Downame - Puritan-02038 v2

3 TO Of the vanitie of Princes fauours. froth dangers, but rather expofes them vnto them, nor deli - uereth them from any great euils, as from the wrath of God, fickneflès and difeafes, death and condemnation.And there.. Pfalm.x463. fore the Pfalmifl willeth vs, not to truff in Princes, nor in the Jeanne efman,becaufethere is no helpe in them: and yet their fauours were more robe valuedand efleemed, if asethey did norgreatlyhelpevs, fo they did not much hurt vs :But the truth is, they lay vs open to many perils, and fubie8vsto many euils. For to fay nothing ofthofe dangers of finne, to which they hazard vs,by making vs to forgetGod and our felues,with all good duties which we owe to both : they ex_ pole vs alto to many worldly perils, as to the hatred of all thofe who enuic ouraduancement, and difdaine that we ra- ther then they fhould be partakers offuch extraordinarie fa- uours; and to all theircunning and malicious plots,whereby they feeke to vndermine vs, and to worke our ruine :yea no fmal dangersdo we run into,in refpe& of there greatpoten- tates, who do affeélvs; becaufe their lone is vnconflant,and feldome do they vary and change towards their great fauou- rites,but it is with their vtter ruine.In refpeól whereof, fami- liarity with thein,is as ifone played with a tame Lion,w'hofe greatefl loue is ioyned with imminent danger; feeing if he be buta little angred, he bath alwaiespower to pull them in pieces, which though he do not cuery day put in execution, yet is he daily fearca;and though they often fcape his paves, yet commonly at lall they are payed home once for all. Lall- ly, as the fauour ofgreat potentates expofes their fauouritcs into many dangers, fodoth it alto commonly plunge them into innumerable euils, andfirll and efpecially by drawing them on to bare flatterie to pleafe their humours, and retaine their favours; being readie alwaies to fpeake, not what is moll profitable, but what is moll plaufible, not what they know is the truth, butwhat theythinke will be heft accep- 3i fit clientelam red .To which ore one faith that thole who come into falici+bominis p ur p poteo:if4jperae_ fauour with great perfonages, mull make account to betray writ :_ 4Pvcri thetruth,or to lofe all friendfhip.Secondly,as they mull for. tas at amicizia go the truth, fo alto their libertie, and become true vafrals gtdenda cli. and flaues,readie.to further all their defignes,and that often- times