both of Scripture and Reason to the contrary, after so many sharp reprehensions by the Minister, so many strait prohibitions by the Magistrate, there should yet be found among our Gentry, so many spirits of that desperate unchristian resolution, as upon the slightest provoking word that but toucheth upon their reputation, to be ready either to challenge, or to accept the duel: Either of which to do, must needs leave a deep sting in the Conscience (if yet it be penetrable and not quite seared up;) since thereby they expose themselves to the greatest hazard, if not inevitable necessity of wilful murther either of themselves or their brethren! 2. Alas, that there should still be found amongst our Clergy-men; that formerly being perswaded that our Church Ceremonies and Service were unlawful, and having (during such their perswasion) preached against them openly before their Congregations as unlawful, but have been since convinced in their judgments of the Lawfulness thereof, should yet with-hold their Conformity thereunto, and chuse rather, not only to expose themselves to such mischiefs and inconveniences as that refusal may bring upon them, but to seem also aane pudorem panit entiam…; sateamini, contumatià vindicatis errorem. Quint. declam. 17.to persist in their former error (to the great scandal of their people, and cheating their own Consciences) than by acknowledging that they have erred, adventure the loss of that great reputation they had by their former opposition gained amongst their credulous followers! 3. Alas, that there should still be found among our People, men who being conscious to themselves of some secret wrongs done to their brethren in their worldly estate by oppression, fraud, or other false dealing; do yet hold off from making them just restitution or other meet compensation for the same, and so become really cruel to their own Consciences, whil'st they are so fondly tender over their reputations with others, as rather to continue still dishonest in retaining, than acknowledge their former dishonesty in obtaining those ill gotten parcels.

25. But leaving all these to the judgment of God and their own hearts, and to ruminate on that sad Text, (Luk. 16. aaLuk. 16. 15.Luke 16:15That which is highly esteemed amongst men, is abomination in the sight of God; For thee, Christian brother, who ever thou art, that shall at any time be in a strait between two evils, shaken with doubtings and distractions, what to do, when thy Conscience and thy Credit lie both at stake together: ''Thou hast a ready resolution from the old Maxim E malis minimum. As the Merchant in a storm throweth his dear commodities into the Sea to save himself: so do thou resolve to bbConscientiae satisfi…t: nil in samam laboremus. S…nec. 3. de ira 41.redeem thy Conscience howsoever, and at any rate; whatsoever betide thy Credit. I forbid thee not to be tender of thy good Name; (it is an honest care:) but I charge thee upon thy soul, to be more tender of thy Conscience,

26. This admonition premised; I shall now with your patience proceed to some Inferences, from what hath been delivered concerning the excellency of a good Name, and what a precious thing it is. But the more precious it is, the more grievous first is their sin, that seek to rob others of it. We read in Pliny, that there were some Ointments in the shops in his time, made of such aa—foreign Mat. 26. 7.Matt 26:7costly ingredients (so great was the riot of those times) that bbExcedunt que quadring entos denarirs librae: tanti emitur voluptas aliena. Plin. 13. nat. hist. 3.every pound weight was sold at 400 Roman Pence, which by computation (allowing to the Roman Penny seven pence p. 367half-penny of our Coyn) cometh to above twenty two pounds English: which was a very great rate, especially considering the time wherein he lived, about fifteen hundred years ago. We would all think, that man had done a very foul robbery, that should have broken a shop, and carryed thence any considerable quantity of such Costly ware. And must we not then adjudge him a far worse Thief, that injuriously taketh away a man's good Name from him: which we have heard to be in many respects far more precious than the most precious Ointments can be? But Murther is a felony of a higher degree than Theft. Sometimes we pity Thieves: but we detest Murtherers. Yet neither Thieves nor Murtherers are more cruel and injurious, than Slanderers and Back-biters, and Tale-bearers, and Whisperers, and false Accusers are. Those bereave a man… but of his Livelihood, or at most of his Life: but these take that from him which is justly more dear to him than either Life or Livelihood.

27. It were to be wished that all malicious and envious persons would lay this to heart, who seek to raise their own Fame upon the ruine of their Brothers: whose daily endeavour it is, and daily practice, to raise scandalous reports of others, and to cast foul aspersions upon them without cause, to make their Names unsavoury, and thereby to render their persons odious, among such as will be ready to spread the Report farther (and it is great odds they will do it with some aaErgo linguas vestras acuistis in gladios, quas movistis in mortes, non corporum, sed honorum. Iugulistis non membra, sed nom ina▪ Opt at. lib. 2.addition of their own too) or otherwise make bbIn maledicto plus infamiae quàm in manu: in infamiâ plus paenae quam in morte. Quint. 6. Instit. 2.ill use of it, to their prejudice. But since such mischievous persons will not, or cannot, learn to do better, having been long accustomed to do ill; no more then a Leopard can change his spots, or a blackamore his skin: It will concern us very much, not to suffer our selves to become Receivers to these Thieves, or Abbettors to these Murtheress, by setting our Ears wide open to their detractions; but rather to suspect him as an Impe of Satan, that delighteth in Satan's Office, in being an accuser of his Brethren.

28. Secondly, how distant are they from Solomon's judgment, that value any outward thing in the World (it may be some little sordid aaforeign Procl. in Hesiod.gain, or some petty slippery preferment, or some poor fruitless pleasure) at a higher rate than they do their good Name: which Solomon here so much preferreth before them all? 1. The Covetous Worldling, so he may but lade himself fast enough with thick clay, bbRev. 12. 10.Rev 12:10what careth he what men say or think of him? Call him Churl, Miser, Caitiff, Wretch, or what else they think good: ccforeign. Plato.at mihi plaudo domi. Tush, saith he, let them say on: The Fox fareth best when he is curst. If this man be a wise man, (as himself thinketh none wiser;) sure then Solomon was not so wise a man as he is taken for to say as he doth, Prov. 22. dd—quid enim salvis infamia nummis! Juvenal. Satyr. 1.—tunicam mihi malo lupini, Quam si me toto laudet viciniae Pago.—Sat. 14.A good Name is rather to be chosen than great riches, &c. 2. The Ambitious man, that panteth after Preferment; what regardeth he, though all the World should tax him of Flattery, of Bribery, of Calumny, of Treachery, of Perjury: So he can but climb up to the step at which he aimed, and from which he knoweth not how soon he may be justled off by another as ambitious as himself? 3. The luxurious Wanton, the prodigal Gamester, the Glutton, Drunkard; or other voluptuous beast in any kind, when once imboldned in his ways, sitteth him down in the seat of the scorner: laugheth at all mankind that will not eeHorat. 1. Satyr. 1. Prov. 20. 1. 1 Pet. 4. 4.Prov 20:11 Pet 4:4run with him to the same excess of riot; resolveth (against whatsoever dislikes sober men bewray of his exorbitances) to take his own pleasure howsoever, and then let others talk theirs; bestoweth a nick-name (or perhaps a rhime or two) upon those that censure him: and then, as if he had stabb'd them dead, and the day were his, he insulteth like a Conqueror, and thinketh he hath now quit himself sufficiently for the loss of his Reputation.

29. Quid facias illi? Without more than the ordinary mercy of God, in awakening their Consciences by some immediate work of his own; desperate is the condition of all these men. Shame is the most powerful aamoderatrix cupiditatum verecundia. Cic. 2. de si… ▪curb to restrain men from such vicious excesses as are of evil report: and Reproof seasonably, lovingly and discreetly tendered, the most proper instrument, to work Shame in those that have done amiss. What hope is there then (as to humane endeavours▪ p. 368and the use of ordinary means) to reclaim such men from the pursuit of their …iciou… lusts; as are once grown wretehless in their good names: Sith they grow also therewithal shameless in sin, and harden their foreheads against all reproof. bbPlaut. in Bacchid. 3. 3.Ego illum perditum duco, cui quidem periit pudor. He is but a lost man, that hath lost all ccforeign. Nazianz. Carm. (ad Olympiad.) 56.shame: there being then nothing left to keep him back from rushing headlong into all manner of wickedness. ddProv. 21. 1.Prov 21:1And he that being often reproved hardneth his neck, must needs be destroyed without remedy: inasmuch as that which is the last and likeliest remedy to preserve him from destruction (to wit reproof.) hath by his wilful neglect (in not making use of it) proved ineffectual to him.

30. Thirdly, the valuableness of a good name in the judgment of so wise a person as Solomon was, may sufficiently inform us of the weakness of that Plea, which is so often taken up for our own justification, and to put by the wholsom admonitions of our friends, when we are dealt withal for the reforming or forbearing some things in our practice; which if they be not evil, yet are aaMalum, aut male coloratum. Bernard. 3. de consider.illcoloured, look suspiciously, and carry in their faces some resemblance or bbThess. 5. 22.appearance of evil, and for which we hear not well. It is an ccNec paratum habeas illud è tri…io; Sufficit mihi conscientia mea; non curo quid de me loquantur homines. Hieron. Epist. 11.usual plea with us in such cases: That, ddforeign. Chrys. orat. 2. in Annam.so long as we stand clear in our own Consciences, and are sure our hearts are honest, we are not to regard the speeches and censures of men. There is a time indeed, and there are Cases, wherein such a Plea will hold good. When men shall go about by proposing disgraces to fright us out of any part of that duty that by vertue of our (general or particular) calling lieth upon us; or shall endeavour to eeLuk. 6. 22.Luke 6:22put out our names as evil from amongst men, for having done but that which was our bounden duty to do: in such like cases we may seasonably ffNec in ea re, quid aliis videatur, mihi puto curandum Mea mihi conscientia pluris est, quàm omnium ser…o Cic. 12 ad Attic. 27.comfort our selves in our own innocency, flie for refuge against the injuries of Tongues into our own Consciences, as into a Castle; there repose our selves with security; disregarding the reproaches of evil men, and professing with St. Paul, that gg1 Cor. 4 3.1 Cor 4:3with us it is a very small matter to be judged of them, or of mans judgment.

31. But where we may do more; we are not to think it **Non sat tuum …e officium fecisse, si non id fai…a ad probat? Terent. Phorm. 4. 5.enough to satisfie our own Consciences: but we are to endeavour, as much as in us lieth, to stop the mouths, or at leastwise to manifest our uprightness aa2 Cor. 5. 11.2 Cor 5:11to the Consciences of others. What else meant St. Peter to exhort Christians that they should bb1 Pet …. 12.have their conversation honest among the Gentiles? Or as St. Paul so frequently and earnestly to fall upon the point of Scandal? Or to be so careful in his own person, to cc2 Cor. 8. 21.2 Cor 8:21provide things honest, not only in the sight of God, but in the sight of men also? Or to stir up others to good things by arguments drawn as well from Praise as Vertue, from Fame as Conscience? As you shall find them mixtly thrown together in the heap, (Phil. 4.) ddPhil. 4. 8. Apostolici & pracepti est, & exempli, ut habeamus rationem non censcienti… tantum, sed & famae. Hieron. (v…l Paulin.) Epist 14 ad Celamiam.Phil 4:8Finally Brethren, saith he, whatsoever things are true, (that's taken from Conscience;) whatsoever things are honest, (that from Fame;) whatsoever things are just, whatsever things are pure, (those from Conscience again;) whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, (those again from Fame:) think on these things &c. To say then, as some times we do, when we are told that such or such doings will be little to our credit; That other men are not to be ee1 Cor. 10. 29.1 Cor 10:29judges of our Consciences, but we ffRom. 14. 4.Rom 14:4stand or fall to our own Master, and if we do otherwise than well, it is we (not they) that must answer for it, &c. I say, these are no good answers. If men were of St. Augustin's mind, in his Book De bono viduitatis (if that book be his) they would not give them the hearing, Non audiendi sunt, &c. It is confessed even by Heathens, that, for a man wholly to disregard what estimation others have of him, is gg… ▪ neglige…e quid de se quisque sentiat non sol…m arrogantis est, sed etiam dissoluti. Cic. de Offic. lib. 1.not only arrogancy and cruelty, but stupidity too.

32. Lastly, Sith a good Name is a thing so precious; it should be the great care of every one of us (next the care of our Souls) to keep that unstained: that so we aaPhil. 2. 15.Phil 2:15may be blameless as well as harmless, carrying our selves as the Sons of God without rebuke, though we live in the midst of never so crooked, perverse and untoward a generation. Scandalous behaviour will render our names unsavory; p. 369bbEccl. 10. 1.Eccl 10:1as dead flies cause the Ointment of an Apothecary to send forth a stinking savour. Apothecaries we see are very choice over their precious Confections therefore, to preserve them from taint and putrefaction, Shall not a Christian be as wise and chary in his generation, as a shop keeper in his; to keep the Ointment of his good Name from ccOdor pro sama ponitur. Schindler lex in foreign &c. Gen. 34. 30. …xod 5. 21. 1 Sam. 13. 4.Gen 34:301 Sam 13:4stench and rottenness, which is so incomparably more precious than the others are? Truly I see not why every honest godly man, should not strive as earnestly, and with as good hope, to have every mans good word, as he should to live in peace with every man. You well know, what the Apostle saith for that (ddRom. 12. 10.Rom 12:10 Rom. 12.) If it be possible, so much as in you lieth, have peace with all men. That is not solely in our own power, nay it is a thing scarce possible, else the If were needless:) so is this too. But yet somewhat we may do towards it, and possibly by our good endeavours obtain it in a competent measure, (else the Exhortation were bootless:) and so we may do in this too.

33. To excite our care the more hereunto; (although the Excellency of the thing it self, whereof we have spoken so much already, might alone suffice, if it were seriously considered:) yet consider farther. First, That the preservation of our good Names is a duty which by the Law of Nature, and the Law of Charity (and whatsoever belongeth to either of these is the very Law of God) we are obliged unto. God hath ingrafted in our Nature, as a spur to vertuous and laudable actions, an aaTrahimur omnes laudis studio, & optimus quisque maxime gloriâ ducitur. Cic. pro Archia.appetency and praise of glory: and expecteth that we should make use of it accordingly, so far as it may be servient to those ends for which he gave it, and so as it be withal subservient to his glory that gave it. And the Law of Charity binding us to bbRom. 13. 7. 1 Pet. 2. 17.Rom 13:71 Pet 2:17honour all men, and to preserve the just Reputation of our meanest Neighbour; must consequently bind us to do our selves right in the point of honour: forasmuch as we also, as men, are included in that generality. Yea, and that à fortiori too; inasmuch as the duty of Charity to be performed to our selves, is to be the rule and measure of that Charity which we owe to our Neighbour: And it is not supposable, that he that hath little care of his own, should be meerly tender of his brothers reputation.

34. Consider secondly, (as but now I touched) that it is partly in our own power, what other men shall speak and think of us. Not that we are Lords either of their tongues or thoughts, (for men generally, and wicked men especially challenge a property in these two things, as absolute Lords within themselves: aaPsal. 2. 4.Ps 2:4Our tongues are our own, say they: and Thought is free.) But that we may, if we behave our selves with godly discretion, win good report, even from those that in their hearts wish no good to us; or at least put such a muzzle upon their tongues, that whereas they would with all their hearts bb1 Pet. 3. 16.1 Pet 3:16speak evil of us as of evil doers, they shall not dare for shame to accuse our good conversation in Christ For cc—13.who is he that will harm you, saith St. Peter, if ye be followers of that which is good? As if he had said, Men that have any shame left in them, will not lightly offer to do you any harm, or to say any harm by you, unless by some miscarriage or other of your own you give them the advantage. The o…d saying, that every man is Fortunae suae faber, and so ddforeign. Apostol. Byzant. in paroem.Famae too, is not altogether without truth and reason. For seldom doth a man miscarry in the success of his affairs in the World, or labour of an ill name: but where himself by some sinful infirmity or negligence, some rashness, credulity, indiscretion, or other oversight, hath made a way open for it. This I note the rather, because it falleth out not seldom to be the fate or fault of very good men, by assed too much by self-love and partiality, to impute such crosses and disgraces as they sometimes meet withal, wholly to the injuries of wicked men; which if they would search narrowly at home, they might perhaps find reason enough sometimes to impute (at least in part) unto themselves. When, by busie intermedling where they need not; by their heat, violence and intemperance of spirit in setting on those things they would fain have done, or opposing those things they would fain hinder; by their too much stiffness or peremptoriness either way concerning the use of indifferent things, without due consideration of times, places, persons & other circumstances: by partaking with those they think well p. 370of so far as to the justifying of their very Errors and Exorbitances, and denying on the other side to such as are not of their own way such fair and just respects, as to men of their condition are in common civility due; or by some other like Partialities and Excesses, they provoke opposition against themselves, their persons and good names: from such men especially as do but wait an opportunity, and would greedily apprehend any occasion, to do them some displeasure or disgrace.

35. That it may be otherwise, and better with you, Beloved, ponder well, I beseech you, what our Solomon wrote long since, Prov. 19. aaProv. 19. 3.Prov 19:3The foolishness of man perverteth his way, and his heart fretteth against the Lord; or, which cometh to one, against such persons as the Lord is pleased to make use of as his rods wherewith to give him due correction. Neither cast off this care of your good Names, by any pretensions of impossibility: which is another Topick of Sophistry wherewith Satan teaches us to cheat our selves. It is indeed, and I confess it, something a hard thing, and not simply foreign, to have every mans good word: but I may not yield it impossible. bb3 Joh. 12.3 John 1:12Demetrius hath good report of all men, and of the truth it self, saith St. Iohn. Do you what in you lieth towards it, and if then men will yet be unjust, and speak evil of you undeservedly, you have your comforts in God and in Christ; and some comfort also in the testimony of your own hearts, that you have faithfully done what was to be done on your part to prevent it, and by walking honestly and wisely, to cc2 Cor. 11. 12.2 Cor 11:12cut off occasion from them that seek occasion. But so far as you have been wanting to your selves in doing your part; so much you take off, both from ddfrust… à irascimur obtrectatoribus nostris, si eis ipsi obtrectandi materiam minis…ramus. Hieron Epist. 14.their blame, and from your own comfort. It concerneth you to have a great care of preserving your good Names, because by your care you may do much in it.

36. Consider thirdly, that a good Name is far easier kept than recovered. Men that have had losses in sundry kinds, have in time had some reparations. Sampson's locks were shorn of, but grew again: Iob's Goods and Cattel driven, but restored again: the Widows Child dead, but revived again: the Sheep and the Groat in the Parable lost, but found again. But aaHominum immortalis est infamia Plaut. in Persa 3. 1.the good Name once lost, the loss is little better than bbforeign,—foreign Hesiod. foreign. & bgr;.desperate. He had need be a good Gamester they say, (and to have very good fortune too) that is to play an After-game of Reputation. The shipwrack of a good Name, though in most, and the most considerable respects, it be incomparably less, yet in this one circumstance it is in some sort even greater than the shipwrack of a good Conscience. The loss there may be recovered again by Repentance, which is ccHieron. saepe.tabula secunda post naufragium: as in Act. 27. ddAct. 27. 44.Acts 27:44some on boards & some on broken pieces of the ship, got all safe to Land: But when our good Names are shipwrackt, all is so shattered in pieces, that it will be hard to find so much as a board or plank to bring us ashore. And the Reason of the difference is manifest, which is this. When we have made shipwrack of our Consciences, we fall into the hands of God: whose Mercies are great, and his Compassions fail not; and who, if we timely and unfeignedly repent, is both able and willing to restore us. But when we make shipwrack of our good Names, we fall into the hands of men, whose bowels are narrow, their tenderest Mercies cruel, and their Charity too weak and faint to raise up our Credit again after it is once ruined. I have sometimes in my private thoughts likened a flaw in the Conscience, and a flaw in the good Name, to the breaking of a bone in the body, and the breaking of a eeVitrea f…ma. Hor. 2. Sat. 3.Christal Glass, or China dish, at the Table. In the mischance there is no comparison: a man had better break twenty glasses or dishes at his Table, than one bone in his body. And so a man had better receive twenty wounds in his good Name, than but a single raze in his Conscience. But yet here the recovery is easier than there. A broken bone may be set again, and every splinter put in his due place: and if it be skilfully handled in the setting, and duly tended after, it may in short time knit as firm again as ever it was, yea and (as it is said) firmer than ever, so as it will break any where else sooner than there. But as for the shivers of a ffforeign. As one breake…h a potters vessel, that cannot be made whole again, Ier. 19. 11.Jer 19:11broken Glass or Earthen Dish, no art can piece them so as they shall be either sightly or p. 371serviceable: they will not abide the file nor the hammer; neither solder nor glue; nor other cement will fasten them handsomly together. The application is obvious to every understanding, and therefore I shall spare it. If Simon be once a Leper, the name will stick by him, when the disease hath left him. Let him be cleansed from his Leprosie never so perfectly, yet he will be called and known by the name of ggMat. 26. 2.Matt 26:2Simon the Leper to his dying day. Envious and malicious persons apprehend the truth hereof but too well: one of whose Aphorisms it is, (and they practice accordingly) Calumniare, fortiter, aliquid adhaerebit: hhJer. 18. 18Jer 18:18Come and let us smite with the tongue; and be sure to smite deep enough: and then, though the grief may be cured, and perhaps the skin grow over again: 'tis odds but he will carry some mark or print of it to his grave. It should make us very careful to preserve our Names from foul aspersions; because the stains will not easily (if at all) be scoured off again.

37. But how may that be effectually done, may some say? Absolutely to secure our selves from false Aspersions, truly it is not in your power, and therefore I can prescribe no course to prevent it. If Malice or Envy be minded to throw them on, there is no help for it but patience. But so far as dependeth upon our selves, and the likeliest way withal to counter-work the uncharitableness of others (to give you a very general answer) is: By aa1 Pet. 3. 11.—13.1 Pet 3:11eschewing evil and doing good, by walking warily and circumspectly; by living bbTit. 2. 12.Titus 2:12soberly, righteously and godly in this present World. Praise is the reward of Vertue cc—virtutis, quam necessario gloria, etiamsi tu non agas consequatur. Cic. 1. Tuscul.as you heard: and the foundation of a good name is a good life. If any man desire yet more particular directions, as namely what kinds of Actions are especially to be practised, and what kinds especially to be shunned in order to this end, I shall commend unto his consideration these five Rules following; which I shall but briefly point at, the time not suffering me to insist.

38. First, let him look well to his particular calling, and the duties that belong to him in it; bestirring himself with all diligence and faithfulness, and carrying himself uprightly and conscionably therein, and be sure to keep himself within the proper bounds thereof. This Rule is given us, 1 Thes. 4. aa1 Thes. 4. 11, 12.1 Thess 4:111 Thess 4:12That you study to be quiet, and to do your own business; Why so? That ye may walk honestly towards them that are without.

39. Secondly, Let him carry himself lowly, dutifully, and respectfully to all his Superiors and Betters: to Magistrates, to Ministers, to his Parents, to his Masters, to the Aged, and to all others agreeably to their respective conditions and relations. And this Rule we have, as in other places, so in 1 Pet. 2, bb1 Pet. 2. 3.—18.1 Pet 2:3Honour all men, be subject even to your froward Masters, submit to the King as supreme, and to Governours sent of him, &c. Why? For so is the will of God that with well doing you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men.

40. Thirdly, Let him be wise, charitable and moderate (with all brotherly condescension) in the exercise of his Christian Liberty, and the use of indifferent things. Not standing always upon the utmost of what he may, or what he may not do; but yielding much from his own liberty for his brothers sake: considering as well, what (as the case presently standeth) is expedient for him to do in relation to others, as what is simply and in it self lawful to be done. St. Paul giveth us the rule (Rom. 14.) ccRom. 14. 15, 16.Rom 14:15Rom 14:16If thy Brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably, &c. Let not your good be evil spoken of.

41. Fourthly, Let him be mild, gentle, a lover and maintainer of Peace and Concord: not violent, or boysterous, or peremptory either in his Opinions or Courses: but readier to compose, than to kindle quarrels; and to qualifie, than to exasperate differences. This Rule we have (Phil. 2.) ddPhil. 2. 14, 15.Phil 2:14Phil 2:15Do all things without murmurings and disputings. And why so? That you may be blameless and harmless, and without rebuke.

42. Fifthly, Let him be Liberal and merciful, ee1 Tim. 6. 18.1 Tim 6:18willing to communicate the good things that God hath lent him for the comfort & supply of those that stand p. 372in need. This Rule I gather out of Psal. 112. ffPsal. 112. 6, 9.Ps 112:6Ps 112:9The righteous shall be had in an everlasting remembrance. He hath dispersed abroad, he hath given to the poor: His righteousness shall endure for ever: his horn also shall be exalted with honour.

43. Whoso observeth these directions, his memory shall (if God see it good for him) be like the remembrance of good Iosiah in Ecclesiasticus; aaSirac. 49. 1.Like the composition of the perfume made by the Art of the Apothecary: sweet as honey (in the mouths of all that speak of him) and as musick at a banquet of Wine (in the Ears of all that hear of him.) Or if it be the good pleasure of God, for the trial of his faith, and exercise of his patience, to suffer men to bbMat. 5. 11, 12.Matt 5:11Matt 5:12revile him, and to speak all manner of Evil against him falsly in this World: it shall be abundantly recompensed him in the encrease of his reward in heaven, at the last great day, when every man (whose name shall be found written in the book of life) cc1 Cor. 4. 9.1 Cor 4:9shall have praise of God, and of his holy Angels, and of all good men.