The Vanity of the Lives and Passions of Men, Chapter 18
CHAP. XVIII.
Of the vanity of the paſsion of Avarice.
DIogenes the Cynick, being demanded why Gold was of ſo pale a yellow; Anſwered ingenuouſly, that it was out of fear, becauſe all men did run after it to make it their captive, or rather their god; For it is daily ſeen that avaritious men are the ſlaves of their riches, and that Gold is their only Deity. But the Poet Simonides being moved by a friend of his to reſolve him which of theſe two, viz. of Wiſdom or Gold, was to be moſt deſired and purſued: Anſwered, Wiſdom, ſaith he; for ſhe is the Miſtreſs, and Gold is her Hand-maide; Notwithſtanding, ſaid he, I ſee daily the wiſeſt men court, wait, and attend upon the Gold-mongers and rich men of theſe days; ſo little is Vertue regarded, and Vice ſo highly eſteemed: Whereas in the judgement of King Solomon, riches are nothing but vanity and vexation of Spirit. And to this purpoſe he gives this caveat to avaritious men, Labor not to be rich; Prov. 23.4, 5.wilt thou ſet thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themſelves wings, they flie away as an Eagle towards heaven. Prov. 8.11.But Wiſdome, ſaith he, is better then Rubies; and all things that may be deſired, are not to be compared to it: But theſe ſayings of Solomon ſeem to be paradoxes to avaritious men; for the gliſtering luſtre of their Gold hath dazled the eyes of their judgement to conceive erroneouſly, that Gold is a ſoveraign remedy for all diſeaſes: For it can, ſay they, deliver them from all danger, raiſe them to honours, and give them the fruition of all the delights of this life, & ſo they become more eager after the purchaſe of theſe momentary riches, then ſincere and zealous Chriſtians are fervent, active, and diligent after the acquiſition of the ſpiritual Treaſures. Now becauſe this vitious paſſion of Avarice is extraordinarily predominant in this Age, and enticeth many to undertake ſtrange projects, and practice undirect means to hoard up Gold and Silver, to the undoing of the Commonwealth, and the deſtruction of their own ſouls. Give me leave to enlarge my ſelf upon theſe particulars, to ſhew you the virulency of this ſordid paſſion.
1. What is properly called Avarice.
2. How it is compoſed.
3. Of what nature it is, being thus mixt.
4. What kinde of men are moſt addicted to it.
5. The cauſes moving men to affect the ſame.
6. The pernitious proprieties of it.
7. The deſtructive effects of the ſame.
8. The conſiderations inducing men to allay the fire of it.
Firſt, What men properly call Avarice,The definition of Avarice. is only an exorbitant and inſatiable deſire to hoard up Gold and Silver.
Secondly, This deſire is never free from fear and ſelf-love; ſo that Avarice is a compoſed paſſion of fear, love, and deſire.
Thirdly, Being thus mixt,Of what paſſions Avarice is compoſed. it is of a violent nature by the means of love, that is extraordinarily violent in all its operations: It is alſo of an inſatiable and ſordid nature, by the means of the paſſion of deſire, that hath an inſatiable proprietie; and is moſt baſe, becauſe this deſire hath no other object then the excrements of the Earth;Avarice is of a violent, inſatiable and feminine nature. for Gold is nothing but a yellow, and Silver nothing but a white clay, calcinated and refined by the beams of the Sun by a long continuance of time: It is likewiſe of a timerous quality, by the means of the paſſion of fear that is of a feminine nature; ſo by the mixture of theſe ill-qualified ingredients, Avarice is one of the moſt baſe paſſions incident to men.
Fourthly, Theſe kinde of men are moſt commonly addicted to it. 1. Low and baſe minded men. 2. Old men are more addicted to it then the young. 3. Thoſe who have in their youth been riotous and prodigal, are much inclined to it when they become ancient. 4. Such as have been in great want in their youth, become avaritious, when they are old, out of fear to fall into the like ſtraits. For the firſt, all generous ſpirits diſdain to be avaritious; for their thoughts ſoar higher then the excrements of the Earth; whereas the low-minded are like the Swine who never riſe nor lift up their eyes to Heaven, but are ſtill fixed and routing with their ſnout in the muck-hils of the Earth.See Plutarch and Dion in their Lives. I mean by uſing all vile and baſe means to enrich themſelves, as Craſſus and Veſpaſian did. Secondly, the antient are more addicted to Avarice then young men; and this proceeds of fear, and from the experience they have of the mutability of all worldly things; beſides, they conſider their weakneſs & diſabilities of body to labor as they did in their youth, & therefore hoard up what they can againſt the day of need, hope being then utterly extinguiſht in their breaſt, by the cold blaſt of timerous fears which doth poſſeſs decrepit aged men: yet this conſideration, that they have one of their feet upon the brink of their Grave, ſhould induce them to make uſe of the bleſſings of God, ſith they have but ſhort time to live, and leſs need of them then younger men. Thirdly, ſuch as have laviſhed their means by profuſe prodigalities, fall (when they are recalled from theſe courſes) from one extream to another, and from great Prodigals become great Uſurers & avaritious Miſers. Fourthly, Princes who in their youth, were of a generous ſpirit, yet having been brought by mutation of ſtate into great wants and neceſſities, become when they are antient, out of fear to fall again into the ſame ſtraits, extreamly avaritious, and prone to hoard up Treaſures, as it appears by the Lives of Peter de Medecis Duke of Florence, See Guicciardine, and the Engliſh and French Hiſtories in their Lives.and by Henry the Seventh King of England, and Henry the Fourth King of France.
Fifthly, The cauſes moving men to affect Avarice, may be theſe: 1. A baſe diſtruct of the providence of God, ſuggeſted in their hearts by Satan through want of Faith to believe theſe precepts of our bleſſed Saviour,*Math. 6 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30. Take no thought for your life what ye ſhall eat, or what ye ſhall drink; nor yet for your body what ye ſhall put on: Is not the life more then meat, and the body more then rayment? Behold the fowls of the air; for they ſow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not better then they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit to his ſtature? And why take you thought for raiment? conſider the Lilies of the Field how they grow; they toil not, neither do they Spin. And yet I ſay unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of theſe. Wherefore if God ſo clothe the graſs of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is caſt into the oven, ſhall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little Faith? 2. This diffidence doth beget in them a faint-hearted fear to fall into poverty, if they ſcrape and heap not by hook and crook ſome heaps of Gold or Silver; for although poverty of it ſelf be innocent, yet in theſe depraved days it is held criminal, and the greateſt vice, and miſery upon earth:Prov. 14.20. For the poor, ſaith Solomon, is hated even of his neighbour. Notwithſtanding ſaith he in another place,Prov. 19 1. Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity, then the rich that is perverſe in his ways. 3. Becauſe none are regarded in this age but the rich; yet rich men without wiſdom and piety, ſhould be no more regarded then fools; for as ſnow in Summer,Alluſion upon Prov. 26.1. and as rain in Harveſt comes unſeaſonably, even ſo honour is as unſeemly to rich men that want underſtanding. It was an ingenuous compariſon of a modern Author, who ſaid that a wiſe vertuous and religious poor man was like a good horſe with a leather Saddle on his back; and a vitious profane and fooliſh rich man, like a Jade that had an embroydred Saddle on his back; Men reſpecting in theſe days, more the rich and gay apparel of men then their worth and vertue. 4. Becauſe they may enjoy by riches all carnal volupties, from which the poorer ſort are debarred by their poverty. 5. Becauſe they erroneouſly conceive that riches make them have many friends; but they are commonly Sycophants and Table-friends; for all ſuch whoſe friendſhip is grounded upon riches, and not upon the vertue and merites of the party, are time-ſervers, and of a baſe and mercenary ſpirit, and as fickle in their love and friendſhip as the wind, and at the leaſt blaſt of diſgrace or adverſity forſake them. Theſe two inſtances ſhall prove the point: Haman the great Favourite of King Ahaſhuerus, had many friends who bowed their knees daily before him when he had the favour of the King: but as ſoon as his wrath was kindled againſt him, they acquainted the King he had erected a Gibet of fifty Cubits high to hang up Mordecai the preſerver of the Kings life;Eſth. 7.9, 10. and were the firſt upon the Kings command who caſt a Cloke upon his face, & offered to hang up Haman upon the ſame Gibet.See Sejanus Life. 2. Sejanus the beloved Favourite of the Emperour Tiberius, had many friends as long as he was graced by the Emperour; for he was more courted by the Senators and men of War then Tiberius himſelf: but they all forſook him when he fell into diſgrace, and were more eager and active then any, to draw his body through the kennels of the Streets of Rome. Whereby it appears that the rich mens friends are like a broken bow or a bruiſed reed. 6. Becauſe they falſly believe that riches will reſcue them out of many dangers; but they are deceived; for the ſmaller ſhrubs in a Forreſt are ſafer from being rooted up with the boyſterous winds, then the high Cedars in Libanon. And the Antient and Modern Hiſtories do verifie, that rich men under Tyrants are always the mark at which promooting knaves & falſe informers do aym,See Tacitus in their lives. as it is apparently ſeen in the lives of Caligula, Nero, Vitellius, Domitianus and Commodus, and ſuch other Monſters in nature. Likewiſe in all civil broils and publike commotions, the richer men go ever to the pot, as it is apparent in Livies Decades,See Livie in his firſt Decade. the Plebeian ever repining and envying the richeſt Patricians. So that riches do rather expoſe men to dangers then reſcue them.
Sixthly, The evil proprieties of this ſordid paſſion are many, but I will ſpeak only of ſome of them. 1. It inticeth men to Idolatry; for Avaricious men make their addreſſes morning and evening to their god Mammon, in lieu to make their prayers to God. I mean in bending as ſoon as they riſe, all their thoughts and cogitations upon the means how they may encreaſe their wealth: whereby it appears that the love of money doth extinguiſh in them the love of God, and that it is almoſt as impoſſible for a rich avaritious man to obtain the Kingdom of God,Alluſion upon Math 19.24. as it is for a Camel to go thorow the eye of a needle; and that is the reaſon why few noble and rich are called; and why rich men are compared in the Goſpel of S. Luke to the thorny ground:1 Cor. 1.26. Luk. 8.14. becauſe the care they take to encreaſe their riches, ſmothers in them the ſeed of the Word, and hinders them to grow in ſpiritual graces: there being as great an antipathy between the carking care of this life and godlineſs, as there is between light and darkneſs;Math. 6.21. for where mens treaſure is, there is their heart. And that is the reaſon why Saint James doth pronounce this heavie ſentence againſt the rich who are poſſeſſed with Avarice,Jam 5.1, 2, 3, 4 5, 6. Go to now ye rich men, weep and howl for your miſeries that ſhall come upon you. Your riches are corrupt, and your garments are motheaten. Your gold and ſilver is cankered, and the ruſt of them ſhall be a witneſs againſt you, and ſhall eat your fleſh as it were fire; ye heave heaped treaſures together for the laſt dayes. Behold the hire of the Labourers which have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth; and the cryes of them which have reaped, are entred into the eares of the Lord of Sabaoth. Ye have lived in pleaſure on the earth and been wanton; ye have nouriſhed your hearts as in a day of ſlaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the juſt, and he hath not reſiſted you.
The ſecond propriety of it, is, That it deprives thoſe who are poſſeſſed with it, of all true joy, becauſe their joy and content doth only conſiſt in the encreaſe of their riches, which can afford no ſolid joy, the creatures having nothing in them but emptineſs: whereas the object of true joy is God himſelf, that ever will be an infinite, unchangeable and eternal God. Beſides, how can avaritious men have any joy or content, that are hourly perplexed with fears of being deprived of all they have, by a thouſand accidents which riches are ſubject unto?See Plutarch in his Morals. And this moved Crates to caſt all his wealth into the Sea, ſaying he would rather drown his riches then they ſhould drown the tranquillity of his mind in fears and continual anxieties. He that loveth ſilver (ſaith Solomon) ſhall not be ſatisfyed with ſilver: Eccleſ. 5.10.And except mens deſires be ſatiſfied, they can have no joy nor content.
The Third Propriety of it, is, That it deprives men of underſtanding. For Avaritious men cannot make uſe of their Riches, but will pinch their bellyes, goe ragged, and deprive themſelves from the comfort of all good things: Nay their harmleſs Cattle ſhall feel the ſmart of their biting Avarice. An Italian Biſhop was ſo baſe, as he did ſteal in the night time the Provender that was allowed to his Coach-horſes: But his Coach-man gave hiw a hundred baſtinadoes as a juſt reward for his Avarice. For ſeeing his horſes dayly decline and become poor and faint, he watched all night and found his Maſter ſtealing of their Provender out of their manger, and taking no notice who he was, did ſwadle him ſoundly, verifying this Saying of Solomon, That he who loveth riches, ſhall be without the fruit thereof. And this he calleth An evill ſickneſs, or ſore diſeaſe. And in truth, it is a ſign of Phrenſy, or of a Privation of underſtanding, when men make no uſe of the Bleſſings of God; And may be compared to a dog that ſits upon a truſs of hay, that will not ſuffer it to be taken away, although he cannot eat of it himſelf.
The Fourth Propriety of it, is, That it baniſheth all Chriſtian Charity out of the hearts of men: For none are ſo cloſefiſted towards the Poor as Rich Avaritious men. And when with much importunity Collectors draw from them ſome ſmal Contribution towards their releif, they repine for it, and think they draw like horſleeches their hearts blood. Nay, they will bury their Gold and Silver in the ground, rather then they will lend their poor Neighbor ſome part of it gratis. See Plutarch in his Morals.And this moved Aeſop to ſay to an Avaritious man, who lamented for the loſs of a Treaſure he had hid in the ground, Lament and vex not thy ſelf (ſayd he) but carry a ſtone of the like weight, and bury it in the ſame place where thy gold was, and imagine it is the ſame Gold which was taken from thee: For this ſtone will be as uſefull to thee as thy Gold was, ſith thou couldſt not make a better uſe of it. And certainly ſuch Nabals as hoard up their Wealth, and deny to relieve the diſtreſſed Davids of theſe Times in their extream need, may be compared to that Sicilian Merchant, who being poſſeſſed with a ſtrong Phrenſy, did believe that all the rich ſhips that came into the Haven of Syracuſe, were his own. Even ſo theſe miſerable Cormorants, are not Really, but Imaginarily rich, ſith God deprives them of the uſe of their Riches.
The Fifth Propriety of it, is, That it begets Pride, and makes men inſolent, diſdainfull and arrogant. For it is a Saying as True as Common, That Honors and Riches corrupt good manners. And dayly Experience doth ſhow, that ſuch as become rich ſuddenly, which were before of a mean and low degree, are prouder, and more inſolent in their carriage and comportments, then the greateſt Noble-men in the Land: And more diſdainful towards their neighbors, then thoſe whoſe ſhoos they were formerly unworthy to untye.See Plutarch in his Life. Craſſus from a mean condition being by his Avarice and his vile and baſe courſes to get mony, grown to be the richeſt Citizen of Rome, became ſo proud and inſolent, as to diſpute and conteſt for the preheminency with Caeſar.
The ſixth propriety of it, is, That this ſordid paſſion doth encreaſe by age, and is moſt eager and inſatiable when men have one of their feet upon the brim of their grave, then when they are in their virility and the ſtrength of their youth: Whereas divers other paſſions, as wrath, ambition, audacity, and volupty, do diminiſh by age; which pernitious quality ſhould move men to abhor the ſame, ſith no paſſion is more oppoſite to the tranquillity of the minde then it, becauſe when antient men ſhould only have their minde fixed upon the means appointed by God, to make their calling and election ſure, and to attain to that aſſurance of eternal bliſs, without which they can have no true peace, joy nor content, then is it moſt of all vexed and perplexed with the carking cares to encreaſe and preſerve this Idol of theirs; I mean their gold and ſilver.
Seventhly, The Effects of Avarice are rather more then the Proprieties of it.
Firſt, They who are addicted to the ſame, are never loyal to their Prince nor native Countrey. And this moved Philip King of Macedonia to ſay, that no Gariſon was impregnable,See Plutarch in Paulus Emylius Life. if a Mule laden with gold could enter thorow the gate of it. And the Duke of Memorancy high Conſtable of France, told his King, Francis the Firſt,See the Hiſtory of France. that the Governour of Metz was the Phenix of that Age for loyalty, ſith he had been tempted with a great ſum of gold by Charls the Fifth Emperour of Germany, to deliver that ſtrong hold into his hands. But the Governour of Calice in Henry the Fourths dayes was not ſo faithful; for being poſſeſſed with Avarice, he yielded up that Garriſon that is one of the Keyes of France, into the Archduke Alberts hands, for the ſum of thirty thouſand Crowns; for which diſloyalty, he and his poſterity were degraded of their Nobility.
The ſecond Effect of Avarice, is, That it perverteth Juſtice and Judgement; Cambiſes King of Perſia, cauſed one of his Judges to be flead alive,See Herodotus in his Life. and his skin to be nailed upon the Judgement Seat, becauſe he had been ſeduced by a Bribe to condemn the Innocent. And the annihilation of the power of the Roman Decemviri, Livie in his 1. Decade.hapned becauſe they took Bribes to pervert Juſtice. And the two Sons of Samuel, Joel and Abiah who were Judges of Iſrael, 1 Sam. 8.2.3.out of Avarice walked not in the ways of their Father, but turned aſide after luere, took bribes and perverted judgement. And this moved Jethro to give this counſel to Moſes his Son-in-law, to provide out of all the people able men, Exod. 18.22.fearing God and hating Avarice, to make them Judges over Iſrael; for whereſoever Judges and Magiſtrates are poſſeſſed with Avarice, the Laws are trampled under foot, and Juſtice is utterly perverted.
The third Effect of it, is, That Avarice doth foment diviſions and contentions in all places whereſoever it raigneth. 1. It was the Avarice of the Roman Patricians, See Livie in his 1. Decade.that was the only cauſe of all the diviſions and commotions which hapned and continued for ſo many years together, between themſelves and the Plebeians or common people of Rome: for Avarice is the mother of Uſury, Oppreſſion, and Extortion.
The fourth Effect of it, is, That it maketh Princes and private men as cruel as Lyons and Tygers. 1.See the conqueſt of the Weſt Indies. The Avarice of Ferdinando King of Aragon moved him to undertake the diſcovery of the Weſt Indies, and with a barbarous cruelty, to cauſe two or three millious of the poor Indians to be ſlain with the ſword, and to be torn in pieces with Maſtiffs, that his Spaniſh Subjects might have a freer poſſeſſion of the gold and ſilver Mines that are there. 2. It moved Philip the ſecond King of Spain to exile out of his Dominions all the Chriſtian Moors that were in Spain; See the Hiſtory of Spain in his Life.the number of men, women, and children, who were thus cruelly baniſhed, amounting to above three hundred thouſand, and all to add to his own demains their Lands and Inheritances, under a falſe colour of zeal to Religion. 3. It moveth Marriners and Merchants to venture their lives into the furtheſt and the moſt cold and hoteſt Climates of the World to encreaſe their Wealth, many of them loſing their lives in the proſecution of it. 4. It moveth the moſt profane and debaucht ſort of men to become Rovers and Murtherers upon the Roades and Highwayes, to break open Houſes, and to carry away mens goods by force and violence.
The fifth Effect of it, is, That Avarice hath ever been the Incendiary of Civil Wars. 1.See Caeſars Commentaries and Plutarch in his Life. The Avarice of the Plebeian Tribunes of the City of Rome in the days of Caeſar, was the cauſe of the Civil Wars which hapned between himſelf and Pompeys; for by the extraordinary bribes he gave to ſome of them, they bought the voyces of the Centuries of the people to make him continue in his Office of Lieutenant-General of the Roman Legions that were in France, longer then it was appointed by the Law, by which means he attained to ſuch power and reputation, that with the ſame Army which had been given him by the Senate and People to defend and enlarge the demains of the Roman Commonwealth, he changed the Government of it, and overthrew their Liberties. 2.See Guicciardine in his Hiſtory. The Avarice of the chiefeſt Magiſtrates and Officers of the Commonwealth of Florence in the dayes of Peter de Medecis, was the cauſe of all the Civil broyls which hapned in that State. 3. The extream Avarice, mixt with cruelty, of the Duke D'Alva Deputy Governour for the King of Spain in the Low-Countreys, was the cauſe of the death of many Nobles, and of the miſerable end of thirty thouſand Proteſtants he cauſed to be drowned, hanged and ſlain,See the Hiſtory of the Low-Countreys. to confiſcate their goods; and of the rent of ſeven of thoſe Provinces from the obedience of the King of Spain. 4. The Avarice of the ſixteen Zealots who had the Government of the City of Paris in the time of the Catholike League as they called it, was the cauſe of all the Civil Commotions, Murthers, and Rapines which were committed in Paris, See the Hiſtory of France.and in divers other Parts of France.
The ſixth Effect of Avarice, is, That it endangereth men ſouls; for men who are poſſeſſed with this paſſion, care not what indirect courſes they take to enrich themſelves; For he who maketh haſte to be rich, Prov. 28.20.ſaith Solomon, cannot be innocent; Intimating that his many ſins and tranſgreſſions make him run hazzard to be caſt into the Pit of eternal deſtruction, which is confirmed by this ſaying of S. Paul, 1 Tim. 6.9, 10.They that will be rich, fall into temptations and ſnares, and into many fooliſh and noiſom luſts, which drown men in perdition and deſtruction: For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while ſome luſted after, they erred from the Faith, and pierced themſelves through with many ſorrows.
Eighthly, The conſiderations inducing men to allay the fire of this paſſion, are theſe:
1. They are to conſider that nature is contented with a little; for ſome bread and water, ſome Riſe, Reaſons, Almonds, or Figgs, will ſatisfie the ſame: So that all ſuch as are not nice but ſober in their diet, and temperate in their drinking, will never be enforced to ſell their Land to feed their bodies; for it is the exceſs of the ſuperfluous volupties uſed in theſe dayes that brings men to penury.
2. They are to conſider, That he who cannot be contented with a little, will not be ſatisfied with all he could deſire; nothing under the Sun being able to ſatisfie the deſires of men, but God only. And that is the reaſon why S. Paul ſaith,1 Tim. 6.6. That godlineſs with contentment is great gain; for none can be truly contented, except he hath the power of godlineſs in him, becauſe the love of God doth ſuppreſs all other deſires in men. It was therefore a wiſe ſaying of a Heathen, That he who can give bounds to his deſires, is a greater Conqueror and a richer Monarch then Alexander was;See Quintus Curtius in his Life. for having conquered one World, and having in his poſſeſſion all the Treaſures of Aſia which Darius had heaped together, yet were not his deſires ſatisfied; for he did enquite if there were any more Worlds to ſatisfie his Ambition and Avarice.
3. They are to conſider, that riches are accounted the gifts of Fortune, which is held to be blind; therefore it is no wonder if ſhe beſtows her gifts upon undeſerving men, ſuch as were Nabal, Sobna, and the rich glutton. Beſides vertuous and Religious men make conſcience of their ways, and will rather be poor then uſe indirect and unlawful means to enrich themſelves; but ſuch as neither fear God nor man, ſtretch their conſciences upon the Tenters, and conceive no courſes unlawful or ſinful, ſo they enrich themſelves by them.
4. They are to conſider, that Avarice is worſe then Prodigality; for the profuſeneſs of Prodigal men is not deſtructive to any but to themſelves; but the courſes uſed by Avaritious men to enrich themſelves, are deſtructive to the whole Commonwealth: for all Shopkeepers, and Artificers are the better by Prodigals, but they are the worſe by Avaritious men, and ſpecially the poorer ſort; For they commonly engroſs or monopolize into their hands all manner of Commodities, to ſell them dear; and principally corn; and ſo like horſleeches, ſuck the very blood of the Poor: which makes them to be hated of God and of Men. The conſideration of which, ſhould move all conſcientious men to abhorr Avarice, and to endevor by all means to ſubdue this ſinful Paſſion.
5. They are to conſider, that if they had in their poſſeſſion all the gold and ſilver Mines of the Weſt Indies, yet they would not adde any thing to their preſent and future Felicity, but rather traverſe the firſt, and deprive them of the ſecond. Neither can they prolong their Lives an hour, nor free their bodyes from any of the numerous Infirmities they are naturally ſubject unto. It is then an abſolute Madneſs, for men to tire their bodyes, and to waſte their ſpirits, by laboring and carking day and night, to accumulate ſome ſmal heaps of white and yellow Clay, that will be of no uſe unto them at the hour of death. Nay, they run great hazzard (without the mercy of God) to loſe their own ſouls in, or by the acquiſition of them. Therefore they ſhould have always this Saying of our Bleſſed Saviour in their mind,Mark. 8.36. For what ſhall it profit a man, if he ſhall gain the whole World, and loſe his own ſoul?
6. They are to conſider, that there is a greater difference between the ſpiritual and temporal riches, then there is between Light and Darkneſs: in regard of the ſuperexcellency and duration of the firſt, and the baſeneſs and mutability of the ſecond. For ſpiritual riches are free from all Accidents, durable, and eternal; but the temporal riches are ſubject to changes and mutations, and of no continuance, their abode being uncertain: men being rich to day, and extreme poor to morrow, as it appears by the Hiſtory of Job, and of Croeſus king of Lydia: the one being the richeſt man of the Eaſt; and the other the richeſt Prince in Aſia: And yet in the revolution of one day,Herodotus in Croeſus life. the laſt was deprived of his incredible treaſures and kingdom, and became alſo the Captive of his mortal Enemy: And the firſt came to be an Object of Poverty and Miſery,See the Book of Job. Ch. 1. and a Subject of Deriſion and falſe Imputations to his own wife and intimate freinds. It is Recorded, that at the ſacking or deſtruction of the City of Thebes by Alexander the Great, a Greek Philoſopher for his rare parts was permitted to go away with all he had, before the reſt of the Inhabitants were ſlain, and the city ſet on fire: And being asked as he came out, Why he carryed not away his Goods, Anſwered, In ſaving my perſon I preſerve all that may truly be called Riches or Goods; meaning his Learning and Vertue. Even ſo if Chriſtians would be as careful to hoard up ſpiritual riches, as they are to heap up gold and ſilver, they ſhould not need to fear the loſs of them. For Godlineſs and Holineſs, that are the ſpiritual riches of a true Chriſtian, are free from all Accidents. And this is the reaſon why our Bleſſed Saviour doth charge us all, To ſeek firſt the kingdom of God, Math 6.33.34.and his righteouſneſs, and all theſe things ſhall be added unto us: And, Let us take no thought for to morrow: for the morrow ſhall take thought for the things of it ſelf: ſufficient unto the day is the evill thereof.