Cent. I. Meditations and VorPes. A .6 There was never good thing cafily come by. TheHeathen man could fay, God fds knowledge for fweat;_and f~ he doth honour forjeopardy.Never any man bath got either wealth or lcatmngWith cafe. Thereforethe greatefi good muft needs be moftdifficult. How {hall I hope to get Chrifi, ifl take no paincs for him ~ And if in all otherthings the difficulty ofobtaining,whets themind fo muchthe more to feek; why {hould it in this alone daunt me~ I will~otcarewhat I.doe, what I ~uffer, fo_I may win Chrifi.If me~ canend~re fuch cumng,fuch launcmg,and fearchmg of thw bodies, to prmrachm1ferable hte yet awhile longer1 what p110 {hould I rdufe for eterniticf '7 B If I die theworld!hal!mitfe mebut a little;I !ha! miffeitleffr.i Not it me, becaufe it bath fu~h fiore ofbetter men:Npr I it,becaufeit bath fo much ill, and I !hall have fo much happineffr. 28 Twothinos make a man fet by;Dignity,and Deferr.Amongfifools,the firfi with· out the fecoti'd is fufficienr:amongfi wifcmen,the fecond without the firfi.Let me de· fervcwell, though Ibenotadvaoced. Thcconfciencc ofmy worth fiJallchccrmc more inorhers contempt, thenthcapprobationofothcrs can comfort mc,againfi the fecrctcheck ot my own unworchincfs. 29 The befi qualities doe fo cleave to their fubjetls,that they cannot be communicaC ted to others.For whereas patrimony & vulgaraccount ofhonour follow the bloud, in many generations;Vertue is not traduced by propagation,norlearnilg bequeathed by our Will to our heires;lefi the givers !hould wax proud, and the receivers negligeot.I will account nothing my own,but what I havegotten;nor that mine own,becaufe it is more ofgifrthendcferr. . 30 Thenonly is the Churchmoll happy,whcn Truth and Peace kiffc each other;and then miferable,when either of them balke the way, or whenthey mret and kiffenot. For rrutb,without peace, is turbulent: and peace, without truth,is fecure injufiice, Though I love peace well,yet I lovemain truths better.And though Ilovcall truths well,yet I had rather conceal a fmall truth,then difiurbe acommon peae<. D 31 An indifcrcet good all!ioo, is little better then a difcreet mifchiefe. For in this the doer wrongs only the Patienr:but in that other!, the wrong is done to the good aai. on: for both it makes a good thing odious (as manygood tales arc man•din telling) and befides it prejudices a future opportunity. I will rather let paffe a good gale of wiod,and fray on the !horq then lanch forthjwhen I lr.now the wind will be the contrary. 32 TheWorld teacherh me,that it is madoeffc to leave bebinde methofe goods that I may carry with me : Chri(\iaoity teacheth me,that what I charitably give alive, I carry with me dead: and experience teacheth me, that what lleave behind , I lofc. E I will carry that treafure with me by giving it, which the worldling Iofeth by keep ing it:fo,while his corps lhlll carry nothin~ but awinding cloth to his grave, I ll!.lll be richer under the earth,then I was above 1!. Eve_ry worldling is an hypocrite: for wmle his face naturally looks upward to hea. ven, hn heart grovels beneathon earth' yet if I would /admit of a•y difcord in the ID ward and outward parts; I would have an heart that !hould look up to heaven in an holy contemplation ofthe things above, & acountenancecall down to thccarth in humiliation.This only diffimilitude is plcafing to God. · ' The heart ofman is a !boreword,a ra!afi fubfiance t fcarce enough to give a Kite one mcal,yet great in capacity, yca,fo infinite in defire,that the round Globe of the B3 world
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