he is not fit for or which would tend to anothers wrong; if I lhoMld, grant his defire, I lhall be taken for difho~cfi, that by puriality wrong another : If I deny ir him, I 1h3.ll be caUed unnatural or unfriendly, and worfe than an Intide!. If I give to the poor as long as I ~ave ir,_ I !hall be ccn~u'red for ceaiing whtn I have no more: They that know not whether you have 1t to g1ve or not, will b: difpleafcd if you do not; And if many years .you 1bould mainta_in them freely? it is all as nothing as foon as you ccafe, either bccaufe your fiock 15 fpent, or becau{c fomc other IS made the necefrary object of your Charity. If you be wronged in your eilate, if you go ro Law, they will fay, you arc , contentious: If you kt go your cfiate to avoid contention, they will fay, you are filly fools or ideorsf Jf you do any good works of charity to the k,nowledge of men, they will fay, you are· hypocrites and do it for applaufe: If you do it fccretly, that no one know of ir, fhey will fay, you are covetous and J 1 avc 110 good work!, and though you make a greater profeffiQn of Religion, you dJJ no good; and. others {hall be cenfured fo alfo for your fakes. If you be plcafant and merry, they will cenfure you as light and vain: If you be more grave and fad, they_ wil~ fay, you are melancholly or cl if– content. In a word, whatever you do, be furc by ·fame It Will be condemned; and do or not do , fpcak or be ltlent , you lhall certainly difpleafc, and never efcape the cenfures of the world. . §.. 50. 1 5· 1here is amoHg men fo great a contr~riety of judt.emenu, and di[fofitions, and ~ntertftr, that they will mver agrtc am.mg tbem[elver; and if you pleafo, oJte, the _rejl: wtU be thtreby difpleaf!d. When the He that you pleafe is an enc:my to another; and therefore you dtfpleafe h1s enemy, by pleafing hnn. Divines of Sometime Sratc-diffcrences divide Kingdoms into parties, and one partywill be difpleaftd with you, Hic(d~!ierge .. if you be of the orh:r, and both i~ you are neuters, or diilike t~1em both : and_ each party thi_nk ~frE~~~~:~~; their caufe will jufiihe any accufauons ther can charge you Wtth, ~r odtous titles they can g1ve his Imicor, you , jf not any fufferings they can brmg upon you. Church-differences and Sects have been his very wri..: found in all ages: And you cannot be of the opinion of every party: when the world aboundeth tingfor Pea.cc, with fuch variety of conceits, you cannot. be of a~ at once. .A:nd if you be of one party, you mull f~~~J~ ~;· difpleafe. the refi: : If you are of one fide m controverted opm10ns, the other fide accounteth you Reformed erroneous: And how far will the fuppofed interefi of their caufc and party carry them> One half of fwmAp•loc the Chrif\ian world at this day, condemneth the other half as Schifinatical at leafi, the other halfgies and J:?i·. doing the like for them. And can you be Papifis, and Protdla~ts, and Greeks, and every thing? ~~:e~~c~~on Jf not, you muft difp1eafe as many as you ple;1fc. Yea, more, 1f mutable men il1all change never of renewed fo oft, they will expect that you change as fall as they, and whatever their contrary intcrdls require, flin to tbe you mufi follow them in: One year youmu!lfwcar, and another you mufi: unfwear all again: what- Sa.xo~s au~ ever caufe or atl:ion they engage in, be ~t never fo devillifh, you rnuft approve of it and coun,tenance !i~~~~toD:;ll it, and all that they do, you mull fay IS well done. In a word, you mull teach your tongue to men rhatthey fay or fwear any thing, and you mutt fell your innocency, and hire out yourconfciencc!s wholly to could have no their fervice, or you cannot pleafe them : Michaiah mufl: fay with the refi of the Prophets, Go a 11 d peace wirh u.~. profper, or elfc he will be baud, as not prophefyinggoodofAhab, but evil, I Kings 22. 8. And how SCI~I~t. CHtTI~. can you ferve aU intercflJ at once. It feems the providence of God hath, as at purpofc, wheeled p. 4 ' abom rhe affairs of the world to try and lhame man-pleafers and temporizers in the fight of the Sun. It· is evident then, that if you wi!J pleafe all you mtdl at once both fpcak and be filent, and veritie contradiCJ::ions, and be in many places at once, and be ofall mens minds, and for all mens wayes. For my p1rt, 1 me1n to fee the wcirld a little better agreed among thcmfelvcs, before I will make it my ambition to plea{(: them. If you can reconcile all their opinions, and interdls, and complexions, and difpofitions, and make them all of One Mind and Will, then hope to pleafe them. 9· 5 I• 16. If you exceU in any one Virtue or Duty, evw that {haTJ not excufe J 8U from the contrary dtfamation, fo UJtreafonable are malicious mrn. Nothing in the world can tecure you from ccnforious llanderous tongues. The perfect holinefs of Jefus Chrifi could not fecure him from being cal- They that faw Jed a gluttqnous pcrfon and a wine-bibber, and a friend of publicans and £inners. His wonderful con- Stc!*h11 ~ ~cc tempt of worldly dignitie~ and honours, and his fubjefrion to C£[Jr, could not fecure him from :~~tfa:e ofeann being flandered and crucihcd as C~f•rs enemy. The great piety of the antient Chrifiians excufed An<>el, and them not from the vulgar calumtl)•, that they met together for tilthinefs in the dark ; nor from hea~d him tell the cry of the rabble, Tnliite impios, away with the uJtgodly, becaufc they were againfi the wor{hip- }hem th.u he ping of Idols. I have known thofe that have given all that ever they had to the poor except their 0~:n~c~~-~~ food and neceffarics, and yet ( though it was to a contiderable value ) have been reproached as ftoned hi~n to unmerciful by thofe that had not what they cxpeC't<d. Many· a one hath been defamed with fean- dmh " • dalous rumours of uncleannefs, that have lived in umainted chafl.ity all their lives. The moll cmi· Bla(pheamer. nent Saints, have been defamed as guilty of the mon horrid .crimes, which never entered into ~~s/·5~'i· r & their thoughts. The principal thing that ever I bent my Studies and care about, hath been the ss, s9,6~.: 7 ' reconciling, Unity, and peace ofChriHians, and againfi: unpeaceablencfs, uncharitablenefS, turbu1cncy · and divition : And yet fomc have been found, whofe interefl and malice hath commanded them to charge me with that very fin, which I have [pent my dayes, my zeal and fiudy againi1. How oft have contrary factions chargedme with perfectly contrary accufations ? I can fcarce remember the thing that I can do in all the world, that fame will not be olfended at~ Nor the duty (o great and S:ocr:ttes pri.: clear, that fome will not cali my tin? Nor the felf-denyal fo great ( to the hazard of my life) m~s de vi~:e which ~ath not been nlled felffetking, or fornething dean contrary to what it was indeed. Infiead f~:~~~1~ ~~1primu~ Ph·Jo: {bphorum daO!J!:uus moritur. LttertiHf i;, Scw·at. p. 91.. Mu!ta priui d~: imnhlrt<Jiitate. anim1rum ac pr:rdm dilfcrtus. ,rbU. G g 2 therefore
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