Ethice Christiana, OR THE School of Wisdom.  
Wherein the GROUNDS of MORAL PHILOSOPHY Are Demonstrated to comply with the Principles of Christian Religion: By a mixed Exercise of GRACE. and VIRTUE.  
Written Originally in French, by the Exquisite ●en  
M. DE LA SERRE, And done into English by J. A.  
LONDON, Printed by D. M. for Henry Marsh, at the sign of the Prince's Arms, in Chancery Lane. 1664.   

TO THE Right Noble and Excellent PRINCE JAMES Duke of MONMOUTH, etc. AND His most Illustrious Consort, ANNE, etc.  
May it please your Highness,  
THE Deity which attended your Cradle, being most affectionately fond of your Glory and Happiness; doth yet officiously pursue the care of your Illustrious Person, and the Conduct of your Affairs. Often hath she appeared to your Highness in broken reflexes, and imperfect sight, veiled and weakened by your Infant years, but now she represents herself to you in her most August and Divine Form and Image, and gives you her Hand, inviting your Adult Age, to the due exercise of your Heroical virtues;  
And O Dea !  
I cannot doubt therefore, but your Highness will readily own these Features of such an excellent and indulgent Tutoress, which she hath commanded to be drawn to public view; and inscribed to your Name, as wherein she hath placed the resembling veneration of her great self.  
These sentences, the first fruits of a foreign growth, I do most humbly offer to your Highness, as an earnest of the full Increase which the universal world shall certainly pay to your arrived and Completed Felicity, the Progress and perfection whereof is and shall ever be my most assiduous and earnest prayer.  
And Madam, having had the good Fortune to be a Servant in that Honourable Family, where your Highness had your first Education, My Inclinations being more particularly devoted to your Highness' service, I have presumed also to dedicate this Translation of Christian Morals, to your most Noble Duke and most Virtuous self; before whose happy time, the world is pregnant in their desires and expectations of some eminent effects, of whatsoever can be taught in the School of Honour and Wisdom, I hope your Highness will be pleased to accept of this small Endeavour of mine, as a Testimony of the Dutiful Respects that are born you.  
By Your Grace's most humbly Devoted Servant in all Obedience, James Alardis.   

TO The Noble READER.  
FOr to such only did the Author direct his Original, and such chiefly will find themselves concerned in it. There is nothing mean in the whole Discourse, for it is above that Region, There are some Exercises appropriate only to great spirits, and vindicated to be so by their sole competence thereunto; (yet if any man dare try his ability, we are not so nice or curious of his adventure:) Only thus much the world may be now informed, that it hath passed Ten Impressions in France, lodged altogether in gentlemen's hands; and might have sooner spoke English, but that it scorned our late Democracy, as a most profane, brute, and indocible Herd.  
There are many things which we have vainly and ridiculously learned from the French Nations, but we justly own them nothing but this Treatise; for the fashion of wisdom is altogether immutable and invariable; and upon that score leaves us eternally obliged.  
We promise much, but whether we now injure the Renowned Author, or the Equal Reader, let the perusal determine.   

IMPRIMATUR  
Ex Aed. Lamb. Dec. 14. 1663. Geo. straddling S. T. P. Rev. in Christo Patr. D. Gilb. Archi. Cant. à Sac. Domest.   

TO THE READER.  

EXpect not in these leaves to find,  
The trifles of an airy mind;  
No froliques of a jovial Pen,  
No Words for children here, but men;  
Not Wit, but Wisdom, that best thing  
Preferred by Israel's mighty King;  
Wisdom that double-guild's a Crown  
And makes a man's best part his own.  
He that observe's these rules has found  
That solid Rule, that certain ground,  
That constant and unerring Guide  
Shall hold him up what 'ere betid:  
For though the world's tempestuous sea  
Should roar, and very angry be,  
Mount up its foaming waves on high,  
And with its waters dare the sky,  
Though every gust destruction breath,  
And every billow threaten death;   

Where Wisdom shall the wary Pilot be,  
Thou canst not shipwreck in the deepest Sea.   
T. F.   

THE TABLE.  
CHAP. I. 
THat we ought to have God for the Object of all our Actions, Page. 1.  CHAP. II. 
That in this Life we can find no true case, but in peace of Conscience. Page. 9  CHAP. III. 
That we ought to draw our consolation against the miscries which be fall us, from the consideration of the Original whence they are derived. Page. 16.  CHAP. IU. 
That true glory doth only consist in living vertnously. Page. 26.  CHAP. V. 
That Integrity and upright dealing only, maketh a virtuous man. Page. 33.  CHAP. VI 
That in what condition soever we be, we ought therein to seek for our Repose and Salvation. Page. 49.  CHAP. VII. 
That he that knoweth how to live well, is the most learned man in the World. Page. 48.  CHAP. VIII. 
That Moderation in Riches, is more to be desired then Excess, because it is more profitable. Page. 56.  CHAP. IX. 
That our Salvation and Repose depend of the knowledge of ourselves. Page. 63.  CHAP. X. 
That we ought to derive our Nobility from ourselves, as well as from our Ancestors. Page. 70.  CHAP. XI. 
That we ought to be dis-engaged from all things; to the end, That we may live without disquiet, and die without sorrow. Page. 76.  CHAP XII. 
That the Good we do in this World, is of greater value than the Goods we possess in it. Page. 83.  CHAP. XIII. 
If we we would léave the World cheerfully, we must disengage ourselves from it, ere we leave it, Page. 89.  CHAP. XIV. 
That the World is a Theatre, where every man acteth his Part in Time, for an Eternity. Page. 95.  CHAP. XV. 
That the Wise man waiteth for Death, without either wishing or fearing it. Page. 101.    

Books sold by Henry Marsh at the Prince's Arms in Chancery-Lane.  
1. A Compendious Chronicle of Portugal, from Alfonso the first King, to Alfonso the sixth now Reigning; together with a Cosmographical Description of the Dominions of Portugal, by J. D. Gent. 8.  
2. The useful Book for Gentlemen and Travellers, being an exact Description of the several Countries and Shires of England: by Edw. Leigh Esq 8.  
3. Blood for Blood, or Murder revenged, in 35 Tragical Histories; some whereof have been the sad Product of our Times. 8.  
4. Royal History completed, in the Life of his Sacred Majesty Charles II. James Duke of York, and Henry Duke of Gloucester, with their Restauration, happily concluded by his Grace the Duke of Albemarle. Fol.  
5. Rumps Looking-Glass, or a Collection of such Pieces of Drollery as were prepared by several Wits to purge the Rump. 4.  
6. The Faithful Lapidary, being a History of all precious Stones: very useful for Gentlemen, Merchants and others. 40.  
7. A short view of the Life and Actions of the Illustrious Prince James D. of York, with his Character. 4.  
8. The State's man, or Modern Policy: the second part. 8.  
9 The Devil's Gabinet-Council discovered, or the Plots and contrivances of O. Cromwell and the Long-Parliament in order to the taking away the Life of his Sacred Majesty of blessed memory 8.  
11. The Sovereign's Prerogative, and the Subjects Privilege: Comprised in several Speeches, Cases, and Arguments of Law, discussed between the Kings most Sacred Majesty, and the most eminent Persons of both Houses of Parliament: Collected by Dr. Tho. Fuller. Folio.  
11. Father's Blessing, or a Legacy to his son, fitting him to carry himself through the various Encounters of this world. 12.  
12. The History of the affairs of Scotland, under the conduct of the Illustrious and truly valiant James Marquis of Montross. 8.  
13. A short view of the Lives of those-excellent Princes Henry D. of Gloucester, and Mary Princess of Orange, deceased. 8.  
14. Lessius of health, with Cornaro's Treatise of Temperance. 24.  
15. A new English Grammar, prescribing certain Rules for Foreiners to learn English: with a Grammar of the Spanish or Castilian Tongue, with special Remarks upon the Portugees Dialect, etc. to which is annexed, a ●erambution of Spain and Portugal, which may serve for direction to travel through both Countries, for the service of Her Majesty, whom God preserve. 8.  
16. Overbury Revived, or a Satirical Description of the Vices of our late Times, in Essays and Characters, by L. G. 12.  
17. The true Portraiture of Her most excellent Majesty Donna Catherino Queen of Great Britain, Fol.  
17. Summum Bonum, or a Plain Pathway to Happiness, conducting the Soul to its Haven of Rest, through the stormy passage of Worldly troubles: to which is added a short Dialogue of that excellent Virtue of the Submission of Man's Will to the Will of God. 8.  
18. The History of Independency complete; being the first, second, third, fourth and last Part, which may be had single by such as have bought the other. 4.  
Choice Poems, by eminent Wits of this Age.  
19 Regale Lectum Miseriae, or a Kingly Bed of Misery: in which is contained a Dream, with other Poems: by J. Quarles, the last Impression. 8.  
20. A New Survey of the Turkish Empire and Government, in a brief History deduced to this present Time; and the reign of the now Grand Signior Mahomet the fourth, the present and 14 Emperor, with their Laws, Religions, Customs, as also an account of the Siege of Newhausal.  
FINIS.   

Ethice Christiana, OR The Precepts of Christian Morals.  

CHAP. I. That we ought to have God for the Object of all our actions.  
1. ALL Worldly Actions do nothing but strike the ear with their noise; and what Glory soever doth accompany them, passeth away with us. This doth oblige us to have Eternity always ways before our eyes, because Time destroyeth all that it bringeth forth, in making itself the first object of its fury.  
2. Although God be the Judge, as well as the witness of our Actions, we ought to consecrate them unto him rather out of love than duty, to the end that that voluntary submission preventing the constraint of necessity, may make us hope for a favourable success thereof.  
3. All that we do out of the sight of God, must needs redound to our confusion and disadvantage, for seeing we work in darkness, the pain of our unprofitable labour is the only reward thereof.  
4. Rejoice not at the success of your designs, unless God hath given you the first thoughts thereof; the joys of Fortune are never of long continuance; and if they happen to last for a space, you ought to fear that that long calm will at last bring forth a storm, where you may find your shipwreck.  
5. If you consult the Wisdom of the World in your attempts, you shall never come to a happy conclusion; for the light of humane Prudence not being able to penetrate into the obscurity of that which is to come, doth often take the appearance of Truth, for the Truth itself; so that of a bright day it maketh a dark shadow.  
6. The counsels of the men of this World ought always to be suspect unto us, not because they are hurtful, (for they may sometimes happen to our advantage;) but we must consider, that as those counsels which belong to our salvation are of greatest concernment, so all other cannot be but unprofitable.  
7. Do not expect the success of your designs from your Industry: For she is a Workwoman that is ever learning, and continueth always in her Apprenticeship; and we know by experience, that when she worketh alone, all her work is to no purpose.  
8. Whatsoever a man doth in Time, his Actions in the end, have neither Witness nor Judge, seeing he is the first that accuseth himself. I would have all Actions performed as in the public view of the whole World, for they must needs perish with it, seeing they are enclosed within its circumference.  
9 They that labour only for that which is to come, do enjoy a present satisfaction; for as much as when they wax old in a sensible hope to be crowned with their labours, they come to taste of that good which they formerly hoped for.  
10. Consider with yourself, that all your actions have a certain relation to Eternity, if to Eternity you ought to be rewarded or punished. Do all what you will, God reserveth to himself the final judgement of your works, leaving you free liberty to make choice either of Heaven or Hell.  
11. Again consider, that all our actions have no other object but our salvation or destruction, and that they are always present in the sight of God, either to reward or punish them.  
12. Render an account of all your Actions unto yourself, that you may shun the censure of others, and if you be afraid of God's chastisement, punish yourself first; voluntary penitence may appease his wrath.  
13. Like as good actions crown themselves, by reason of the glory that doth accompany them, so do the evil Actions carry their punishment along with them, through the shame which followeth them. This obligeth us to do the good, and shun the evil, even out of the consideration of their own nature, although we should have no other object.  
14. Behold always the end of your actions, if you would prevent the repenting of them; and be you the first Judge of them, to the end you may never have any other. We must not be indulgent to ourselves when it concerneth our salvation, or Honour.  
15. Do no action that may be unworthy of you, although you should have no other witness but yourself, seeing your own memory doth sufficiently know it; and as your memory would upbraid you with it every day, so you should suffer the punishment thereof every hour.  
16. He that hath an eye towards God in all his Actions, healeth himself of the evil of Fear, and may challenge a propriety in Hope; and as he liveth without reproach, so he dyeth without sorrow.  
17. What should it avail us to remove both Heaven and Earth in quest of our repose, if both of them fail us in the end, so that we be not able to find it? and if the Earth remain to us, it serveth for a tomb to our hopes, aswell as to ourselves.  
18. We must of necessity work in the Lord's Vineyard, if at the end of the day we would receive our wages; all other employments are unprofitable, as well as our sorrow for the mispending of time, seeing the want thereof renders us incapable to repair our losses.  
19 Whatsoever Actions you do here below, all the recompense that the World can give you for them cannot enrich you; and if you do not take your aim beyond Time, all the hours thereof are fatal to you, seeing every moment may sound your retreat, but such a retreat as hath no return.  
20. Undervalue all things here below, seeing all that you set your eye upon changeth countenance with you; and let your apprehension be continually filled with this truth, that only the good which we do in this life, is the sole consolation which remains unto us at our death.  
21. Know then, that Good hath this property, it replenisheth with joy the heart of him who exerciseth himself in the practice thereof; and although a man should never expect any other reward, yet the good itself is always our Glory, our Happiness and our Prize.  
22. Our Actions are only rendered considerable by their Object and End; and although the event of them be happy, yet if their Object be not just and lawful, both shame and loss are inseparable companions to their success.  
23. It is not enough, not to do evil, we do it always when we cease from doing of good. We must diligently work out our own salvation, without the intermission of one moment, for that one moment may prove most fatal to us.  
24. Consider, that in this World every man liveth as he pleaseth, and although the manner of living and dying be quite different, all must undergo the same judgement for an Eternity.  
25. If you desire to establish your repose firmly, lay the foundation thereof upon your Salvation, which ought to be the only scope of all your actions, else they are to no purpose. Suppose you were eminent in Honour and Riches, this is as much as to enjoy a temperate Air in the Country wherein you are; but seeing you are always upon your journey, the change of the Climate will breed an alteration in the countenance of your Fortune, and in the end you shall be only happy in remembering that you have been so.  
26. Consider, that the virtuous actions of our life, are as so many pictures of our good fortunes, whereof the object being always present, renders us still happy: So that the honest and virtuous man hath this advantage, that he surviveth himself before his death, seeing he enjoyeth the felicity of his life past, by the pleasant remembrance thereof which abideth with him.   

CHAP. II. That in this Life we can find no true ease, but in peace of Conscience.  
1. YOu may well look for Ease here below, but you must give it to yourself before you can find it; it must be a piece of work of your own making, seeing you cannot obtain it but only by the force of your own Industry.  
2. Suppose that Messengers bring you glad news every day, and that your affairs are regulated by your wishes; yet you cannot deny, but that the remorse of Conscience hindereth your mind from enjoying that rest which it desireth.  
3. Consider that all sins carry their torment along with them, and that God punisheth them in the Thought aswell as in the Will, and that with a continual punishment, seeing the remembrance of them is both the Torment and Executioner.  
4. The Sinner never taketh his Pastime with delight, because the justice of God pursueth him always, to punish him without intermission, and mingleth so many thorns among his Roses, that the sighs of his heart do often belie the cheerfulness of his countenance.  
5. Imagine the greatness of the disturbance of a Malefactor, fain would he flee from his punishment, but the thoughts of his crimes do torment him incessantly; so it is with the Sinner: as God is every where, so the Sinner feeleth his justice in every place, which keepeth his soul upon the rack by the remembrance of his sin.  
6. Think not to find any delight, yea in your very pleasures, having your soul contaminated with the stains of your crimes, God is pleased to change the nature of your contentments, and to turn the subject of your consolation, into that of your torment.  
7. Let the wicked man withhold no delightful thing from his Senses, and let Voluptuousness be their nursing-mother: her breasts are always filled with bitterness to seed them, seeing that by chastisements from above, they find an unsavoury taste in the most delicious dishes.  
8. Trust not to the testimony of wicked men, for God layeth his hand upon them to such an extremity as to make them insensible of his correction: and as this stupidity is a mark of their reprobation, so it witnesseth, before hand, the Eternity of the torments to which they are destined.  
9 Innocency carrieth always Heaven with it, and it is never found in any soul, without communicating unto it the sweetness of that Repose which doth properly belong unto it, it being the effect, and Innocency the cause.  
10. Hell also followeth Sin unseparably, so that Sin causeth its own torments in bringing them forth, by reason of the necessity of justice which doth always punish it.  
11. Know for a truth, that the repose of the Conscience bringeth forth peace to the Soul; and as both these, together make up a Heaven upon Earth, so there is no other Hell but that which consists in the privation of them.  
12. As often as you make a divorce from your Conscience, you proclaim war against yourself; and it is a war wherein no Truce is to be looked for, seeing justice gives none.  
13. Study to employ well the precious moments of your days, if you would not die a Death, which will admit no return to life again, unless it be to make you the eternal object of the wrath of an angry God.  
14. O how unhappy is he, at the hour of Death, who hath misspent the time of his Life! because as his sorrow for this fault is in vain, so he feeleth himself instantly strucken with an evil, both sudden and incurable.  
16. That God hath a love towards his creatures, doth manifestly appear, by the trouble they are in when he withdraweth his presence from them, for they can find no rest, but in him alone.  
17. There is no pleasure that can satisfy our mind, or fill our heart; because it is the property of our Envy to be irregular, and from the satiety thereof, there ariseth always a new appetite.  
18. All that you do without consulting the Oracle of Heaven, passeth for an improfitable labour, whereof the pain abideth, although the work be ended, seeing the grief thereof is continual, and the reward imaginary.  
19 Do not lull yourself asleep in the success of your wicked designs, the justice of God is so much the more rigorous, as it appeareth slow; and if you do not prevent it by correcting yourself first, you shall never be able to shun it.  
20. Learn to admire the mercy of God, that giveth your heart leave every moment, to justify itself before him, seeing the least of the sighs thereof, can expiate the crimes of it.  
21. Establish unto yourself a way of living, wherein Honour may be your object, and Reason your guide, and be not slack in your duty; this is the only means to find repose in the troubles of the World, and to enjoy a calm amidst the storm whereby we are continually agitated  
22. Every body loveth life, and yet no body learns to live: all the world dyeth, and yet there is none that knoweth rightly how to die. This Science ought to be the only study of the Wiseman, seeing it alone can sufficiently instruct us in the Art of working out our own Salvation.  
23. A Soul deprived of Grace is always in Alarm; being continually disturbed with the horror of the crimes it hath committed; and it may be said truly of it, that it is a blind thing walking along the brink of a precipice.  
24. Imagine the disquiet of a sick-man in the heat of a continual Fever; He hath no rest night nor day, feeling himself by little and little consumed by a secret fire, which burneth him, without being perceived; devoureth him without being known, and at last reduceth him to ashes, without giving the least moment of intermission to his painful burn.  
25. This poor afflicted man is the true picture of a guilty Soul, which seeing itself buried in a body tormented with a continual agony, feels itself already burning, in apprehension, in those Eternal Fires which are destined for the punishment thereof. No wonder if his disquiet be great, seeing every moment may be the last of his life, and the first of the just vengeance of an angry God.   

CHAP. III. That we ought to draw our consolation against the miseries which befall us, from the consideration of the Original whence they are derived.  
1. COmplain not of the Crosses which are inflicted by the Divine Majesty, they are presents sent from Heaven, your patience will shortly make you know the value of them.  
2. Complaints are unseemly in the mouth of a Malefactor; if you can do no other thing but provoke God; do not augment the number of your offences, in murmuring against his justice.  
3. You must know, that God doth commonly afflict his Elect, in strowing under their feet, those Roses wherewith his head was crowned; therefore seeing he hath been a sharer in them, his Elect can have no part in his glory, but by right of that succession.  
4. What cause have you to complain of the justice of God, seeing his very rigours are the effects of his compassion: he punisheth you in this World, to the end that he may show mercy to you in the next; in his vengeance he constraineth you to admire his Bounty.  
5. In all your afflictions, let Reason prevent Time in comforting you, and be indebted to none but yourself, for the healing of your pain, seeing you may find the remedy in your submissive Spirit.  
6. He that complains of the evil that he suffers, must needs have forgotten the evil he hath done; if he doth remember it, his complaint passeth for a new crime, greater than any that went before.  
7. As often as Heaven punisheth you, do reason to justice, in suffering, without murmuring, the chaste cement which it inflicteth upon you; silence and Submission do always appease the wrath of God.  
8. There is no greater misery then to complain of those miseries that happen unto you; because in murmuring against Justice which punisheth you, you constrain it to augment the force thereof, and to fall more heavily upon you, by reason of this last crime which you commit.  
9 A heart filled with God doth never sigh but for joy, amidst the greatest afflictions: so that seeing he loveth much more than he suffereth, the excess of his love doth so vehemently moderate that of his pain, that by little and little he loseth the feeling thereof.  
10 Consider that you are the cause of your own afflictions; to the end that, punishing yourself by the sorrow which you ought to have for them, this sorrow may be your first comfort.  
11. How unhappy are the favourites of Fortune to follow the blind in their blindness! suppose she should lead them a pleasant way, yet that is no other than the way to their grave, where they shall find the thorns of all those Roses which they have trampled upon.  
12. In all your calamities, look up to the hand that smites you, before you complain of the stroke it hath given you: God doth never punish us in Time, but to make us afraid of his vengeance in Eternity.  
13. The Time of afflictions is of short continuance in respect of that Eternity of glory which is to succeed it; the evil of our sufferings soon passeth away, but the good of our constancy ought never to have an end.  
14. Generous spirits have always carried a respect and reverence toward the unfortunate, knowing that they are sick persons, who should at least be comforted, if they cannot be cured.  
15. Never refuse comfort to an afflicted person, to the end that God may repay it you, when you stand in need of it; As all the evils are punished in this world, so is all the good recompensed.  
16. Flee not from the unfortunate, seeing that to morrow, you may be of their number; but render to them what you would expect from others, if you were in their condition. The afflicted have no enemies, seeing their misery maketh truce with all those who have proclaimed war against them.  
17. If it be true that the Object hath influence upon the Power, or Faculty, there is no afflicted person which may not receive abundance of consolation in the apprehension of a crucified Saviour; never was any frustrated that came to him in sincerity.  
18. Be not weary in suffering; as the Rose fadeth, the prickles thereof become blunt; it is not a small comfort to you in your crosses, that you can reckon the hours thereof. Those evils that must needs take an end, are never of long continuance.  
19 O how happy a thing it is to grow old in affliction! He that dyeth upon the Cross, carrieth his death so far into the second Life which he hopeth for, that he feeleth himself reviving, according to the measure that he feeleth himself dying.  
20. The livery of the unfortunate, is the livery of the Predestinate; and it may be truly said, that their silent constancy is continually working at those Crowns which are appointed to be the reward of their labours.  
21. They that rejoice at the miseries of others, prepare their own punishment, after they have condemned themselves, seeing they render themselves guilty anew, by believing that they are not guilty, yea they are far more guilty than those that are punished.  
22. The just man is commonly afflicted; and he is very happy, in this World that knoweth how to improve his sufferings: a life crowned with Roses produceth always a Death filled with Thorns.  
23. It is a great Comfort to look for none here below in all the crosses that happen unto us; because, if Patience cannot receive the final recompense from any other then Heaven, it is to be believed, that this recompense is bestowed upon us for no other end, but to crown our Patience.  
24. Do not shun the approaches of afflicted persons, God looks upon them continually as the objects of his compassion, rather than of his Justice; and believe it, it is very lamentable not to improve aright the frowns and severities of Fortune, seeing the last day of a voluptuous life, is far more terrible than all the days that went before it, have been pleasant and delightsome.  
25. I do not much wonder that some holy persons would choose either to suffer or die. It is impossible to love a crucified God, without partaking of his sufferings: and as sorrow is the object of this love; so the heart, which is filled therewith, doth sigh for joy amidst the greatest crosses.  
26. There is no man more miserable than he that is born and dyeth Fortune's darling, because when death seizeth him unawares, he knoweth at the end of the day, that his light hath served him for no other use but to find the way to Hell.  
27. A great Calm is always held suspect by the wise Pilot; he complains of that good-luck, because the excess of a Calm is an infallible presage of the short continuance thereof.  
28. Light disgraces fortify the mind: and as they keep it in a continual Alarm, by the fear of a greater mishap, so the mind by a prudent foresight puts itself in a condition to shun it; thus our first wound shelters us from many others, which might tend to our hurt.  
29. How pleasant is it, to do that promptly and handsomely, which we must do of necessity! The Cross is our portion; he that will not bear the burden thereof in Time, prepareth his own punishment to Eternity.  
30. Do not refuse the Cup that God presenteth to you, seeing he hath quenched his thirst, with the bitterness of that, whereof he makes you taste but a little; is it not an excess of bounty to make a trial first, of all the sorrows that you can be able to suffer, to mitigate the violence of them.  
31. When God afflicteth you by the death of any of your nearest Relations, he comforts you at the same instant by a new adver tisment of the necessity of your departure, seeing they are gone to their mansion place, but one day's journey before you.  
32. If you have lost your Wife, that buried half waits for the other to be joined with it; and seeing that union is certain and infallible, the moment which perfects it ought to be continually present with you, although it be to come.  
33. The loss of any temporal Good ought not to afflict you; if so be that of Grace abide with you. An innocent person afflicted is never miserable, because he ever findeth his consolation in God's Will, who hath so decreed it.  
34. All the miseries, and all the happiness that can befall us, are in God's hands; the first is the correction of his Justice, the second the favour of his Goodness; but seeing both these proceed from him alone, the one obligeth us to silence out of respect, the other to thankfulness through acknowledgement.  
35. Christian Wisdom consisteth in this, to will that which God willeth; not out of necessity, but rather out of a submission that prevents it, to the end that this necessity may find us always disposed to undergo the laws thereof, how hard soever they be.  
36. He that is jealous of the happiness of others, increaseth his own miseries by his envy, which is both criminal and unprofitable; and in wishing an imaginary good, he feeleth a real evil.  
37. I do not much wonder if a Soul totally resigned to the will of God, be under covert from the storms of Fortune, seeing the calm, which it enjoyeth, draweth the continuance thereof from him who hath deminion over Time.  
38. All our disquiet proceedeth only from our contempt of Providences, Orders: for if we did really believe this truth, that all that happeneth unto us cometh from Providence, our very afflictions would yield us comfort, seeing their bitterness would be changed into sweetness.   

CHAP. IU. That true glory doth only consist in living virtuously.  
1. ALthough you should ransack the whole Earth for Laurels, there would nothing remain to you, in the end, but the ashes; and although all the people thereof were your Subjects, yet the small compass of your Tomb would limit the greatness of this Empire.  
2. The same stairs which serve for ascending, serve also for descending. All Thrones have their steps: The last step of our elevation, marketh always the first step of our fall.  
3. Be not dazzled at the splendour of Fortune's honours; her inconstancy doth infallibly presage that the day of your prosperity shall not pass without a storm; and although it be at the declining, the last moment thereof may be fatal to you.  
4. All the honours which we receive here on Earth, are of the same nature with the praises bestowed on them: the latter are made of wind, and the former are nothing but smoke, the one passeth over our head, the other striketh the ear in passing by.  
5. I do not much wonder that Glory hath nothing else to give but Laurels and Palms, the Crowns made of these, last as long as the head that weareth them; the one is withered in the Sun, the other groweth white by the scorching of Time, and both, at last, are reduced to powder.  
6. How many triumphs have you seen? and how many crowned victorious? but those fair days are past, and the memory of those famous conquerors passeth also, until at last the History of them, by the length of Time, becomes a fable.  
7. Suppose that Posterity should preserve the remembrance, both of your name, and exploits; yet the Time ought to be limited, and of what extent soever the limits thereof be, they are always very short, seeing they can be measured.  
8. Wonder not that the Romans have acquired a false Glory, they never had a love for the true Glory; they followed Virtue, without being willing to know it; and as they were contented to do noble actions out of vanity, so the vanity abideth with them, their reputation being nothing but wind.  
9 He is base and low-minded who encloseth his ambition, and hopes within the Circle of his life, seeing the Tomb is the Centre thereof: We must seek for a Glory that is far beyond Time, and that hath no dependence from it, which may fill the emptiness of our hearts, that are always disquieted in their expectation.  
10. All the World doth breath after nothing so much as Glory, and no body taketh pains to acquire the true Glory; the contempt of worldly honours is most safe, a man cannot deserve them, but in shunning them.  
11. Purity of Conscience is the fountain of true Glory, and it is in vain for wicked men to run after the Crowns thereof, God, for their sakes, changeth the nature of these Crowns, seeing they cover them with infamy, instead of adorning them with honour.  
12. In this World, every man is the Artist of his own Glory; but to the end, that this work may be the better effected he must be for a long time Virtue's Apprentice, seeing she alone is able to make him Master.  
13. True Glory is the effect of a virtuous life, and good works are so many glorious actions. Care not for the verdict which the World may pass on them, your own judgement ought to give you the first approbation of them, and your conscience the last crown.  
14. It is not enough to live honourably; the Morals of Jesus Christ are far different from those of the World; for these teach us the love of ourselves, but our Saviour the contempt; and because Example is more powerful than Precept, he doth persuade us to it by his own Practice.  
15. We may well seek for Glory in Combats, but we can only find it in the victory we obtain over our Passions: Suppose you could gain Battles, take Cities, and conquer Kingdoms and Provinces, yet you must triumph over yourself, if you would bear the title of a true Worthy.  
16. The World hath her Persons of honour, but I do pity them with all their Glory; they adorn themselves with many specious Titles, and they forget that of Miserable, which doth properly belong unto them; they muster up all their qualities, and remember not that of their perishing nature, which blemisheth all the rest.  
17. If you desire to acquire true Glory, let the Glory of God be your object. The World hath nothing to give but false honours; and if you would be of the number of true Heroes, let your ambition extend only to the conquest of Heaven; all those that have busied themselves in conquering the Earth, have been constrained at their death, to content themselves with seven foot.  
18. After that the Rival of Cesar had made his conquest, there could hardly be found so much room as to write upon his grave, Here lies Pompey. This showeth, that the vanity of the Glory of the greatest men is altogether nothing.  
19 True Glory hath no original in nature, the fountain thereof cometh from above; and as Eternity is the object of it, Eternity ought to serve also for the reward thereof.  
20. Covet no other quality but that of an Honest man, seeing that alone is able to accomplish your Glory; he that liveth well, liveth gloriously; the quiet of his Conscience is the honour of his life, as well as the happiness thereof.  
21. It will not be asked, at the hour of death, if the honours you have received, have been great; but rather, if the works you have done, have been good. True Glory lies in the contempt of the Glory of the World.  
22. As all things created return to their Original, the World seethe all that Glory die which it bred; and if you draw not from Heaven those thoughts of that Honour which you profess, you shall ere long be ashamed to survive it, seeing you shall be a witness of the ruin thereof.  
23. The contempt we ought to have of the honours of this life, is never known but at the hour of death; but seeing that knowledge is unprofitable, we must then prevent it, by doing that to day, which we would have done to morrow.  
24. Time surpriseth the wisest men, although it be always present, you may well hear a Clock, or carry a Watch in your pocket, but it is to no purpose, seeing you do not profit by he counsel they give you; which is, that Time passeth away, as well as the Glory we have acquired in it.   

CHAP. V That Integrity and upright dealing only, maketh a virtuous man.  
1. WHether you be rich, or great, or happy, all these qualities can make no impression capable to gain Reputation, Integrity only can give that; and without this title of honour, a man is nothing but a mere shadow.  
2. You are very glad to purchase, with money, the most eminent dignities and Offices. But after examination of your Conscience, if you find yourself incapable to discharge them, you do but expose yourself in public view upon an Altar, there to serve for the sacrifice.  
3. Men of Integrity are the true Heroes of their Age, because they have their souls filled with true Glory: and seeing it is impossible for a man to live with honour, unless he live without reproach; labour therefore, in all your actions, to make your duty here below your first object, and last reward.  
4. What doth it avail you, to possess large Offices, and to receive great Honours, if being incapable of the one, you render yourself unworthy of the other: your Office gains respect, whereas your person deserves contempt, as if your Livery were more to be esteemed than yourself.  
5. Suppose your were served in State, and had your Ushers marching before you, etc. Yet all the honour or disgrace that encompasseth you, do proceed from your good or bad reputation: and whatsoever pomp doth accompany you, your way of living produceth either your esteem or contempt.  
6. A Righteous man carrieth his rank about with him, all his words and actions are stirred up by an honest boldness, and that is it that draweth respect and esteem by a secret virtue; whereof the first cause is never known, seeing it is above nature.  
7. The first enquiry that is made after your manners, serves instead of a Judge of your life. This doth oblige you to give proof of your virtues, betimes; that the esteem of your person may take the deeper impression, because public Fame renders itself the sovereign Umpire of your reputation.  
8. The respects that are rendered to a man of a corrupt life, do cover him rather with infamy than glory; so that when he challengeth respect in regard of his Authority, he receiveth nothing but forced acknowledgements, which do shamefully reproach his sovereignty, yea upon the very Throne of his Empire.  
9 Seeing virtuous actions are valued according to the reputation of him who performs them, they must needs be built on a solid foundation, lest they be attributed to chance, and Fortune have all the glory: Every one, in this world, is worth so much as he maketh himself to be worth.  
10. It is Uprightness and Integrity alone that doth distinguish us from one another, all other qualities are strangers to us; seeing they follow us but to the grave, but this alone can exempt us from it.  
11. Frame unto yourself certain wages of Honour, which can be filled by no other but yourself, and walking openly in the sight of the whole World, make it the witness of your life, although it be the judge thereof: the approbation of the World is necessary here below, for the establishment of your repose.  
12. Do not desire to appear an Honest man, unless you be truly such; your hypocrisy will slain your reputation with a new blemish which can never be blotted out, you may endeavour to hid it, but in vain; for He who inlighters the darkest corners of your heart, will manifest the wickedness thereof by a public vengeance.  
13. The wise Christian hath no other Looking glass than that of his Conscience; seeing it is such a one as cannot flatter, it represents him such as he ought to be, who should, next to his own satisfaction, labour to please all men.  
14. Let your behaviour be adorned with such Integrity, as may purchase credit to your words, and esteem to your actions; to the end, that prepossessing the minds of men, to your own advantage, you may find friends in all places, and admirers at all times.  
15. Consider that every one is Master of his own Honour and Salvation, seeing the one and the other do depend of us; and because uprightness is the foundation of both, we may enjoy with it the repose which it gives us, in expectation of that which it maketh us hope for.  
16. You may well project a thousand designs, and execute them too, and that happily by your ordinary tricks and subtleties; but I declare unto you in God's name, that his just Providence shall cause your misery to rise out of their success, and shall draw your disquiet from that very repose, whereof (as you believed) you had laid the solid grounds.  
17. He that deceiveth others, first deceiveth himself; and it is bad policy to establish a commerce, whereof our ruin is the object, and our damnation the end.  
18. The deceitful man is quickly known, and immediately cried down; and this discredit breeding contempt, and contempt hatred, he doth but breath in an Air infected with reproaches cast (justly) upon him.  
19 The Virtuous man makes himself known and beloved both at once, and without any other charm then that of Virtue, he subdueth to himself all hearts that are worthy of his Conquest.  
20. Let Honour regulate your interest, to the end that your only interest may be to preserve your Honour; and believe it, to live without reproach, is the only paradise here below.  
21. Be not proud of those advantages Nature hath bestowed on you; they are goods, whereof in passing by you have but the use: Virtue alone is a glorious succession, which taketh its aim beyond Time.  
22. Carry your heart upon your lips, that from the Concord of your words and actions, you may draw a Harmony, which may charm all the World. There is nothing sweeter to a man, than to survive himself, in making the memory of his life past, to be honourable before his death.  
23. Be always jealous of your Honour, and careful of your Salvation; and seeing the Honour of the World is nothing but a Chimaera, seek for your Reputation in Virtue, because Virtue alone can make your Reputation Eternal.   

CHAP. VI That in what condition soever we be, we ought therein to seek for our Repose and Salvation.  
1. EVery man is the Workman of of his own Repose in this World; and Christian Morals being the study of all Wisemen, make them, at last, so expert in learning to obey the laws, that Providence imposeth upon them, that they pass their life without disquiet, and wait for death without fear.  
2. When you are tied in that condition which hath been the object of your choice, let your duty be the only Compass that regulates your actions, to the end, that you may live without reproach, and die without sorrow.  
3. Consider not the moral virtues which you practice, upon the account of acquiring the esteem of the World; it is a deceitful Fame which will perish with you, you must live like a Christian, if you desire to die like a Christian.  
4. Labour to settle yourself in that Condition whereunto you are called, according to the rules of Conscience, as well as those of Honour, and do not confound the one with the other; the Glory of God, and the Honour of the World, have their Objects quite different.  
5. Consider that every man carrieth his Heaven or his Hell about with him, according to the good or bad employing of his life; and seeing Life hath no returning, you do continually work, either your own Salvation or Destruction.  
6. Why do you disquiet yourself in that bondage to which you are reduced, seeing the chains thereof cannot be broken? your disquiet makes new bonds to enthral you the more, because it augments the grief, without shortening the term thereof.  
7. If God hath called you to a solitary life, make it your Heaven, lest it be your first Hell; there is no chain so harsh which Time and Necessity will not sweeten, as well as Reason or Death.  
8. He is very happy in his misfortune that doth support it patiently; Constancy is continually at work in making the Crown of our sufferings, and the Science of suffering without repining, is one of the greatest perfections of a Christian life.  
9 He that consults, with submission, the Oracle of Heaven, before he make choice of his condition on earth, a never in disquiet, although he find himself engaged; because since that Providence hath made the bonds of it, it makes the bondage thereof so pleasant, that he hath greater occasion of thankfulness, then of complaint.  
10. When a man is enlightened only with the light of humane Prudence, he cannot go far, without stumbling; he must make use of another Lantern, the light whereof is never extinguished; and he must always look up to Heaven, to the end that he may not go astray here on Earth.  
11. Think not to find the Repose of your condition, in the success of your affairs; that is too weak a foundation to build upon; for seeing that they change countenance every hour, they can make you unhappy every moment.  
12. It is not enough to be at ease in your condition, this Ease is ill grounded, unless your Conscience give it you; and he that is acquainted with the employing of your time, is as skilful as yourself, in knowing the happiness and miseries of your life.  
13. There are few that will say they are happy, although they have cause to be so; because being over-swayed by their ambition, which is always unsatiable, they must needs be always disquieted.  
14. They may call themselves truly happy, who desires no other fortune, but what God is pleased to send them. And being disposed to receive Good and Evil with an equal cheerfulness, (considering the hand whence they are sent.) Time, that changeth always, never changeth to them.  
15. In what condition soever you be, consider that from all Eternity, God hath designed out that place for you; and if you do not discharge it instead of possessing it, the same Eternity shall be the measure of your torments.  
16. It is not our part to make out own destiny, unless it be for our salvation or destruction, seeing every man hath liberty to do what he can for his own salvation or damnation; the events of our life are, in the hands of Him, who hath numbered our days. We must undergo with submission the laws which he imposeth upon us.  
17. He is most unhappy, who wisheth always for the good he hath not, and is never contented with that he hath. The Wiseman is never in quest of his repose, because he finds it within himself.  
18. Although a man be considered in regard of his Condition, yet that doth not-render him considerable. Suppose his name make a noise, and his greatness a splendour, yet the noise is dissipated, and the splendour vanisheth, unless his virtue preserve the memory of the one, and the beauty of the other.  
19 All men do complain of their fortune, notwithstanding they have cause to be contented therewith: If God suffers, you to enjoy riches, are you not sati fyed? and if it be his will to withhold them, you have no ground of discontent, provided he give you patience; a Poor contented, is far more happy than a Rich disquieted.  
20. Never cast your eyes upon other men's goods, lest Envy give you a self possession, making you Proprietary of them, without enjoying; content yourself with what God is pleased to bestow upon you; how can you pretend to new favours from his Bounty, if his Justice have cause to upbraid you with unthankfulness for that which he hath donal ready.  
21. Consider, that the felicity of this life consisteth not in passing it without trouble, but rather in passing it without offence; so that the troubles of our life pass away with it, but the torments of our sins are everlasting.  
22. What mattereth it in the Running of our Race, whether it be at high noonday, or in the evening, I mean with magnificence, or without pomp? All consisteth in this, to run happily, to the end we may obtain the Crown.  
23. The Favourites of Fortune may well rejoice in the light of the Sun, as they walk in their favour upon Ice; but the same Star that beholds them continually, makes the Ice melt away suddenly, whence it comes to pass that they vanish in an instant, leaving us nothing but the memory of their mifery, with that of their name.  
24. Suffer not you self to be tempted with Ambition, the good thereof is to come, and the trouble of it is present. It gives nothing but unprofitable desires, and vain hopes. It argues great weakness to lose the Repose we enjoy, in expectation of a greater.  
25. Do not take much heed to the roughness of the path of your life; that part of it which is past will trouble you no more, and that which is before, may become fairer, and more pleasant, by walking on in a continual cheerfulness. All consists in your skilful entering the gate of death; of all the moments of life, the last is only to be feared.  
26. The Wiseman findeth his Repose every where; all times are his season; and all places his abode; he waxeth old with contentment, because his old age makes him draw near his grave, whence after he is sown in rottenness, he is to arise in glory.  
27. This should be a great comfort to us, to know, that we breathe continually under the protection of Providence; seeing that a hair cannot fall from our head, without the appointment thereof, in all our distresses, this aught to be our consolation as well as our remedy.   

CHAP. VII. That he that knoweth how to live well, is the most learned man in the World.  
1. IF it be true, that the object of Knowledge is Truth, then know that there is nothing more true than this, that we are born to work out our own salvation, and that we are to be rewarded according to our works.  
2. The most learned man in the world knoweth nothing, if he be ignorant of the means to be saved; and seeing Time and Nature can teach us only to die, we must seek for other Schoolmasters, who can teach us to be born again out of our own ashes, to enjoy that immortality which we hope for.  
3. Put the case you were a great ginger, and by the rules of this Scienc 〈◊〉 could foresee your good or bad 〈…〉 foresight were unprofitable to you, because, during the course of your lise, you have nothing to do but to shun the misery of your damnation to be esteemed happy.  
4. It is not enough to be a good Divine, to comprehend (according to the capacity of your understanding) the mysteries of the Trinity; Faith and submission are the Principles of true Divinity; it is better to believe, than dispute.  
5. I grant that Philosophy may enlighten your mind in the knowledge of the wonders of Nature; but you must ascribe the glory of all to the Creator, and by means of these pleasant streams, re-ascend to their scource.  
6. Logicks may teach you the Art to put Arguments in form; but you must always come to the conclusion of this last, that being born to die you must die to revive.  
7. The science of true Physic consists only in this, to find out sovereign remedies against the fever of our passions; because if we die of this disease, our loss is irrecoverable for all Eternity.  
8. Suppose you were a great Lawyer; then do reason to yourself, do it to all the World; the only practice of this Law of Nature, doth briefly comprehend the whole science of the Institutions.  
9 What doth it avail to be learned in Languages; is it not sufficient if a man can speak the language of Reason? where works are necessary, words are needless.  
10. There are many who are curious to learn, by Cards and Maps, to know the extent of the Earth; but never reflect upon this truth, that if one little point doth there represent a whole City, in what space can they remark that of their grave?  
11. True Morals do only consist in living without reproach, to die without sorrow; and the means to compass this, is to consider the end of our actions, having always Honour for our object, and duty for our guide.  
12. Not that Sciences are to be contemned, the study of them is as commendable as necessary; but it is a sa●● thing for a man to employ the whol● time of his life in the diligent search of their Truths, without making profit of this, that he who knoweth how to obey the Commandments of God, is the most learned man in the World.  
13. O how learned he is in all Sciences, that knoweth how to love God and which may satisfy us in this, it is the Will alone that can render us learned, without standing in need of any other Master.  
14. Wonder not if the Spirit of God saith, that The fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom, seeing the Love of him ought to be both the progress, and end thereof. They who can fear and love him, have past all their studies.  
15. How many do we see that follow the World for to know it, as if the knowledge thereof were very difficult; if you would study it to purpose, you must do it in shunning it, because the frequenting it is contagious.  
16. Learn nothing in this World, but to despise it; the Science of the Contempt thereof, is the most profitable of all Sciences. A Traveller should think of nothing but his journey, to follow the strait way, without staying at those places where he passeth.  
17. Consider that the World is a School, where men learn all sorts of Sciences; but, Vanity being their Teacher, maketh so bad Scholars, that they perish together with their Learning.  
18. The greatest Doctors are in a confusion at the hour of Death, with all their Sciences, if they have been still ignorant of the Art of Living well; what doth it avail them to have employed all their time in the reading of good books, if their names be blotted out of the Book of Life?  
19 Be your own Master, and be instructed rather by the example of your actions, than by the Precept of others: a habitude to good, serves us for a lesson to keep us in our duty, as an object always present, which doth powerfully move our understanding.  
20. It is dangerous to be very learned, unless a man have the spirit of Humility; because the light of Nature so dazleth our eyes with its splendour, when we approach too near, that we become, for the most part, idolaters of those objects we admire; and our idolatry prepareth our punishment, in being the cause of our crime.  
21. Seeing that no man hath ever been able to find happiness in Life, I wonder why they seek it not in Death. Truly the Wiseman hath good cause to possess our minds with thoughts thereof, seeing these alone can render it as pleasant as profitable to us.  
22. Think not that the reading of good Books can make you learned; Practice must needs follow Speculation; and besides, it is not enough to instruct others, unless your Actions go before your Precepts.  
23. The study of Meditation is very profitable for your advancement in Piety, if so be you draw Conclusions from all the Arguments you make. For, to have nothing but some fine reflections, without drawing any profit from them, is to be engaged in a pleasant way, that hath no issue.  
24. He that renders himself capable of his Office and Calling, is not ignorant of any thing he ought to know for his Salvation; and as this alone aught to be the object and end of his thoughts and actions, so I think him happy, if he employ all his time in this study.  
25. It is hard to know the vanity of Sciences so long as we live; and seeing the knowledge thereof at death, is as unprofitable as the sorrow for having misspent our time, eat the detriment that may ensue thereupon, by the forewarning I give you thereof.  
26. We know nothing, for the most part, but those things which we should not learn; we may well fill our understanding with the knowledge of Good and Evil, but the only Idea of the one remains with us, whereas the other is our constant practice.  
27. If you know not how to live, learn, at least, to die; and although the Science of living and that of dying are often confounded together, yet the study of them is quite different; many lessons may be learned in the Science of living, but in that of dying one lesson is sufficient.  
28. Frequent not other School, but that wherein you may learn the Art of working out your own Salvation; because without this Science, all others are to no purpose.  
29. The study of a man's self makes always good Scholars, and he that studies to know himself, may be said to be truly learned.   

CHAP. VIII. That Moderation in Riches, is more to be desired then Excess, because it is more profitable.  
1. COvet neither to be Great nor Rich; a Moderation in this is to be wished, as the Excess is to be feared; and although we must give an account of Poverty, as well as of Riches, This is often miscounted, but That is always receivable.  
2. Suppose Rich men have a thousand fair days in their life; how many foul nights have they which they hid from us? They that see the Roses of their garden, know not how many Thorns they have in their soul.  
3. If you be reduced to win your living, win it in effect, in stead of losing it; this life lasts but one day; you must labour to purchase another which is eternal.  
4. If God hath given you Riches, beg for grace to make a good use of them, because of the use of them depends the acquiring of true Treasures.  
5. Be not too solicitous in purchasing of Riches by unlawful means, lest the torment of this crime abide with you; you acquire Goods in suffering much Evil; and God permits the one to be perishing for your first punishment, and the other to be eternal for your final torment.  
6. We reap no advantage by goods ill acquired; and God is not only pleased to make us witnesses of the loss of them, but also maketh himself Judge of the purchase of them, to punish us and avenge himself.  
7. Ask nothing of God, but what is necessary for Life, and seeing it is transitory, gather Riches only to make your journey. If you have Children, every them by your good Example, rather than by other men's goods; the strait path of life never leads to the Hospital.  
8. There are few Rich men happy; they make a God of their treasure, and this false God forsakes them in returning to the true one, who punisheth eternally for their idolatry,  
9 The Rich man hath no greater enemies than his Treasures; because they are the objects of a continual temptation, to taste the pleasures of the world; and seeing in this he thinketh no desires unprofitable, in that power wherein he is, he renders himself miserable, by being too happy.  
10. I never saw a Rich man content; their greed increaseth according to the measure of their Riches; and they never consider, that living and dying in disquiet, they begin their Hell in this World, never to end it in the other.  
11. If you could be able to moderate your Ambition, you would find that Repose which all the World seeketh after. He who doth limit his desires with the enjoyment of that Good which he hath, finds himself securely sheltered from all sort of evils, except those that cannot be shunned.  
12. They that employ both their cares and pains to heap up Riches, are much astonished, when time faileth for enjoying of them; They sow, for the most part for unknown Heirs, who make their harvest, without having any Right in their succession.  
13. Not to be poor, is to be very rich; wish only for what is necessary; despise what is unprofitable; and be afraid of abundance, as of a torrent of pleasure which carrieth us headlong with it.  
14. He that is not tied to the World is contented with little, he burdens himself only with necessaries for his journey, living from day to day, in expectation of that day which is to put a period to his life.  
15. The wise Christian longeth for nothing but after God; for seeing he resigns himself absolutely to the conduct of his Providence, he hath no other thoughts, but what his bounty inspireth in him.  
16. If it be a pleasure to be rich during our life, it is a grief to leave our riches at death; and this is it wherein covetous men are deceived, for seeing this grief can never be felt but once, they never make trial thereof but to their disadvantage.  
17. I know very well that all men abhor Poverty; but they know not that Patience with it doth work miracles. The Poor-man content is a voluntary Martyr, who is offered in sacrifice as often as he breathes in the air infected with his miseries, seeing he dies every moment.  
18. Consider, that Rich men cannot be saved but by the Poor; for God heapeth Riches on Those, for no other end, but to be charitable to These; and it is an infallible sign of the reprobation of a Prodigal, when he becomes covetous towards the Miserable. He that refuseth compassion, can never look for any.  
19 They that ask for Riches, do not know what they desire, the good of the Earth is an unavoidable Evil, unless it be used aright, and the good usage of it is so rare, that we see few examples of the practice thereof.  
20, When you envy the Riches of your Neighbour, you murmur against Providence, which hath deprived you of them, and given them to him; the actions of God, accompanied with their justice, do at once impose upon you both silence and respect.  
21. Be not dazzled at the splendour of Riches, it is the light of a deceitful Beacon, that draws you on to shipwreck. Begin to make your Heaven in that condition wherein you are, to the end that stream may be joined one day, to its scource, to heap upon your true Treasures.  
22. The Trade of a Rich man is a base Trade, because as it is very difficult, in the exercise thereof to save himself, so we see nothing but Apprentices in it, no body passeth Master.  
23. Know for certain that Hell is filled only with wicked Rich men; hence you may draw this advantage, in making the example of their destruction serve for a lesson to shun it. When God makes us witnesses of the miseries of others, the same chastisement threatens us.  
24. It is not hard for wicked men to make themselves rich; but God suffers eternal torments to be the success of their pains past, they have sown in labour, and they shall reap in sorrow.  
25. He that seeketh his Riches in God, hath found the Philosopher's Stone, seeing he is rich according to the measure of his desires, and as this Treasure is of its own nature infinite, so it abouneth always with Riches, whether it be in Time, or in Eternity.   

CHAP. IX. That our Salvation and Repose depend of the knowledge of ourselves.  
1. COnsider that God form our first Parents of clay, to the end that the memory of his Original might be the Tomb of his Pride; and the chastisement of the Angels, the continual object of his fear.  
2. Take notice of your faults every moment, correct them every hour, if you would enjoy the light of your days at ease. He is very unhappy, who to the weakness of his mind, adds that of contemning the remedies thereof; although our Will alone can be able to cure us of it.  
3. They who do not know themselves are wilfully blind, and are neither to be envied, nor pitied, how can they beget compassion in others, if they have none for themselves: and how can they be envied, seeing those who have imitated them, are not otherwise known than by the memory of their ruin.  
4. The Wiseman liveth only to know himself, to the end that knowing himself he may live happily: Because this Life is pleasant in nothing, but in the hope to exchange it for a better, therefore he studieth his miseries for to contemn the World that produceth them.  
5. Let your own unworthiness be your object; because you are truly nothing at all; to run always towards our grave, without being able to stay, but to enter therein, is not this to die, rather than to live? yet think at least, when you are running, that every step may be the last of your journey, and that in going out of the Empire of Time, you enter into that of Eternity.  
6. Study your misfortunes, that you may be happy; study your miseries that you may be exempted from them; so that, as the study will make you know the nature of your condition; you will without doubt, mitigate the bondage, by the necessity which you will impose upon yourself, to suffer it without repining.  
7. I do not much wonder that the Prophet preacheth no other thing to us but the knowledge of ourselves; seeing this study alone can render us learned. Learn to live, learn to die, these are the lessons which are taught in Wisdoms School.  
8. All the faults of our life proceed only from the ignorance of our miseries, for it is impossible to know them, and go astray from our duty; we live in appearance, and we die indeed; we are under the Empire of Time, because every moment we change countenance with it; we do sensibly breathe under the Tyranny of Fortune; what cause have we then to be proud?  
9 Examine yourself often how you employ your time, that you may give account thereof to yourself before it be asked of you; to the end you may benefit yourself in the time to come, by the memory of what is past, in being a good husband of the time present.  
10. Every man that is ignorant of himself, cannot go far without stumbling in his blindness; and it is to no purpose for him to be led, for if he fall not to day, he will surely fall to morrow, since that his Fall is unavoidable.  
11. Attribute nothing to Chance, nor Fortune, and receive all from Providence, without making a distinction of the Presents thereof. Because Good and Evil come from the hand of Providence, they ought to be alike acceptable to you. A humble spirit never murmureth.  
12. If the whole Knowledge of Wisdom be comprised in this one precept, To know ourselves, you cannot be wise but according to the measure of this Knowledge. Frequent Schools, turn over Books, follow the Learned, yet you must study yourself if you would become such.  
13. What doth it avail you to know all the Maxims of Law, unless you practise them, in doing yourself Justice first? Is not this a foolish Argument, when you are upon your way never to think of the journey you are making, because you are not to turn back.  
14. It is hard to believe, that a man finding himself taken with an incurable disease, should not feel his Pulse sometimes. You perceive yourself dying every day, how is it possible that you cannot lift up your head often, to see what it is a clock by your Dial.  
15. If you enjoy a Life without thinking of it, you deserve not to live. The Wiseman giveth an account to himself, before he gives it to others; and as he is born to die, and dyeth every hour; so, every moment he thinks of that Necessity, whereof the laws cannot be violated.  
16. O how hard it is for a man to learn to live, after he hath lived a long time! the evil habits and customs he hath contracted, do so fortify themselves against reason, that as long as they preside in his Council, the voice of Rule is useless.  
17. Let not Time surprise you; study your life betimes; and though it be still sliding away, yet the profit of your study remains; he that hath a desire to be learned, is already such.  
18. Never draw vanity from any thing you know; seeing that Knowledge, how great soever it be, is as vain as you, unless your Salvation be the object thereof. It is far better to be skilful in tilling the Earth, without pretending to any more than so much of it as may make us a grave, then to walk sumptuously on it with magnisicent or naments, without making reflection that we are form of the dust thereof.  
19 I esteem to body learned but them who walk continually in the way of their duty: for since that that is the Wise man's guide, we have forgotten all that it could teach us, if we do not keep it company.  
20. This is not all, to begin to know yourself; you must perfect your Studies in the School of this Knowledge. If you be learned to day, you shall yet be more learned to morrow; and you shall aver at the end of your time, that you have employed it to good purpose; because after it is past, it still remains in the advantage you have made thereby.  
21. Make you a solitude in the midst of your Palaces, to entertain yourself in secret: mark out a withdrawing-room for yourself, to enjoy your own company in quiet. It is one of the most profitable pleasures of Life, to know how it passeth, to the end we may not sorrow for it when it is past.  
22. In fine, let every man do for himself. I have learned these Precepts which I lay before you; and in this, I wish my example had outstripped my Pen; to teach you, by Practice, what I have endeavoured to persuade you by Discourse.   

CHAP. X. That we ought to derive our Nobility from ourselves, as well as from our Ancestors.  
1. IF you are not Noble of yourself, as well as by Descent, draw no advantage from your Nobility; virtue alone gaineth estimation, as Vice causeth contempt.  
2. What doth it profit you, that the Name you bear is recorded in History, if yours darken the lustre thereof? Muddy streams make us lose the belief of the clearness of their spring.  
3. Let your brave Actions be your noble Ancestors; and forget your ancient Nobility, to enable yourself anew. There are no Crowns so rich as those of our own making.  
4. We ought to be ashamed, when our Predecessors are praised, that we cannot have a share in the praises they receive, seeing they make us blush for not having deserved them.  
5. Set yourself on work about the History of your own life, that it may serve for an ornament to the History of the Age; and let not your Ancestors have any other advantage of you, but, to have gone before you in the path of Glory, following their footsteps to fill their traces.  
6. It is not enough for a man to be Noble by Birth and Condition, he must be so by his way of living; and must take notice of his own manners, to correct them, rather than of his Nobility to prove it.  
7. Neither the splendour of your Name, nor the greatness of your House, are sufficient titles of Nobility, you must produce some that are newer, it is too great a trouble to inquire how your Ancestors have lived, it is enough to know how you live, because your life should be the best mark of your Nobility.  
8. It will be inquired, at the hour of death, if you have lived like a Christian, rather than like a Gentleman. And though you cause the Titles of your Nobility to be engraven upon your Tomb, your actions alone will follow you beyond it.  
9 A Noble man ought to live nobly, both for himself and for others, and seeing he is elevated above the rank of the vulgar, all his actions must be extraordinary, to the end that they may serve as lights to them that are below him.  
10. There are some that take great pains about their Pedigree, to prove the antiquity of their Race; as if they could challenge any thing from the reputation of their Ancestors. They may well call themselves Heirs of their Goods; but the succession of their Glory is of such nature, that they cannot enjoy it, unless they deserve it.  
11. Although you were descended of the Race of Kings; if your actions be not answerable to your Birth, a man may lawfully question the Nobility of your Original; and if you prove the Antiquity thereof by your Titles, these are false witnesses, for your life doth belie them.  
12. If you be born Great, do Great things; but though you labour in Time, take your aim in Eternity; the Earth is the Grave of all that it produceth.  
13. If you be of a condition not very eminent, raise yourself above it by your virtue, and render yourself considerable of yourself: An excellent Picture carrieth its lust with it.  
14. Although Nature hath made you Noble, yet draw the confirmation of your Nobility from Virtue, for that only can justify it; and live always for the time to come, to the end, that the memory of what is past, may be delectable to you: Time cannot surprise us, when it is well employed.  
15. Know, that true Nobility consists in doing no action unworthy of it. You may well fill History, with the Fame of your Exploits; but the generous thoughts of your heart, must be answerable to the glorious actions of your life; and you must be at agreement with yourself, by the strait Alliance of your Virtue, with your Glory.  
16. It is far better to be Noble in Mind, than by Birth: It is seldom enquired, quired of what condition our Fathers were, but every Body is curious to know what Trade we drive; not because they pretend to any interest therein, but the World being a Stage, where every Man actoth his part, all the Spectators are our Judges.  
17. How many do we see take pains to obtain Patents of Nobility, as if the Title could bestow the Merit thereof. They had rather exempt their Wealth from Taxes, than their Life from Reproaches, without considering the necessity, to which they are reduced; to forsake that Wealth which they would gladly preserve, and to give an account of that Life, whereof they have contemned the reputation.  
18. If your Name be not known by your Condition, make it known by your Exemplary Life. Virtue is a Balm, whereof the sweet Odour is spread every where.  
19 We have no cause to call Nature, Stepmother, what inequality soever we find betwixt the Noblemen, and the Peasants, since that by Birth and Death we have the same destiny. And if there appear a great difference in their Life, yet know, that the different ways which they keep, do meet at the Grave.  
20. If you draw Vanity from the outward qualities of the Body, Time will make you know your Folly every day, because it destroyeth the ground thereof every moment, In ruining the subject that causeth it.   

CHAP. XI. That we ought to be dis-engaged from all things; to the end, That we may live without disquiet, and die without sorrow.  
1. CAll not yourself the Owner of the Goods you possess; every moment reneweth unto you the favour of the use of them: We have nothing that is our own, but miseries and unhappiness.  
2. If your heart be fastened on any Object, consider the perishing nature of it; and seeing you cannot love it, but as a transitory thing, justify your love by the necessity of its ruin.  
3. When we love any thing passionately, we expose ourselves anew to the view of Fortune, which can wound us in as many parts, as we are divided.  
4. The Covetous man, whose heart is in his Treasures, feels it plucked out as often as they are diminished, without considering, that as streams return to their source, so this Piece of Earth, wherewith he is entrusted, must be rejoined to its whole.  
5. The Ambitious man, who renders himself Imaginary Possessor of all the goods he wisheth, believeth, that he is rob of them, when he is prevented in acquiring them. This lets us see, that as we live in our Passions, so we feel ourselves dying with the causes of their Birth.  
6. All that you would love, love it in God; to the end, that your Love may produce your Repose, rather than your Trouble. All the Affections which we contract in this World, do nothing else but breed, and die, seeing every moment may be the first and last of their continuance.  
7. What an ingenious thing it is, for a man to torment himself, in being willing to die for every object he loveth! Is it not enough to give up his heart to one love, that is allowable and lawful, without dividing it amongst a thousand other Passions, to resent as many different torments.  
8. The Chains wherewith we are tied here below, are easy to be made, and hard to be broken. And if death alone restore us to liberty, yet we lose it in recovering it, seeing that, commonly, we carry the guilty remembrance of our pleasant Bondage to the Grave with us.  
9 A man's love towards himself, is to be excused, when his Salvation is the object thereof; he is permitted to love himself in a lawful way, yea, with excess too, using extraordinary endeavours, to testify the violence of that Love, by the contempt of all other.  
10. Happy is that man who is altogether his own, that he may give himself wholly to God: Unhappy is he, that after he hath given his heart to the World, seethe himself constrained to leave it with the World, not having so much power as to take it back.  
11. The Wiseman's Love is never blind, because Reason (which is nothing else but Light) produceth it: Whence it comes to pass, that he loveth with pleasure, drawing his delights from the Object of his Affections, which are as harmless as himself.  
12. Every Body loveth Liberty, yet every Body is engaged: They that have no Master, become Slaves to their own Passions; and in this shameful Bondage, they render themselves unworthy of compassion, because they have no compassion on themselves.  
13. Seeing that Christian Perfection consists in the contempt of all things, and in the dis-engagement from ourselves, we must be our own; to the end, that we may give ourselves: Unless our hearts be emptied, they shall never be filled with God.  
14. Every man goeth about his own business, and we do always forget the most important, which is that of our Salvation: All others are unprofitable at the end of our days work, seeing an account will not be required of them, no not so much as of their success.  
15. I know very well, that all our desires do divide our heart; and it is so possessed with a continual longing after their object, that it liveth out of its self for another's sake: But though it be divided during life, it must needs be united in itself, at last, to die all alone for its self only.  
16. Do not wait till Age draw you from the World; but, preventing Necessity by Reason, triumph over yourself, before Time become your Conqueror.  
17. Consider that your Habits and Customs are as so many Bonds, which strengthen themselves continually; and seeing Nature doth much contribute thereunto, all endeavours, at last, are too weak to break them, without the help of Grace.  
18. O what a contentment it is to a man, to be free to die, and to be wholly his own at the hour of death! The Objects of our Passions, are as so many Chains, which fasten us to the World, when we are upon the point of departing from it: We must bid them adieu betimes, that we may make our retreat without sorrow.  
19 It is very hard for us to hinder ourselves from being surprised by Time, in those Affections that we contract here below; because, as the hour of our departure is uncertain, and the hope that dieth after us, deceiveth us too, so we do not commonly foresee our mishap, but when it is unavoidable.  
20. Disengage yourself from your Children, and, after you have put them under the Protection of Providence; it is enough to show them the way wherein they should walk, to work out their own salvation, by going before them yourself.  
21. Be not tied with your Dignities; these are the Liveries of Fortune, which she giveth and taketh away at her pleasure: Content yourself in that you deserve them, seeing you must give an account of the use of them.  
22. Let not your heart find any place in your Palaces, to lodge its Affections there, lest the Chains thereof be too strong. Do not establish your dwelling there, all the steps of your walks are numbered; and in going under the covert of the shady Allies in your Gardens, you draw nearer your Grave.  
23. Every Man loveth his Repose, and no body takes pains to acquire it. It is not enough to be rich in this World, and to taste of a thousand pleasures therein; because these riches remain in the World, and the pleasures pass away, leaving us nothing but a troublesome remembrance, and an unprofitable sorrow.  
24. It is not enough to live at Liberty, we must die so; and what tye soever we have here below, the failing of the heart is that of the Soul, because the will of this, followeth the thoughts of the other.  
25. If you be addicted to the World, quit this bad Master betimes, and restore you to yourself, that you may offer yourself totally to God. All streams return to their Fountain; all Beams are joined to the Body of their Light. You must render your Soul to its Creator, in the Innocency of Baptism, and in the Freedom of your Cradle.   

CHAP. XII. That the Good we do in this World, is of greater value than the Goods we possess in it.  
1. THink not that you are Rich according to the worth of the Goods you possess; but rather according to the measure of the Good which you do. Your Treasures remain with your Heirs, but your Works follow you. Those are Strangers to your Soul, but these do properly belong to it.  
2. The Inventory of your Goods serve only for a memory of the Account you have to make, both of the Purchase, and the Usage of them: So that when you die, you shall know, that you have taken pains only for others; seeing they are to reap the fruit of your labours, and also of the torments appointed for you.  
3. He is truly miserable, who hath his Coffers filled with Money, and his Soul stained with the guilt of the purchase thereof. Suppose your Riches did levelly the path of your life, to render it more pleasant, and you cease not to go on in your journey; but when you are at the end of your course, you shall be afraid of him whom you shall find there, after you have forgotten him, to whom you should rather have betaken yourself.  
4. Every body taketh pains for this Life, as though it were immortal; and no body thinks on Death, which we carry in our bosom: Whence it comes to pass, that after we have spent our time in gathering of Riches, a stranger enjoyeth them for our first punishment, and Hell waiteth for us, for our final torment.  
5. To what purpose do you put out your Money to Usury, to assure yourself of this Life, seeing, that by Grace you wait continually for the Life to come, to prolong it? The Fire of Covetousness, devoureth you in the behalf of a Life, which is nothing but the smoke thereof; since that, like smoke, it is dissipated by the blast of our sighs.  
6. You keep an exact account of your Revenues and Disbursements, without considering, that you have nothing, which is to be valued but the time you have to live; and because that is uncertain, and Death infallible, you must make good the use and possession of a Good which you forsake for ever.  
7. What pleasure can you take in walking abroad upon your Territories, if at every step you walk upon your Grave? You take all your Walks in a Circle, whereof your Grave is the Centre.  
8. You enjoy, indeed, a great satisfaction, in having many Houses of Pleasure, there to pass the different seasons of the year; but the year passeth, and your pleasures too, and from season to season, your last approacheth, wherein you must give an account of the Fruits, which all these seasons have yielded you.  
9 It is a sad pleasure for a man to contemplate himself in his greatness, as in a Looking-Glass; because, though this Looking-Glass did flatter us, yet it cannot represent us, but in a continual motion, seeing our life hath no stay; and what delight can we have in a way, how pleasant soever it be, if it end at the Grave.  
10. How astonished may a Man be, at the reading of his Testament, when he heareth the Inventory of the Goods he hath purchased; but hath no body to represent to him, the Good he hath done! Yet he forsaketh Those eternally, and to all Eternity he can pretend to nothing, but the fruits of These: Judge of his astonishment by this thought.  
11. Do not reckon Greatness and Riches in the number of the Felicities of this Life, they are either the Goods of Nature or Fortune, whereof the use is much more dangerous, than the possession seems pleasant. He is Great before God, who is willingly Small before Men.  
12. Consider, that the Goods which the World yieldeth, are false, but the Miseries true: And if, when you die, you be rich only in pieces of Land, that Earth will remain to you, both for your Grave, and for your share.  
13. You cannot enrich your Soul, but with Eternal Goods, seeing those that are perishing, are not for its use. You cannot heap up Treasures in your Soul, unless Heaven be the Fountain of them.  
14. It is a great ease to our Mind, that we have only purchased Goods to do Good withal; and that we can be able to distribute that before we die, which we would give after death: For, by making it pass through strange hands, we run the hazard of diminishing our Charity, although we enjoy the advantage thereof.  
15. Although we should not keep an Account of the good Deeds which we do, yet it is lawful to preserve the remembrance of them; so that the Memory being filled with a habit so commendable; this Object always present, powerfully moveth the Will, whereon depends our future concernment.  
16. He that doth much Good, gathereth much Goods. A good life filleth the House with Riches, in filling it with gladness. A voluntary, or patiented Poverty, may enrich us with Real Treasures.  
17. Be not disquieted for the meanness of your Estate; what is Necessary, is sufficient to the Wiseman: Abundance never produceth Repose, but Mediocrity is able to give it.  
18. He is free indeed, who willeth always that which God willeth: But since that we are blind in our Liberty, not knowing to what we shall direct our determinations, we preserve our Freedom, in putting it into the hands of him who gave it us, to make a good use thereof; seeing He is the Object, and the End of that Usage.  
19 Covet no more riches, than God bestows on you, or what comes of the sweat of your Labours: And though your Children have no more, know, that the Seed thereof is so fruitful, that it increaseth continually, and is never diminished.  
20. If you knew how great a pleasure it were to do good, you would contract so powerful habits of it, that it were impossible to break them. But if you be so unhappy, as to doubt of it, let this disadvantage yield you some profit, because experience may make you happy.   

CHAP. XIII. If we would leave the World cheerfully, we must disengage ourselves from it, ere we leave it.  
1. STudy to know the World, that you may learn to contemn it, seeing the contempt thereof proceeds from the knowledge we have of it: No man ever knew it, and loved it; and they that tie themselves to follow it, are wilfully blind, who settle their chief happiness here below.  
2. If Examples are able to instruct you, you have no more to do, but to cast your eyes on every side, to look on the miserable People the World hath made, and is every day a making. You may draw your advantage from their loss, in considering, from the Haven wherein you are, the storms wherewith they are encompassed.  
3. It is true, that the World hath nothing to give but Roses; but afterwards it afflicteth our spirits, and to increase our miseries, the Roses thereof last but for a Morning, but the Thorns are Everlasting; the Pleasures thereof pass away, but the Torments follow us beyond the Grave.  
4. I know very well, that it is hard to resist the World's allurements, and that Reason must needs employ her uttermost endeavours to render herself Commandress of its Charms; but a humble spirit, and a zealous heart, may hope for all things from Grace. It is this alone that maketh us triumph in Combats, to give us the Crown of the Victory.  
5. If the World tempt you with Riches, it is a Good, whereof the ill-imploying may render you eternally miserable: And truly it is so difficult to employ them well, that the wisest men in this point, are in continual fear, because they are in continual danger.  
6. If the World tempt you with Greatness of Birth, consider that it is a Rose-bud, whereof you are both the Sun and the Dew, because you cannot be truly Great, but by your own Virtue. Nature, indeed, may crown you from your Cradle; but it is only the crowns of your own making, that must render you truly Glorious.  
7. If your Youth suggest any temptation to engage you to follow the World, consider, that it is the Hand of a Clock which commonly goeth false; because every moment may be that of your Retreat, but such a Retreat as hath no Return.  
8. Be not surprised by the smiles of Fortune: All the Calms of the Sea thereof, are so many presages of an ensuing Tempest; and Shipwreck is so much the more unavoidable, as the Calm hath been of long continuance. Fortune alone never rendered a Man happy.  
9 There is no condition in the World to adventure upon; and although Crowns and Sceptres be as Laurels, under the shelter of which, we may be safe from Lightnings; yet Fortune hath settled on Earth, her Right of taking them away, though she do not give them: Every Age furnisheth us with said examples of this Truth.  
10. The Chains which tie us to the World, are hard to be broken, unless we break them betimes; because, when we use our strongest endeavours to make them take effect; the trouble doth astonish us, and courage fails us, with so much the more reason as we endeavour the ruin of our own Contentments.  
11. We must live in the World, as in a strange Country, where we are every day taking our Farewell, being always ready to departed; and because the moment of our departure is uncertain, we ought to wait for it every hour. The Wise Christian that hearkneth to the minutes of his breathing, can never be surprised, when the hour of his l●st sigh striketh.  
12. The World never made but unhappy men; these are works of its own making, and it can make no other. It is a fine thing for the Slaves thereof, to live and die in the pomp they are in: But the splendour thereof, doth only dazzle feeble spirits, because strong ones breaking the berk of appearances, do evidently see their misfortune's.  
13. I do not wonder that our first Parents were deceived by the World, seeing they were deprived of those Precepts that Example might give them: But I think it very strange, that walking on the Sepultures of those whom the World hath deceived, we become not wise by the remembrance of their folly.  
14. Take leave of yourself, before Necessity constrain you to take your last Farewell; and seeing it is the Trade of the World to make men slaves, as well as miserable, follow it without being tied to it; to the end, that dying in that freedom wherein you was born, you may have no other Master to give an account unto, but one.  
15. They who devote themselves to the World for a time, render their Vow eternal, before they are ware, having neither leisure nor courage to violate it; and if, by good luck, this doth not fail them, the want of the other makes their destruction infallible, and their loss unrecoverable.  
16. All the lovers of the World, die commonly Idolaters thereof; but the misery is, that Time exposeth them for Sacrifice upon the Altar of Eternity; seeing they are to be Martyrized for ever.  
17. Flee, eat the World, in Will, and in Thought, seeing you are not able to shun it in Deed. True, every moment separates you from it, in making you draw near your Grave; But in that, your Heart must go before your steps, and you must go swifter in mind, than in body, to make the way pleasant which you are to go.  
18. Prevent those Farewells the World is to take of you, in the Necessity to which you are reduced, to forsake it for ever; to the end, that the hour of your departure may be without hindrance, and without any other disquiet, than what grief, not to have lived better, might have caused in you.   

CHAP. XIV. That the World is a Theatre, where every man acteth his Part in Time, for an Eternity.  
1. WHen I consider this sad Theatre of the World, wherein Time destroyeth all that Nature produceth. I bless that adored Providence which hath so ordained it, seeing that the Necessity of Death, persuades us of the Neccssity of a New life.  
2. Although we be born free, yet Nature makes us subject to Reason; and though this Subjection be voluntary (as the Will hath no other object but Good) there is a far greater pleasure in following it, than there is in shunning it.  
3. Life hath no returning; and though our Souls be Immortal, the second Life which succeeds to the first, is but the Fruit of the Seed of our Labours: If we walk in darkness here below, darkness will be our portion.  
4. The Immortality which the World promiseth, can last no longer than it; and it is sufficient that Time can mark the limits thereof to contemn it; whatsoever is not Eternal, is unworthy to be the object of our desires; but Eternity is to be feared, as well as desired. And seeing it is unavoidable, we must render it happy to ourselves by a Godly life.  
5. How worthy of Compassion are some profound Wits! They spend their whole life in the search of Immortality; and in the end, they find nothing but Death Eternal. Except we be inflamed with the Fire of Charity, we cannot happily rise again out of our Ashes.  
6. You must never make trial of a danger, whereof the hurt is unrecoverable: They who put their Salvation in hazard, are men wilfully unhappy, who run blind to their own destruction, after they have foreseen it.  
7. Because we can only be good Husbands of the time present, we must employ it as it cometh; it is the only means to stay it, though it do continually flee away, since that the memory of the flight thereof is pleasant to us.  
8. Because at death, vows are to no purpose, we ought to make and accomplish them during Life: the occasion of well-doing is not always prefent. Though the seasons be ordered, as well as the Days and Nights, yet it is not so with Life, because the moments thereof succeed one to another, without having so much as one assured.  
9 The mere necessity of dying, doth persuade Wisemen to work out their own Salvation, while it is day, without standing in need of any other Clock, to mark the hours of their work.  
10. Wise men do never sorrow for their Life past, because they live only to die: And though the time to come be not theirs, yet they dispose of it before hand to their own advantage, in the resolution they are, always to employ it well.  
11. Life hath nothing that is its own, but death: all the Goods which it enjoyeth are imaginary, because they subsist only in the Fancy. And seeing that subsistence depends of Time and Fortune, if This take away from us the use of it, That can limit the continuance thereof.  
12. He is happy, upon the account of Justice, who seethe himself die in doing of his duty: the Race of this Life, how painful soever it be, becometh pleasant, when we run it happily.  
13. To live but for one day, is to live a whole Age, provided we spend that day to good purpose: A thousand years of Life are reckoned only by the last moment which doth finish it, because that alone must Crown all the former.  
14. There is nothing so dreadful at Death, as the remembrance of a long Life: because, as we must give an account of all our days past, seeing they are present with God, either to justify, or condemn them; so the doubt of our happiness, or misery, keeps our Souls on the Rack.  
15. We cannot go, but once, from Time to Eternity; it is a journey that hath no returning; and seeing that all Wise men prepare themselves to make it, as soon as they are capable of reason, he must needs be quite deprived of reason, who is surprised at the hour of retreat.  
16. As the Pilgrim doth accomplish his vow, when he puts himself on the way to make his Pilgrimage, so we begin to go about our Mission as soon as we are born, in the Path which we hold; it is enough that Reason be our Lantern, and Duty our Guide, to keep us from going astray, without measuring the paces of our Race.  
17. Although we do but pass away here below, yet every man may work out his own Salvation here, in passing: All consists in the employing well the Time allowed us, without being solicitous for more, or less; a good life is always long, though it should last but for one moment.  
18. Endeavour, every day, to dosome good work, to the end you may enjoy what is past, as you do what is present. The Wise man never searcheth in vain, for his Repose is in his Memory.  
19 Seeing that the Way which we are to hold in our Life is marked out, let us go on cheerfully, and consider, that the more painful it be, it is the safer, provided that Patience be our Guide.  
20. Know that Death is the reward of the just, and the punishment of the Wicked; because Those, when they die, may lawfully hope for the Crown of their labours; but These, for the chastisement of their crime.   

CHAP. XV. That the Wise man waiteth for Death, without either wishing or fearing it.  
1. HE that wisheth for Death, hath cause to fear it, because the guilt of his desire, prepareth his punishment; as we are born here below, by a secret Order of Providence, so this alone can sound our retreat: and of all the miseries which can befall us, Desperation is the greatest.  
2. We should never fear the Evils which we cannot avoid: because Fear is a new Evil far more painful than that which we are to incur; and if, in these encounters, Nature overcome Reason, we ought to implore the help of Grace, because it triumpheth always.  
3. Death frights none but the Wicked; not, but that the Godly do fear it, but their Hope being stronger than their Fear, the one is diminished by the growth of the other.  
4. Wise Christians do never dispute with Providence: they undergo the laws thereof without repining, and how rigorous soever they be (seeing there is more glory in suffering, than in complaining) they beg for Constancy in their distresses, rather than for Comfort.  
5. They that have a love to Life, know not what they love: For, if it be a Good, the imaginary propriety and uncertain usage thereof, make us sensibly know the contempt we ought to have of it.  
6. A good Life is always long, how short soever it be; and seeing the greatest Heroes reckon their years by their Heroic acts, the wise Christian ought to keep an account of his age, by the Good he doth.  
7. Although we be born here below, unwitting to us, we have liberty to live here as we please; but seeing that we must give an account of our Life, we ought to be good husbands of Time, for it conducts us to Eternity.  
8. Life may be justly compared to a Dream, because we live in a continual dotage, taking the false Good, for the real, and the way of Vice, for the path of Virtue.  
9 Know, that the preparation to Death doth mitigate the fear thereof, as the continual thoughts of it, taketh away the horror; and as Experience cannot choose but be profitable to you, so the profit you shall receive by it, will far surpass the pains you shall take for it.  
10. If you would forsake Life without sorrow, enjoy it without being tied to it; we should never think but of finishing our journey, so much the rather, because we cannot stay by the way.  
11. This Interval of days and nights, whereof our Life is composed, lets us see by the Image of Sleep, that it is so confounded with Death, that it is but one and the same thing.  
12. Nature causeth us to be born like unto Posts in this World, where every man carrieth the sealed Letter of his Destiny, directing to Death; and seeing Time leadeth us thither, if we do not go, it will pull us. This obligeth us to follow our Fate, with that submission which becometh a creature.  
13. Seeing we do not live, but to die, and that we do not die, but to live again; let us drive the Trade of the Virtuous man, because he alone can find, at the end of his Course, that Eternity which he waits for.  
14. He that liveth only to live, doth deprive himself of. Hope, which is the sole Good of Life. What would become of us, in the miseries wherein we are, if we did not pretend to Eternal happiness, seeing our Souls can never die.  
15. Life is not otherwise considerable, than by the good use we make of it; though you should live a whole Age abounding with Riches and Happiness, if the last moment do not justify all the former, you may be reckoned in the number of the most miserable men in the World.  
16. Every body wisheth to live long, not considering that a long life, is a long receipt of Time bestowed on us, seeing that we must give an account of the employment of our days. The felicity of our Life, depends of the happiness of our Death.  
17. Consider, that every Age seethe die, all that it hath seen born, and that it draweth along with it, all that hath appeared like it, in the World, without hope of returning; because the years whereof it is composed, are never twice counted.  
18. As soon as a man hath attained to the years of Reason, he liveth long enough, if he live but one day, provided that one day be well spent: The rest of the Time which is allowed us, turneth to our reproach, rather than our advantage; if we do not spend it to good purpose.  
19 When we wish for Death, we manifest our Cowardice, more than our Courage, because this fails us, through want of resolution to endure the memory of what is past, the trouble of what is present, and the fear of what is to come, whereof the only Hope of Eternity can sufficiently instruct us.  
20. Know that the Life of Great Men is a path strewed with Roses, whereof the Thorns are at the end. For, after they have smelled the sweet odour of Those, they must needs feel the sting of These.  
21. There is none but God and Virtue, that can prolong the Life of Man; God, in adding to it that which is to come, and Virtue, in recalling what is past, by the satisfaction we enjoy in having spent it well.  
22. He that loveth Life in his miseries, to suffer them constantly, hath cause to fear Death, because in suffering new torments, it taketh away from him the means to acquire new Crowns.  
23. Live only to die, if you would live without reproach; he that thinks on that which is to come, doth not sorrow for what is past, and enjoyeth what is present without disquiet.  
FINIS.