Downame - Puritan-02038 v2

304 Of the vanitieofpopularitie, xngna,n,.,- therfore one concludeth that he will Heuer indeuourto pleafe lui populo place- the vulgar people ; for chafe things (faith he) that I knoll; and te:nam The ego approue they allow not, and chafe things which they allow,lknow. / ciaron probat not.Whocan pleafe the people whom vertue pleafethF for their popular, qua probatpopulos fauourisgot ten by wicked arts; and they that lbill pleafe them, ego nefcio,&c. mtefl become like vnto them; neitherlbi /lthey appraise thee, vn- Senec.epif}.29 /de they acknowledge thee for one of their companie.Now it is matter of much greater moment, what thou feemefl to thy felf, then what thou appearef! unto others. Seeing then the multi- tude is for the moil part euill, and wee cannot pleafe euill men but by euill meanes, it followeth hereupon,that they who will be gracious with the vulgar crew, muli be vngra- si mulcirvha cious in themfelues, and they who will pleafe the wicked tua piacuerit, route, mull difpleafe God, yea and themfelues toe, if they tibipiacerenon haue any grace or goodneffe in them. And hence it is that poterit,Senec. our Sauiour Chrifl denounceth a woe againfl fuch as are Luke 6.2.6. pleafing to all. Woe be vistayou (faith he) when allmenffreake well of you; becaufe it is impoffible to haue the liking and approbation of the wicked,vnle{fe wee lofe the fauour of God,by ioyningwith them in their wicked courfes. An ex- ample whereof we haue in Herod,who affecting popularitie, did,to gaine the fauour ofthe people, put to death the Apo - Afts tz.z.3.4, file fames,and when he faw that it pleafed the ¡ewes he procee- ded further,andapprehended `Peter,with a purpofe to bring him likewife to the (laughter. As alfoin the corruptGoner - nour Felix, who though bee knew Pauls innocencie,yet to Alit z4.23. get fauour ofthe Iewes he left him Rill in bonds. 4 Seii.9. And as this too much popularitie is a notable meanes to That popularity thrufl men headlong into wicked courfeo; fo oftentimes it That popular is the vaile and fhadow wherewith men maske and hide all . much nicked- manneroffinne, and a meanes by the furtherance whereof nef¡è. they inceurage themfelues to commit horrible crimes and outragious wickedneffe ; as murther,treaton, rebellion, par - ricide,and what not :an example whereof we haue in Abfo- a.Satn.t 5 .2.3. lon,who ambitioufly affecting the kingdom,though it were with themurther of his moll Beare father, vfeth this popula- ritie,as the vaile of his wickedneffe,and as the chief meanes ofaccomplifhing his diuellifh purpofes.And the like is to be obferued