Commentary on the Epistles and Revelation of John, Part 4
Ambition.
1 JOHN 2.16.
For all that is in the world, the luſt of the fleſh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but of the world.
PLeaſure, profit, preferment (called here the luſt of the fleſh, the luſt of the eye, and the pride of life) are the worldlings Trinity, to the which he performeth inward and outward worſhip. According to the three things which the woman by falſe ſuggeſtion ſaw in the tree for meat, for the eyes, and for prudence. And according to our Saviours three-fold temptation, Mat. 4. Doct. solinu.the laſt whereof by the vain pomp and glory of the world, he could leaſt of all endure, and therefore bids the Tempter Avaunt. Our Apoſtle, ver. 13. of this Chapter tels us, That a man may be very mortified, even a Father, and yet very ſubject to dote on the world: which may be fitly likened to the ſerpent Seytnle, whereof it is reported, that when ſhe cannot overtake the flying paſſengers, ſhe doth with her beautifull colours ſo aſtoniſh and amaze them, that they have no power to paſſe away till ſhe have ſtung them. Balaam could not but go after the wages of wickedneſſe, the preferment that was profered him. Nay Barue (a far better man) is ſeeking great things for himſelf, Hezekiah ſhewing his treaſury, Jonas over-tender of his reputation, Nicodemus for the ſame cauſe, coming haltingly to Chriſt, as a night-bird; and the Apoſtles ſtrangely tranſported with an idle conceit of an earthly Kingdome, wherein they dream'd there ſhould be (as once in Davids and Solomons daies) a diſtribution of honours and officers. Hence ſo many frivolous and fruitleſſe queſtions and requeſts: as that of the mother of Zebedees children, put on by her ambitious ſons, who were aſhamed to make the motion. Yea many times moſt unſeaſonably and unſavourily, when Chriſt had been fore-warning them of his ignominious death, and fore arming them againſt the ſcandall of the croſſe, they fell into thoſe abſurd diſputes, who ſhould be the greateſt amongſt them, and have the higheſt place of preferment, as Mar. 9 31, 32, 33, 34. And whereas our Saviour diſſwaded them this ſolly, and ſet a childe in the midſt of them to learn them lower thoughts, S. John ſoon ſated with ſuch ſad diſcourſe, interrupts his maſter: and laying hold on ſomething he had ſaid, v. 37. tels a ſtory of another buſineſſe, v. 38. Yea,Nazianz. ſo ſowred were they and ſwoln with this Phariſaicall haven, that they were at it again the third time, Luk. 22.24. And that, 1. After that our Saviour had fore-told them that his death ſhould fall out within three daies. 2. When they had newly received the Lords-Supper, that foreign, as a Father cals it. 3. After that Chriſt had waſhed their feet to teach them a leſſon of humility and heavenly mindedneſſe. So ambitious are the beſt by nature, ſo licoriſh after earthly honours.
Reaſ. And that becauſe they are ſo near us, and ſo naturall to us, they dazle our weak eyes: and, as a ſawcer held cloſe to the eyes cauſeth that we cannot ſee a mountain that is before: ſo theſe poor things over-prized,foreign 2 Pet. 1. makes us ſand-blinde, and ſuch as cannot ſee far off, thoſe crowns, ſcepters, kingdoms, glories, beauties, braveries above, that ſhould draw up our affections. Mother earth (ſince we loſt para life) gets our hearts. Cardinall Burhon will not loſe his part in Paris, Act and Mon. fol. 899. Ibid 902. Godwins Ca…. Aſſiduo ſamulitij obſequio ase. rant comes unus, &c. …ex Platonicus.for his part in Paradiſe. Cardinall Wolſey tode thorow London with twenty great mules for his ſumpter-horſes; cauſed his Cardinals hat (when it was firſt ſent him) to be ſet upon a Cup-board at Westminſter, and tapers round about it: ſo that the greateſt Duke in the land muſt make courteſie thereunto, and to his empty ſeat, he being away. He had as much yearly revenue as all the Biſhops and Deans of this Kingdome put together had. And for his houſhold attendance, he had one Earl, nine Barons, a great ſort of Knights and Eſquires, and of others of inferiour rank, four hundred at leaſt. Well therefore might Bayfield the Martyr conclude of him,Act. and Mon. fol. 954. My Lord Cardinall is no good man; for Chriſt never taught him to follow riches and promotions, to wear ſhoes of ſilver and gilt, ſet with pearls and precious ſtones: Nor Chriſt had never two croſſes of ſilver, two axes, nor pillars of ſilver and gilt, &c. Eraſmus tels of a Preacher at Rome, Eraſm. Eccleſi aſtes, ſite de ratisxe concionandi.that delivered himſelf thus before the Pope and his Cardinals, Matto ſan Peirro, ſan Paulo mat: that is, S. Peter was a fool, S. Paul alſo a fool. And being convented for this Dectrine, he thus explained himſelf,D. Heylins Geo. p. 185. Either they were fools that lived ſo poorly, or you (their ſucceſſours) are too blame, that live ſo pompouſly. Others make mention of a certain painter, who being blamed by a Cardinall for colouring the viſages of Peter and Poul too red, tartly replied, That he painted them ſo, as bluſhing at the ambition of their ſucceſſours. it is thought of Cardinall Pool, that toward his later end, a little before his coming from Rome to England, he began ſomewhat to ſavour the doctrine of Luther, and was no leſſe ſuſpected at Rome, Act. and Mon. fol. 17…0.and therefore put by the Popedome. Not withſtanding the pomp and glory of the world afterward carried him a way to play the Papiſt, as it did Demas: of whom there are that write, that after he forſook S. Paul, he became a Prieſt in an Idol-Temple.…ulianus horcri bar negi… bo mit es pioa ocare quam tern entis cogere ſtuduit. Nazianz. The Authour to the Hebrews reckons and ranks the tempting and alluring promiſes of preferment among the bloudy deeds of the Heathen perſecutours, They were ſawn aſunder, they were tempted, Heb. 11.37. but no way prevailed againſt: As neither was that heroicall Luther. Vergerius treating with him from the Pope, put him in minde of Aeneas Sylvius, who following his own opinions with much ſlavery and labour, could get no further preferment then to be Canon of Trent; But being changed to the better, became Biſhop, Cardinall, and ſinally Pope Pius the ſecond.… of C…unc. of Trent, lo. 73.He called to his memory Beſſarion of Nice, who of a poor Caloier of Trapezond became a great renowned Cardinall, and wanted not much of being Pope. This had been ſemewhat to a man, Cui embitionis ſalſugo bibnlam animam poſſederet. But this Crmiſix of mortification cried cut with S. Paul, I am crucified to the world, and the world to me, Contemptus eſt a me Romarus & favor & furor, I care neither for the fawns nor frowns of Rome. Of the ſame mould and metall was D. I atſour, Martyr, whom to reduce, they premiſed him not only his parden, but great promotion, and a Biſhoprick: Sed ſurdo fabulam; they could not perſwade him, for he looked for a better reſurrection. So did William Hunter, Act. and Mon. for. 1386.another zeale us Martyr, with whom, after his condemnation, Biſhop Bonner perſwaded, ſaying: If thou wilt recant, I will make thee a free-man in the City, and give thee 40lb in good money to ſet up thine occupation withall; or I will make thee ſteward of mine houſe, and ſet thee in office, Ibid. 1397.&c.ibid. 1367. But a good heart will rather lie in the duſt then riſe by wickedneſſe: and ſooner part with all, then with the peace of a good conſcience.Ibid. 1578. Thus Hooper deſired rather to be diſcharged of his Biſhoprick then yeeld to certain Ceremonies: Latimer at the coming in of the ſix Articles in King henry the 8. time reſigned up his office, and remained a great ſpace unbiſhopped. Hermannus Archbiſhop of Colen reformed his Church from certain Papiſticall ſuperſtitions, uſing therein the aid and advice of Martin Bucer. Ibid 315.Wherefore he was depoſed by the Emperour, which he patiently ſuffered. Biſhop Ridley, when Q Mary was proclaimed, ſpeedily repairing to Fremingham to ſalute her,Ibid. 1280. had ſuch cold welcome there, that being deſpoiled of all his dignities he was ſent back on a ſame halting horſe to the Tower. But God no doubt recompenſed theſe mens loſſes as that King of Poland did his noble ſervant Zeliſlaus: having loſt his hand in his wars,Theodoret. l. 3. Qui pro Chriſti nomine amiſerat tribunatum, retribueaſe, Chriſto, accepit imperium. he ſent him a golden hand for it. Valentinian tribune to Julian the Apoſtate, was by him diſcarded and baniſhed for ſtriking a Sextan, who had ſprinkled him with Heatheniſh holy-water, as he went before the Emperour into a certain I doltemple. But within leſſe then two years after, Valentinian was called home and created Emperour. And that I may uſe the words of Oroſius, He that for Chriſts names ſake had lost a Tribuneſhip, within a while after ſucceeded his perſecutour in the Empire it ſelf. Chriſt is a liberall paimaſter: and all his retributions are more then bountifull.
The Pope his pretended Vicar is not ſo. He promiſeth our Engliſh ſugitives indeed,Os Papae & cul… Diabo'i in codem, unt praedicameuto. as large as the devil did, All theſe things will I give thee, &c. But when that all comes to all, Sanders is ſtarved; Stapleton made Profeſſour of a petty Univerſity, ſcarce ſo good as one of our free-ſchools: William Raynolds is nominated to a ſmall Vicarage under value.D. Featley his Tranſubit, exploded. p 9. On Harding his Holineſſe beſtow'd a Prebend of Gaunt, or to ſpeak more properly, a Gaunt Prebend: Roffenſis had a Cardinals hat ſent him, but his head was cut off before it came. Allin had a Cardinals hat, but with ſo thin lining (means to ſupport his ſtate) that he was commonly called, The ſtarveling Cardinall. When he createth Cardinals, his words are,Eſtote francs noſtri, & principes noſtri. Be ye brethren to us, and Princes of the world. And indeed ſome of them have Princes revenues, as the Cardinall of Toledo, Ments, Collen, &c. and Princes ſpirits, as Cardinall Columnus, Act. and Mon. fol. 500.who when the Pope threatned to take away his Cardinals hat, He preſently replied, That then he would put on an helmet to pull him out of his throne. Eraſmus writes, that he knew ſome, who when they were like to die would give great ſums of mony for a Cardinals hat, that they might be ſo ſtiled upon their tombs and monuments.O vigilantem Conſulem qui toto Conſulatus ſui tempore ſomnum, oculis non videl l Pſal. 84 2 Cor 5.9. 1 Theſſ 4.11. Funccius ante ſuppticium ſertur hoc diſtechon pronunciaſſe, Diſce meo exemplo mandato munere ſungl; Et ſuge ctu peſlem foreign. Melch Adam. in vita. Herod. l. 2. K Knute the Dane cauſed the falſe Edrics head to be ſet upon the high eſt part of the tower of London: therein performing his promiſe to a traitour of advancing him above any lord of the land. Daniels hiſt. p. 19. Ier, 22. Sic Senecio apud Senecam Suaſor. l. 1. and ſo ambitious were the Romans of the Conſulſhip, that when Maximus died in the laſt day of his office, Caninius petitioned Caeſar for that part of the day that remained: whence that ſo memorated jeſt of Tully, O vigilant Conſull, who never ſaw ſleep all the time of his office! Pitty it were but that theſe men ſhould have had what they ſo greatly deſired, ſo dearly purchaſed, They have their reward, ſaith our Saviour, of ſuch. A poor reward, a little breath of popular applauſe, ſuch as is not able to blow one cold blaſt upon ungodly great ones, then when they ſhall be hurried from their ſtately Palaces, and hurled into the burning lake: there to cry, Nos inſenſati, We fools, ſhould have been as ambitious of heavens honours with Moſes, Heb 11. of getting an office in Gods houſe with David, of keeping a good conſcience with Paul, of being quiet, and medling with our buſineſſe, as he wils his Theſſalonians. This if joannes Funccius the Chronologer, and Justus Jonas the Lawyer (two learned Dutch-men) had done, they had never died (as they did) by the hands of the hang-man. But this is often ſeen to be the end of the ambitious, as of Abſolom, Haman, Pharaoh Ophra (Jer. 44.30) whom Herodotus calleth Apryes, and telleth us, that he uſually boaſted that he cared not for any either God or man that ſhould ſeek to take away his Kingdome. But at length he was taken in battle by Amaſis one of his own officers, and ſtrangled by the Aeyptians, his own people. Hamio was hanged at Carthage for his ambition. Roger Mortimer here at Tiburn in Edward the ſeconds time, and a hundred more, whom I might eaſily mention. What got moſt of the Caeſars by their over-haſty preferment, Niſi ut citiùs interficerentur, a one ſaith, but to be ſlain the ſooner, Caſar Borgia Duke of Valence, emulating Julius Caeſar, uſed this ſaying of his, Aut Caeſar, aut nullus. Not long after, he was ſlain in the Kingdome of Navarre. Jehoahaz ſonne of joſiah (Ieremy ſeems to call him Shallum) though younger then his brother Iehoiakim, ambitioufly ſteps into the throne after his fathers death: And before he was well warm in it, he had great thoughts, and would not take it as his father did. He would build a ſtately Palace, much enlarge himſelf,M. Rob Harris his Abuers Punerall. 2 King. 23.34. and (as it ſeemeth by one affix in the Text, Jer. 22.24. ſaith a learned Divine) he would take in a piece of Gods houſe too. But within a while after he was carried captive to Aegypt for his a ambition, and died there ingloriouſly. So did Alexander the great in the midſt of his victories. He required of the Jews that their dates ſhould be taken from his raign, and all the Prieſts ſons born that year ſhould be called Alexanders. Into Grecia he ſent to be holden a god by them. Apelles pictured him with a thunderbolt.Plin l. 6 c. 16. Lyſippus with this poſie, Jupiter, aſſerui terram mihi, tu aſſere coelum; O Jupiter take thou heaven: for the earth I challenge to my ſelf. With which pictures Alexander was ſo delighted, that he proelaimed none ſhould take his picture, but Lyſippus and Apelles. As for Caliſthenes the Philoſopher that diſſwaded him from theſe vanities, he was carried about in a cage, in a moſt approbrious manner. That made him to be cut off quickly, and his family to be rooted out, as the Angel fore-telleth, Dan. 11.4 And as he might have been fore-warned by the example of Ahaſhueroſh, that is, Xerxes, the ſon of a former Darius (not the ſame, that he over-threw) who though he were the King of 127 Provinces (Eſth. 1.2.) yet was ready to fight for more. He had newly ſubdued Aegypt, and ſoon after was addreſſing himſelf for the conqueſt of Greece: But failed of his deſigne, and was glad to eſcape for his life in a ſmall boat, being ſhortly after ſlain in his palace by Artabanus one of his own officers. Then he,Ʋt cui modò ad vict oriam terra defuerit, deeſset ad ſepulturam. Velleius de Pompeio. Nudus paſcit aves, &c. Claud. Danchift. f. 50. that could not hope ever to ſee all the land that he poſſeſſed, and yet could not be quiet whilſt he heard of more, was forced to take up with his length in a place of buriall. Great Pompey had not ſo much, and William the Conquerours corps lay unburied three daies: his interment being hindered by one that claimed the ground to be his.
O therefore that our aſpiring Ambitioniſts would but meaſure themſelves by their own moddle,Application. take the length of their own bodies, as he did once in the duſt where he lay laſt: conſider what poor things they are, as they proceed from the ſlime of their parents: How helpleſſe in their birth, how uncertain of their life, how little a thing will cloath them and feed them, how little a thing will make an end of them. A little viper, a little ſpider, a little needle at their hearts will kill them: then, a little ſheet will wind them, a little grave hold them, a little worme eat out their hearts. And ſhould ſuch think great things of themſelves,Gens haec quanquam bonoiem noſelant, honerani tamen ſupra modum affectant Garald. Cambrenſ. or ſeek great things for themſelves? And yet every mothers childe of us are too much the true ſons of our great grand-mother Eve, and would be more then we are. This Nation (ſaith one concerning the wilde Iriſh) as alſo all other barbarous Nations, though they know not what honour is, yet they affect above meaſure to be honoured. Three of their Kings being derided for their rude habits and faſhions rebelled in Henry the ſeconds daies. Man bears nothing ſo impatiently as contempt, deſires nothing ſo much as reſpect with others. I have ſinned (ſaid Saul) yet honour me be fore the people. Jehu muſt be ſeen, or all's loſt.Ho die me aut Pontiſicem vſdebis aut exulü. foreign 'Dio in Nero. I fear leſt the fugitives will mock me, ſaid Zedekiah. This day you ſhall ſee me return from Court either high-Prieſt or an exile, ſaid Caeſar to his mother. Let him kill me, ſo he may be Emperour, ſaid ſhe of her ſon Nero. Ambition rides without reins, as Tullia did over the dead body of her father, to be made a Queen: And where it hath poſſeſt it ſelf thorowly of the ſoul, it turns the heart into ſteel, and makes it uncapable of a conſcience, as we ſee in Abimelech, Haman, Athaliah, &c. All ſins will eaſily down with the man that is reſolved to riſe. In the year of Chriſt 467. Timotheus Herulus, when he could not other wiſe get a Biſhoprick, went, by night, all about the Monks cels in Alexandria, and, calling them each by his name, told them, that he was an Angel ſent from God to require them to caſt out Proterius their Biſhop, and to chuſe in his place Timotheus Herulus. And having hereby gained them to his ſide, and gotten a great ſort of the rude rabble by gifts and fair promiſes to adhere to him,Funeij Chrouel. he invaded the Biſhoprick of Alexandria by force, ſlew the good Biſhop, and ſix others with him on an Eaſter-day, at the foot of the font, whither he had fled for ſhelter, caſt out his dead body, drew it all about, and afterwards burnt it. So powerfully did the myſtery of iniquity work even in thoſe better times. Zene the Emperour laid a paper on the altar, that God might write therein the name of him who ſhould be Biſhop of Conſtantinople. But Flavitias, corrupting the Sextan of the Church, cauſed him to write in his name,Niceph. l. 1. and ſo was made Biſhop. When none other would lift. Hildebrand up into Peters Chair, he gat up himſelf: for who could better judge of him then himſelf? Harden thy fore-head (ſaith Calvus to Vatinius) and ſay boldly, that thou deſervest the Praetorſhip better then Cato. Perfrica frontë & digniorem te dit, qui Praetor fieres quam catonem. Quin, l. 9.….2.ambition, I confeſſe, is not ordinarily ſo broad ſpoken, but goes difguiſed,Turk, biſt. 515. foreign, &c. … 10 Nee ferrs poreſt Caſarve priore a Pom pe…uſve parem. Lucan. D. heylins Geo. p. 103. under a vail of modeſty; neceſſity, religion, &c. as in thoſe that diſparage themſelves, that they may draw in others to commend them: as in Richard the third, who pleaded the neceſſiry of the State for his abhorred uſurpation: And as to S lym … the Turk, and Hiſmael the Perſian, who did, under the colour and zeal of their religion, both pretend juſt cauſes of warre; although their evil diſſembled ambitions deſires plainly declared unto the world, that they both ſhot at one and the ſame mark, the extending the bounds of their great Empires. There were many pretences given out for the civil warre betwixt Pompey and Caeſar (ſaith the Hiſtorian) but if you'll have the truth of it, the very cauſe was the deſire of preeminence and fole-government. The one could not bear a ſuperiour, nor the other an equall, The ſame was the ground of all the quarrell of old, between the Biſhops of Conſt intinople and Rome: as, of later time, between Francis King of France, and Charles the fiſt Emperour of Germany. And is ſtill between the Kings of Spain, and other Monarches of Chriſtendom, whileſt they labour ſo earneſtly the ſetting up of their Catholike Monarchy. When Captain Drake took St Domingo in America, 1585. in the Town-hall were be ſeen the King of Spains arms; and under them a globe of the world,Camd Eliz. 285 out of which aroſe a horſe with his fore-feet caſt forth with this inſcription, NON SVFFICIT ORBIS, The world is not enough for me to conquer. This was laughed at,Romanoi geminos uuum non caperet regnum, quos unum ur…i reperat holpttium, Cyprian. as an argument of the Spaniards avarice and ambition, which indeed is unſatisfiable. One womb could hold Romulus and Remus, not one Kingdom. Athens could not contain two Alcibiades, nor Sparta two Lyſandens. Alexander would not divide the Perſian Empire with Darius. Our Henry the ſecond crowned his eldeſt ſon Henry, whiles he was yet alive,Dan hui. l. 100 and that ſet him a ſeeking his fathers death. He alſo had made his ſecond ſonne John, Harl of Cornwall, Dorſet, Sommerſet. Nottingham, Darby and Lancaſter. Which mighty eſtate was not a means to ſatisfie but encreaſe his deſires, and make him more dangerous at home.Ibid. 114. Ambition like the Crocodile, groweth while it liveth: or like the Ivy which riſing at the foot, will over-peer the higheſt wall. Baſe it is and ſlaviſh; it will fall down to riſe,Relat. of Weſt relig. crouch and creep to mount. Sixtus Quintus, ſaith one, was the moſt crouching humble Cardinal that ever was lodg'd in an oven, and the moſt proud, ambitious Pope that ever ware crown, And Paul the third (ſaith Thuanus) covered his deep ambition for a long time with as deep diſſimulation of ſobriety, gravity, ſanctimony and bodily infirmity,Thuan. biſt. l. 1. cap. 16. Act. and Mon. fol. 993. whereof when he had once got that dignity, he made a full diſcovery. Biſhop Bonner at firſt ſeemed to be a good man, a favourer of Luthers doctrines, and advanced he was only by the Lord Cromwell, for whom nevertheleſſe (after his execution) Bonner had not a good word, but the lewdeſt, vileſt, and bittereſt he could ſpeak;Ibid. 1087. calling him the rankeſt heretike that ever lived, and that it had been good he had been diſpatcht long ago.Alſted. Chron. p 376. Aeneas Sylvius defended this truth, That the Councel was above the Pope, and commended the Germans for oppoſing the Pope. But when he ſaw that this was not the way to preferment, he turned tippet, taught the contrary Doctrine, and became Pope. In the inthronization of the Pope; before he is ſet in his Chair, and puts on his Triple crown, a piece of tow or wad of ſtraw is ſet on fire before him, and one appointed to ſay, Sic tranſit gloria mundi, D. Feat'ey at Sir Humphrey Lindes funeral. foreign, Act. 25.23. foreign, Mat. 4.8. foreign, 1 Cor. 7.31. Pſal 39.7. Iſa 61.6. Glory is in Greek tranſlated riches. foreign 1 Sam 25.6. Sua cui que civitati religio Laeli eſt noſtra nobis. Stantibus Hieroſolymis, &c. Pro L. Flacco.The glory of this world is but a blaze. This, if it were well conſidered by thoſe ambitious Biſhops, they would not buy repentance at ſo dear a rate. S. Luke cals all Agrippa's pomp a phantafie: S. Mathew all the worlds glory an opinion: S. Paul a mathematicall figure, that is ſomething in the minde, nothing out of it. surely in a vain ſhew walketh every man, ſaith David, ſurely he diſquiets himſelf in vain, heaping up riches, and by riches honours, according to that of Labans ſons, murmuring againſt Jacob, Gen. 31.1, Of that which was our fathers hath he made all this glory, that is, all this wealth, as the Chaldee expoundeth it: for riches make glory, get reſpect, Thus ſhall ye ſay to him that liveth, ſaith David of rich Nabal: for poor men are looked upon as dead men out of minde. Hence Tully judgeth the Jews religion to be naught, becauſe they were ſo oft overcome and impoveriſhed: but the religion of Rome to be right, becauſe the Romans proſpered and became Lords of the world. Hence Aigoland King of Arragon, coming to the Court of Charles the great, and promiſing to be baptized, when he ſaw many poor people expecting alms from the Emperours table, and asking what they were? was anſwered, That they were the ſervants of God, he ſpeedily returned and deſperately proteſted, That he would not ſerve that God, which could no better preferre and provide for his ſervants. But Chriſts Kingdom is not of this world, I know thy poverty, Heyl. Geog p. 69.ſaith he to one of thoſe ſeven Churches, but thou art rich, rich in faith, in good works, &c. Iſa. 43 4.And thou art honourable, For ſince thou waſt precious in my ſight, thou haſt been honourable, and I have loved thee. Vertue is a thouſand Eſcucheons. And nothing ſo ennobles as grace,Gen, 1.20, 21. and being within the Covenant, I have bleſſed Iſhmael: twelve Princes ſhall he beget: but my Covenant will I establiſh with Iſaac. The Nobles of Iſael made their ſtaves (the enſignes haply of their honour) inſtruments of the common good, Numb. 21.18 And, Whoſoever will be great among you, let him be your ſervant, Mat. 20.26. Thoſe Nobles of Tekoah are much blamed and blemiſhed. for that they put not their necks to the Lords yoke, Nehem. 3.1. But Theodoſius ſhall ever be renowned, That held it a greater honour to be a member of the Church, then Head of the Empire. The righteous ſhall be bad in everlaſting remembrance, but the name of the wicked ſhall rot; as Beckets now doth,Novi bi ſancti de veteribus mibi dubium mo veat, dixit Beſ ſarion. Dan hiſt. 99. who was ſo ſolemnly Sainted by the Pope. And yet 48. years after, ſaith the French Hiſtory, it was diſputed among the Doctours of Paris, whether he were damned or ſaved? And one Roger a Norman maintained, That this Saint had juſtly deſerved death, and ſuffered not as a Martyr but malefactour. This was to call a spade a spade: according to that of the Prophet, fore-telling that in the kingdome of Chriſt,Iſa. 32.5. The vile perſon ſhould no more be called liberall, nor the churl ſaid to be bountifull. Honor eſt in honorante. Now in a godly mans eyes a vile perſon (though never ſo great) is contemned, but he honoureth them that fear the Lord, Equidem pluris jecerim juſt am commendationðilde; unius alicujas pij & boni viri quam admira tionem ſtultam totius multitudinu. Rolloc. in Joh. 2.28. 1 Sam. 2.30. Ruth 4.11. Prov. 8 18. Prov. 22.4.Pſal. 15.4. And I had much rather (ſaith a worthy Divine) Have the just commendation of one godly wiſe man, then the fooliſh admiration of a whole multitude. To be praiſed of a praiſeleſſe perſon is no praiſe: therefore the Lord Chriſt ſuffered not the devil to confeſſe him, or tell who he was. But happy is he, that in all things ſerving Chriſt, is acceptable to God, and approved of men, Rom. 14.18, This is a Jew inwardly, his praiſe is not of men, but of God, who bath promiſed to honour them that honour him; and taketh order that they that doe worthily in Ephratu, ſhall be famous in Bethlehem. Honour is often promiſed as a reward of religion; and was ſo performed to David, when whatſoever he did, pleaſed the people: To Solomon; for beſides wealth and wiſdome, God gave him honour. It is God that faſhioneth mens opinions: therefore Paul praies that his ſervice might be accepted of the Saints;Rom 15.31. yet was it the bringing of alms, and ſuch uſually are welcome. It is God alſo that gives preferment. Promotion comes neither from East nor Weſt, no nor yet from the South (where the warm Sun-ſhine is) but from the Lord. Pſal.And 75.6. yet how many go daily from his bleſſing into the warm Sunne (as we ſay) nay fetch an errand to hell, as ſome of the Popes did, for honours and high places. No ſooner can they hear flattering promiſes of preferment, as it were the melody of Nebuchadnezzars inſtruments, but they preſently fall down and worſhip the Babyloniſh idol. How much better thoſe three children? And before them, Joſeph, who would not yeeld to his wanton miſtreſſe, though he might have been preferred for it? Moſes who refuſed to be called the ſonne of Pharaohs daughter, and heir of two Kingdoms (as ſome ſay) Origen who was content rather to continue a poor Catechiſt at Alexandria in daily fear of death,Arrianus Maturus caret ambuitu: ideo ſe in equeſtri gradu teauit, cum facitè poſſet aſcendere altiſſi mum Plin epiſt. l. 3 ep 2. Sardinius Gallus cum poſſet Senator eſſe, Gartbaginem migravit, &c. Dro. in vita Claudij. Numerianus Grammaticus eum magnos honores opeſ que c… ſequi potuiſſet, tamen noſuit. Ib. in Severo. Alſted Chronol. p. 382. D. Prideaux Lect. Act. and Mon. fol. 1578. foreign then to be ruffling at Court with Plotinus his fellow-pupill, who refuſed to be a Chriſtian? Some Heathens have rejected honours that have been offered them, for the very cumber and danger that attend them. High ſeats are never but uneaſie, and crowns themſelves oft ſtuft with thorns. Therefore Frederike ſir-named the Wiſe, Electour of Saxony, when the Empire of Germany was offered unto him, ſcriouſly refuſed it. Scriouſly, I ſay, and not for faſhion only, as the Canoniſts command Biſhops to doe, when the queſtion is asked, Viſne epiſcopare? Whereunto the Biſhop of Meltins craftily anſwered, Nolens volo, & volens nolo: But did men know the weight of that charge (Onus ipſis etiam angelis tremendum, ſaith Chryſostome) they would neither be ſo haſty to get it, nor ſo loth to forgoe it. Father Latimer being to reſign up his Biſhoprick, when he firſt put oft his rochet in his chamber among his friends, ſuddenly gave a skip in the floor for joy, feeling his ſhoulders ſo light, and being diſcharged, as he ſaid, of ſuch an heavy burden. Fructus honos oneris, fructus honoris, onus. The Hebrew word for Honour ſignifieth weight or preſſure. In alluſion whereunto S. Paul cals the glory of heaven, a weight of glory. But from aſpiring to that heavenly glory, earthly greatneſſe is oft times no ſmall impediment. The Buſtard or Oſtrich can hardly get upon his wings, whereas the Lark mounts with eaſe. Nay, as thoſe that walk on the top of pinacles are in danger of a precipice, ſo are great men of greateſt ruine. Even heigth it ſelf makes mens brains to ſwim: and he pourtia ed the ambitious man rightly, that pictured him ſnatching at a Crown, and falling with this Motto, Sic mea fata ſequor. The poiſonfull Aconite, ſo much deſired of the Panther, is purpoſely hung up by the hunters in veſſels above their reach: whereof they are ſo greedy, that they never leave leaping and ſtraining thereat, till they burſt and kill themſelves, and ſo are taken: So do men that aim at honour too high for their reach, and too great for their merit: their heads are lifted up, but it is as Pharaohs Bakers was: And it befals unto them,Hic alicua appetendo prepria amiſit. Judg v. 15. Job …2 Quemomnes made ut potioië ſe comitali fuiſ ſent in Senaium eum pau ò poſt in carcevem tra beba…t ut al jectum & reſariun Duse Sejano Sparitan. as to that Duke of Moſcoviah, whom when the Tartarian had taken in battle, he made a cup of his skull with this inſcription, All covet all loſe. Let not therefore the bramble be King: let not earthly things bear rule in thine affections. Fire will riſe out of them that will conſume the Cedars. Exorientur ſedexurentur, as Jobs flower, Jonas gourd, Davids bay-tree, or Xerxes his Steerſman, whom he crowned in the morning, and beheaded in the evening of the ſame day. The like befell Haman, Sejanus, and many others. Severus the Emperour finding the emptineſſe and inſufficiency of honours and earthly happineſſes (ſweeter farre in the ambition then fruition) cries out at laſt, Omnia fui, & nihil expedit, I have tried all things, and finde no ſolid content in any thing. That was Solomons verdict of them long before: And thoſe in the Parable, Mat. 20.13. when the end of the day came, when they were to goe into another world, they ſaw that which before they would not believe, that preferment, riches,Non melior un quam fuit ſervm, nec deterior Domino, Galv Chro 478 Veſpaſianus unus accepto, im perio melior factus. lb 405. Cornel. a Lapid in Num. 11.11. Gen 14, 21 Sic & Tigra…es, quam cum …empeius vide ret, foreign, &c. miſericordia commotus acceſſi, &c. 'Dio. credit, were but a peny, were but empty things, ſuch as wherewith they were in no wiſe content. In the very purſuit of them is much anguiſh, many grievances, fears, jealouſies, diſgraces, interruptions, &c. Say a man obtain them, they neither make him better in proſperity, but the worſe (as Caligula, then whom there never was a better ſervant, nor a worſe Lord. Veſpaſian is ſaid to be the only man that ever became better by being made Emperour. Pius Quintus acknowledged that he was farre the worſe man after he came to be Pope) Nor can they bear up the heart in the day of adverſity. How creſt-fallen was the King of Sodom when overcome by the four Kings? How baſely behaves he himſelf before Abraham a ſtranger, an exile that was before ſo haughty and refractory! So Manaſſeh, that faced the heavens in his proſperity, in trouble baſely hides his head among the buſhes, and is therehence drawn, bound and carried captive, 2 Cbron. 33.12. But after the unſanctified enjoyment of them follows the ſting of conſcience, that will inexpreſſibly vex and torment the ſoul thorowout all eternity. For if one drop of an evil, unquiet conſcience, will extremely diſſweeten a full cup of outward comforts in this life preſent, as it will, and make a man weary of the world,Ʋna guttula malae conſcientiae conturbat, totum mare gaudiorum bumanorü Bucho. Cor. Gallus tantum animi dolorem concepit ut ſibiipſi mortem conſciverit, Ioh. Manl. loc com. p. 136. Camd Elizab. fol. 406. as Abitophel, Judas, &c. What ſhall we think of hell, where the worm bred in the froth of theſe worldly luſts dies not, where the fire of Gods wrath goes not out? If the wrath of a King be as the roaring of a Lion, and if honours darlings cannot bear their Princes frowns, but die by them, as it befell Cornelius Gallus under Augustus, and St Christopher Hatton, Lord Chancellour under Queen Elizabeth (The Queen having once caſt him down with a word, could not raiſe him up again, though ſhe viſited and comforted him, but that he died of a ſlux of his urine, and grief of minde.) How will they bear the wrath of God, when David (with whom God was, but in jeſt, as it were) though mounted on his mountain could not bear his diſcountenance, Thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled?Pſal. 30.7.