hindreth Piety and4godly life. 411 liberty of life, but through the wickedneffe of menwho tire, to pervert the fweetefl: and £ureft ttuths of Scripture to their own damnation. The like defence to this did the Epicures of old make in fa- vour of their fenfuall and fwinifh dodríne; which was, That happineffe confifted in pleafure. They Laid that many of their felt were honeft men: and fo much Tullygranteth to be true, but withexceptionit'll againO: their dotrine; h I take , faith h i bon. {s he, Epicurus bimfef to be anhoneft man:yea andmany Epicures rnztpa t i. have been and are fazthfull infriendfhzp, íquare and conftarrt Ac'mihi qu;.- men in all conditions of life, ordering themfelves and their lives donvidetur notby pleafure but by duty. But (faith he) i this proceeded not quòd ipíevii from the principles of their opinion, but from. their own vii- bonus fait: & P multi Epicu- tuous inclination:'and theforce of 'pinefiy by theirfo doing,' ap- rei fuerunt, at peaïed tobe more prevailing in them then the force ofpleaftire, hodie funr,& which they pleaded for. 'A little after he hath other words to in amicitiis the fame purpofe ; k As other mens doctrines are efteemed to be & in oni fideles,i m vita bette -r then their deeds, fo thefe mens deeds teem to me to be bet- contlantes & ter then their doctrines. Like to this anfwer of Tully to the graves, nec defenders of Epicurifine, will I fhape mine. It cannot (I con- voluptate fed feffe) be denied that many of this opinion are godly men: but fimoderan- it is no thanks to their opinion that they are fo (the true and res. naturali genius of which is to (2,) beget floth, to drown men i Hocvide - in fecurity, and to countenance carnali libertie;) but to Tome- rur major thing elfe, either to Gods pxovidcnce, ( who will not fuffer vis honefta- tis, minor this do&rine for his own glories fake and the good of men to voluptatis. have any great ftroke in their lives;) or to mens incogitancy, k Arque at who think not of reducing it adpraxim,to pra&ice,and draw- cæteri exifti- ing conclufions out áf it, but aft in the naked (peculation of meliúIcy it, as they do of many others; or laftly,to Tome goodpraficall quàmfacere, conclufions which they meet with in the word ofGod and ap- Lac hi mihi ply to their lives (as they do not theformer dedu&ions ;) fuch videntur me- as thefe are for example, Be ye holyas I am .holy. Without hall- hit ace neffe no manPallfee God. Ifye content andobey ,yefhall eat the good things ofthe land. Godlzneffe hath thepromzfes ofthan life, and ofthe life to come, &c. And hence we may learn to mea- fure this opinion, not by the lives of Tome few of the men that hold it, hut by the fequeles which the Logick even of Pim- ple men, if they fltould apply their brains toconfider it,would fetch out of it. No man that hash throughly fuckt it in and underfiandeth the force of it, but will either quite relinquitla it, or live according to the naturali importmcnt of it, that is, lícent ioufly. Secondly,
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