The Noble-Man.

HE who is advanc'd to Title and Fortune, and is be­come an head of the people, either by his own merits or the atchieve­ments of his Ancestors, ought to be exemplary in virtue. Being set by Heaven on such a conspi­cuous place on purpose to guide the people into the paths of love, and obedience to their God, and King; and to shew them the ill effects of contrary performances: like Candles put at night in Pharos Towers, which at once give the Ma­tiners a view of their fruitful E. gypt, [Page 9]and lead them off those many and dangerous shelves of the Nile.

No Nation ever boasted a bra­ver, a more gallant, a more virtu­ous Nobility then England; who have rais'd eternal Monuments in forreign parts to their Country and themselves, witness their ad­ventures in the Holy wars, their conquest of France and Ireland, their many attempts upon the va­lourous Scott, before the happy union of the Crowns; of late times in the West-Indies, before we got footing there, on the Con­tinent, our exploits in Spain, and Portugal will speak; at Sea in the Spanish invasion; and several o­ther remarkable Encounters there and elsewhere. But yet, though they have gain'd Honour and a deathless Fame, why should it de­scend [Page 10]to an Adulterate and So­phisticate posterity? why should they inherit their Glories who do not their Virtues? who can boast onely of the empty name of a descent from Noble and gallant Loins? 'tis not fit that Tissue and Arras which have adorn'd Palaces should hang on the Clay-walls of a Cottage, because the Dust of the one would Eclipse the Beau­ty of the other; no more is it so, that they who are fallen from the Glories of virtuous Fathers, should bear those Escutcheons which they transmitted to them fair and white, least they cloud them with that black ignominy which results from vitious practices; Ho­nour, as well as Friendship requi­ring Virtue for a Basis.

I wish this discourse could [Page 11]not seem to appertain and be di­rected to the now English No­bless so much as it doth: (with the pardon of some few, to whose conduct and generous integrity, England must own much of her present happiness, and owe much of her future.) but this being no private concern, but one of so publick a Nature, that every free-born Subject seemeth to have a share in their carriage, they being the Pillars of the Go­vernment, as they are Councel­lors of the King; I must take notice of it. Tis now by the great ones thought putid pedan­tery, to be skill'd in Arts or Arms; they leave the practice of those to the plodding Students, of these, to the soldier who sights for pay; so putting at once their [Page 12]Nations Glories, and its fortunes into unexperienced and mercena­ry hands. They in their lives imitate the softness they tryed in their Cradles: they are pierc­ed with a Northern blast, blown down with the sound of a Trum­pet; nor did ever any Action of theirs speak them valiant, but the beating a Lacquey who dares not resist, or the kicking a poor Tradesman down the stairs whom they had undone before. These sure are virtues exceeding all those for which storie gives their Ancestors a Fame. Religion is a thing they explode conversa­tion, it merits not their thoughts, yet they build Groves to the Gods of this world in high places, and build Altars, and with a more then heathenish superstition pay [Page 13]sacrifice to the weakest of Crea­tures. Sure these are greater Ido­latries then the son's of Nebat, though he made Israel to sin. Luxury hath obtain'd above all; they eat, drink, and play, but think not to morrow they must die. Thus their manners are not onely become effeminate, but their bodies and their strengths are decayed. Their Fathers fed upon those corroborating meats the Island did afford, (which cer­tainly, if ever any was, is a most fortunate one) and they sympa­thizing with them, gave them the most natural force; but these not content with what in such abundance it offered, have suf­fered our Nation to be invaded with forreign softnesses, and to be cat up with what it self was [Page 14]intended for food, for nothing, it is sure, consumeth our bodies more then these; and our Estates must suffer if we entertain a com­merce for what turns to no profit, but ends in a loathsome excre­ment; then to consummate this happiness, a French Cook must prepare the viands; most of their other Menials being of that Na­tion; (who are the most nasty naturally, and the most false of all the Europeans,) terming their own Countrey-men not agreea­ble or adroit enough; thus they suffer their poor Natives to starve, whilst they seed a people whom God hath placed in a Clime which giveth them even a super­fluous maintenance: Fornication is no sin with them, and Adul­tery is the least; they not con­sidering [Page 15]in every such Act, that they invade their neighbours free­hold: These customes accompa­nied them home who were sent out so young that they could re­marque nothing but the vices of a Countrey, and sure it were a consi­deration worthy of the Parlia­ment, to enact, that either (with the Lacedemonian State) they should not travail at all, or not till they are come to some maturity. Is it not fine, that when the Na­tion calleth for their heads or hands, they should be employ­ing the one, in beholding the the imaginary beauties of an eye, and the other, in the worse Offi­ces of a mean, and loathsome, yet commanding Leachery; where will these follies end? doubtlesse no where but in their ruines who [Page 16]foment them; will it not by these practices come to pass, that no­thing shall be more despicable in the eyes and mouths of the Peo­ple then the Nobility? those who were their Countreys great­est Glory, and delight, will in time become its greatest ignomi­ny and hate; there is no return to lost Glories; the descent to Hell is easie, but the coming back impossible; the unhap­py Angels, (though they wrought their fates by Nobler means, by ambitioning higher honors) must now wear out eter­nity in everlasting Chains and Darkness.

The Courtier.

AS his Obligations are greater to his Prince; and his advan­tages more immediate from him, so ought his affections to be more fixed to, and centred in his con­cerns, and his services to be of greater volume then those of o­thers; for though the Great Mo­narch of Heven and Earth will be praised by us his mean sub­jects here, yet the Angels whom he honoureth with a nearer con­verse, with more close approach­es to his radiant Majesty, give him more magnifying praises, more elevated Halleluiahs. He who truly intends to make a Court the Scene of his life, ought above all to practice sincerity, [Page 18]and to value his faith; for the ad­dresses of the people to their Sovereign of all kinds being con­vey'd through him as a conduct, it should be his care that they ar­rive at the Royal Ear without addition or diminution; lest he wrong them in their affairs, and so alienate their affections from him to whom they are due, and purchase to himselfe in the end shame, if not death. He ought to appear in a garb not above his place, for so he may pro­cure envy to himself, nor below the dignity of his Master, lest he wrong him; He ought to use all means to advance him in the affections of the people, to indear his interest to them, to exercise an obliging mien to all; but e­specially to forreigners under [Page 19]what Character soever they re­main here, to shew himself in all splendor due to the Office he hold­eth, to them, that he may create a Reverence in them for the Au­thor of it. He must be seen in the intrigues and interests of trans­marine states, and know their benigne and malevolent Aspects one to the other; to be ready upon all emergencies to meet the maladies of the body poli­tick by his Head or Arm; to e­spouse its fortune onely, and to do his devoir to it by freely sacrifi­cing his life, and posterity, and by returning without regret, his goods to that service from whence he received them; imitating in that his Master who though he hath large incomes from the peo­ple, yet restoreth them by ex­pending [Page 20]them upon all exigencies for their good, as the Sun draw­eth off exhalations and vapors from the Earth, but sendeth them into her Lap again in gen­tle and fruitful showrs, which as­sist her nature, and make her bring forth in larger proporti­ons.

But 'tis wonderful to see how farr men are from what they real­ly ought to be, his moral parts seem to be subject to the same vi­cissitudes with the state he fear­eth; for now you shall behold him like the lazy Leviathan, ta­king his sport in the deepest A­bysses of pleasure, preying upon those smaller Fish whose strength cannot resist his power: he is drowsie and backwards to the ad­vantages of his Prince, but al­ways [Page 21]vigilant for his own; he runneth in ways excentrique to all Vertue, and knoweth no Friend or Divinity but Venus, Bacchus, and his Mammon; his motion is perpetually in bowing and cringing, but he is as constant in directing his Eye to the pole of his interests, as the magnetick Needle is to the North; he is that true Chymist who extracts by the calcining fire of his feigned-ar­dent affections, gold out of the bleeding estates of unhappy de­linquents, and of those whom the Law adjudgeth to punishment, and sometimes of innocent offen­ders, and pretended Criminals; But though these may be the principles of some, yet there are many whose integrity, and [Page 22]fidelity to their Prince renders them worthy of those advantages they enjoy: yet their carriage cannot excuse others. There is an impertinent thing called a young Courtier, whom I shall draw as near the life as I can.

His discourse is that which pro­faneth the ears of the Good, and the wise, and proveth trouble­some even to the most imperti­nent; his remarques are of the most inconsiderable encounters of the day, in which himself is always a principal Actor; either how many Women by his false vows he hath overcome; or where he hath made the greatest debauches in Burgundy or Cam­paigne, at Jero's, Shattelin's, or Lafroons; or if his happy inven­tion [Page 23]doth supply him with a di­storted Rebus, or an ugly dismem­bred Anagram, an unnatural An­tithesis, a forced quibble, or an uncivil repartie that bites ones re­putation, (which all are the dry scabs of a corrupted wit,) he must be admir'd for being Master of a greater ingenuity than Ben John­son; He is sure to have three or four verses of Love and Honour ready out of the latest Play, and the last new Song in his poc­ket, which he hath coppied in false English. 'Tis fit his dress should be gay, because Embroi­deries are for the Palaces of Kings; but it is not fit that many poor families, to supply his extra­vagancies, should want bread: 'tis miserable to think that a thousand curses should attend his steps and [Page 24]not one good wish should be sent up for him: but why should pray­ers be offered for him who never prays? who contemneth Religi­on as a vile thing? who never nameth God but in his Oaths or Burlesque.

The Gentleman

IN the frame of the State, is like the Tuscan Pillar in Ar­chitecture, which though it be not so Polite as the other Orders, nor can boast a well proportion'd neatness, like the Ionick, nor an handsomely adorn'd head, like the Corinthian Column, yet it is in building the foundation of all [Page 25]their Beauties; so though he be inferiour in Title, yet in Power and interest he is equal if not supe­rior to the Nobleman; for in all Re­cords we find the House of Com­mons to have been very conside­rable in the Government, though the Lords make a Court of Judi­cature; it is his Duty to serve his Countrey by his Presence there, to preserve her Peace, and to de­fend her Priviledges and Immu­nities; to be hospitable to his in­digent neighbours, to receive the stranger and way-faring-man with Chearfulness and Civility: In fine, to open his Napkin to all, and not to employ it in wrapping up his Talent. But alas! is it not mi­serable, that Vanity like Romes Eagles at the Meridian of her power, should carry Conquest on [Page 26]her Wings to all places where she is pleas'd to flee? who of the wi­sest? nay, what Diviner (if any such there be) could have fore­seen, that vice should have found out the once Sacred Groves, the quiet and innocent recesses of a Countrey? the Gentleman now hath chang'd the Plow and Cart, which did feed his Grandsire, and a brave Train of stout attendants in his great Hall, whose Labour well deserv'd their Hire, for a Gilded Coach, and a numerous Train of debauch'd and insigni­sicant Lacqueys, and now by an unhappy Thrift hath converted his long Table well covered, and well filled, into a little round one, which holds one Dish and three People, and hath turn'd his great Hall into a little Parlour: [Page 27]He once in a year arriveth at Lon­don with his Lady, a rich or hand­some Daughter, or a Neice, with whom they fail not daily to visit the Theatre, giving to her the ac­complishments of the Town, who ought rather to be seen in the mi­steries of a Countrey life. If her fortune be great, 'tis unfortunate­ly ship-wrack'd upon some Lord; who after the enjoyment of her revenue, loaths her person; He places his Son perhaps at the Inns of Court, who knoweth he is to heir an Estate, and thinketh it but washing the Ethiops, to injure his Brain with the sturdy Noti­ons, and knotty Maximes of the Law: he therefore girdeth him­self for other accomplishments, allotting the morning to dance or fence, at noon he dineth, in the [Page 28]afternoon he sees a Play, and to recreate his languishing spirits, he locketh up the day with fat va­porous Ale at Hercules's Pillars and maketh there his non ultra till 12 a clock! After two year, when he returneth to his Father and should give him the Harvest of the seed, which in such proporti­on he hath sown, he hath not Wit nor Law enough to keep his own Courts. The Gentleman commonly visits the Town at the expence of the poor Labourer's sweat, whom he hath now wrack'd to the utmost farthing; he liveth splendidly here for some moneths, he drinketh at all hours, he fitteth at the head of the Table, and for his honour disburseth for the reck­ning; if well heated, he may, hap­pily, be invited to sport with the [Page 29]frail Dye, and there he is certain­ly saluted with a high or low Ful­lam; or some other convenient instrument of execution; if his Genius leadeth not that way, he goeth to visit a Lady of Quality, an acquaintance of his Friends, who for that occasion is well dress'd in her borrowed weeds, and hath Lodgings in some mo­dish place, as the Piazza, South-hampton buildings, or Suffolk street; but is such a Creature, as will be at the beck of any Coachman, rather than he fallow; if he con­verse with her, he is either clap­ped, or payeth for his familiarity, with Silver, Gold, Watch or Ring, whatever moveable he hath about him, and when he is laid to sleep, his Landabrides and his dear friend divide the spoil: when [Page 30]his whole Cargo is spent, then he either abscondeth, or without rigging, or ballast, sneaketh pri­vately in a Stage-coach to his house in the Countrey, (his own being seised) and by the next Term is presented with an Exe­cution, from his Taylor, or Land­lord, and perhaps too from his Apothecary. These surely are great mistakes, and mighty im­pertinencies, and much dissonant from the nature of that Province with which Heaven hath endow­ed him. To conclude, if the Gen­tlemans fortunes Sympathize so much with the Peasants, that if the one faileth, the other falleth, much more must the States with his, who is her chief corner-stone.

The Gallant or Hector

IS he who maketh Vice his bu­siness; who recreates himself with dangerous follies; who feed­eth upon his greatest enjoyments with Heaven's sword of justice hanging over his head by a very slender hair of Mercy. It is his chief principle to espouse none, long­er then it indulgeth his unhappy designes. He apprehendeth Religi­on to be a thing dress'd up in va­rious Rites and Ceremonies, one­ly to terrify the ignorant vulgar in­to obedience; grant there be a God, saith he; doth he require greater performances of us than our Nature will bear? doth he give us affections to indulge, and must not we gratifie them? in [Page 32]making the true use of the Crea­ture, we adore the Creator; we praise the Cause by do­ing Honour to the Effect; but he who thus argueth, considereth not that all these Blessings are gi­ven with a limitation, lest we might be so wholly intent in ser­ving nature, that we might be forgetful of the Author of it; nor remembreth he that nothing is created perfect; that Adam was authoriz'd by his Maker to Treat his sence with any Tree of Pa­radice, but one; he cometh to Town innocent enough, but by often conversing with Pitch, he at last retaineth it upon his Hands and Cloaths; he is, for the most part a younger Brother, who hath spent what his Father left him to subsist by; or a Reform'd soldier, [Page 33]who having liv'd in the War, must when that Harvest is ended, pe­rish in the Autumne, if he use nor some pious fraud which will give him meat; in order to live, he procure an interest in the Groom-Porters, or an Ordinary, and ma­keth these the Scenes of his fu­ture atchievements: it is then his care to have intelligence of young Gentlemen of fortunes, who ar­rive at Town, that being known, he intrudeth into their company, and gaineth an interest, by obli­ging them by loosing some small summ at first, as Fishers bait the waters over night, with hopes of a large return for these charges in the morning; and thus taketh a severer use then the Jews do of those out of their own pale, if any of them do not play, (which is ve­ry [Page 34]seldom seen;) he procureth him a Mistress, who certainly clappeth him, then he shareth with the Chi­rurgeon, who maketh his Cure more dilatory, and at the same time fluxes his body and his purse. And now, upon the repu­tation of this good Office, his friend advances, (pretending his servant out of the way) to bor­row a trifling summ of 20 or 30 Guineys, which if asked for by the Creditor after the forbear­ance of 6 or 7 moneths, he is an­swer'd D' Dam-me Sir, you dis­oblige your friend, and you injure mine and your own honour; but when at last he findeth know­ledge groweth on him, he taketh a small occasion to quarrel with him, and so the League of Friend­ship is broken; Foresight and [Page 35]Conduct he throweth behind him; he is the first-born of for­tune; this hour he is fraught with Gold, as if the grand Elixir were his own: to morrow you shall meet him poorer then a Poet; then he is forced to take sanctu­ary in the good nature of his Taylor or Shooe-maker, who (though Jews enough) will yet give him Credit perhaps for a Guiney, because after a good hand he payeth well; with this he marcheth to the Ordinary, in hopes to make that two, he loos­eth it, and at twelve in the night, in great dispair he goeth home­wards, in his way meeteth with and quarrels the Watch, hath his head broken, and is laid in the Counter to repent till day; now if his Reputation ebbeth so, that [Page 36]he can have nothing upon Trust; and his fortune so bad, that his be­nefactress in the City (who is com­monly a Merchants wise) can­not help him, because her Hus­band hath the Key of the Cash­box; he then posteth to the place of Execution, throws at all up­on the Table, if his Cast be good he sweepeth it, if bad, he oweth them all; and if he be a very poor Rascal, his loving Creditors remit him the summ, and kick him down the stairs. Upon these disadvantages, do men play that have fortunes: them­selves may easily be ruin'd, (nay, it is forty to one if they are not,) but the others being already up­on the ground, can fall no low­er; he often, when he is idle, maketh his entry gratis at the 5th [Page 37]Act of a Play; and there either picketh up a loving Female whom he maketh drunk, and then abu­seth 2 or 3 Bullies, who drown their cares and sing the Sun down and up with impious Catch­es; Oaths are so frequent with him, that he can as well not move his Eyes, as leave them; they are Complements to his period, and they make them rounder: thus doth he murther his precious and immortal soul, which at last he expireth either from a bed of loathsome diseases and rotten­ness, or from a disgraceful Gib­bet with common Malefactors.

The Virtuoso

DId rise Gloriously, like light out of the Chaos, and daz­led the Eyes of the astonished world, triumphing with a Mas­culine Gallantry over the impra­cticable Notions of the Antients; but now he seemeth not to pur­sue his advantage with his primi­tive vigor, which hath diminish­ed his Fame a little; for whoe­ver treadeth the paths of Virtue, ought always to be in a forward motion, and by equal degrees, as he advanceth in the way, to dou­ble his pace till he cometh to the Goal. The Great Chancellor Ba­con was the Columbus, who led us to this unknown America of new Philsophy, since him Carte­sius [Page 39]and Gassendus have made the greatest discoveries in her Conti­nent, to whom we shall with all willingness yield the Bays, if we consider the advantages we now enjoy from their labour; for all Precepts, all Notions are given us from above to regulate and direct our Actions; and the best of speculations are buried in ob­livion, if they do not produce their due effects; now it is most certain, that most, or all of the principles of the Paripatetic Philosophy were meer Entia Rati­onis, in intellectu tantum, which now give place to Entia realia, to true and beneficial Experi­ments; doubtless it was the at­tempt of a most Heroick Virtue, to storm the whole Circle of an­cient Learning, so much reve­renced [Page 40]by Men, though for [...] other cause then its Antiquity and the perswasions they had their Fathers esteemed it, as [...] old times they honoured aged Oaks, because they thought some God had kept his residence un­der their shades. It is admira­ble how a body made up of [...] many jarring and disagreeing Ele­ments (I mean opposite opini­ons) should have obtain'd so much, and gain'd so mighty at Ascendant over the affections of men of parts enough refined, that they should pronounce him an He­retick, who should dare to con­tradict the meanest of its Mem­bers; bearing it up against ex­perience which ought to be out general Mistress.

The English Literati have pre­sented [Page 41]the World with Effects of Industry and Ingenuity most wor­thy of their causes; they have im­proved the Art of Grinding Glasses, which is a great advan­tage to Astronomy and Sea-af­fairs; by the study of Microgra­phy, and the Anatomy of insects, they have displaied a new Page of the Book of Nature; they have by more exact scrutiny into humane bodies, discovered the circulation and the source of many diseases, and have lately oblig'd us with an experiment of the transfusion of the blood of one Animal into another, which is never enough to be gratefully admired, though it hath the ill fortune to be little e­steemed of now, but in ensuing ages, it will certainly be crowned with its due applause; for it is [Page 42]always seen that great Actions are deny'd their Bay's in that age in which they are born, because Envy and prejudicate Malice, (the off-springs of the old Ser­pent) detract from them. The Hypothesis of Water, and Air, (the advance of the latter being — in the Air-pump, a Noble me­chanick invention) are very ratio­nal, and the inspection into the Nature of Vegetables, hath much advantaged Man in the support his body will receive from them. Their progress in all Physical Learning hath generally been great; but upon Chymistry par­ticularly they have spent much Labour, and Oyl. And here I must declare, that though I ho­nour all the ingenious and indu­strious, I cannot be reconcil'd to [Page 43]those who are in pursuit of that great Magistery of Nature (as they call it) the Philosophers stone; it is wonderful that they should consume so considerable a portion of their lives in the search of that which they know not really to be in the Created sub­stances: or if it should exist, which hath so mean an end as the bring­ing Gold into the World, which is the efficient cause of all strises, and evils; whose converse the good a­void, because it commonly turneth even the souls of its votaries in­to its own Hypostasis: how cru­elly do they macerate themselves who search for this! how they foment those scourges of our lives, Hope, and Fear! each mi­nute bringeth with it a promise of success which expiteth in Fumc; [Page 44]and at last when they are just up­on the Frontiers of bliss, and think the next minute to embrace their wish'd for Elixit, they find in their Arm onely a Caput mor­tuum, a Terra Damnata, in which they have buried perhaps their whole fortunes, and the greatest number of their most hopeful years, and all which at last ari­seth from the expence, is summed up in two, or three moral Corol­laries; and they end their days with this Prayer in their mouths, ‘O si praeteritos reparet mihi Jupiter annes.’

Now, to return to the Virtuoso; when I consider what small re­turns of civility we make to these ingenious persons who have ob­liged us so much, I can find our coldness to have no other cause [Page 45]then what themselves do give, they so readily admitting all per­sons into their Society, who will pay the Duties of the house, though they know not the terms of Philosophy, make the multi­tude, who never see the bottom of an affair, judge of all from their weakness; they common­ly entertain the company of a Coffee-house, with some refuse notions gleaned from the inge­nious, which they pronounce as Magisterially as if they had been secretary's to Nature, and discourse as confidently of the harmony of her parts, as a Countrey Musi­cian playeth who never learned his Gam-ut. From the imperti­nencies of these pretenders, this Royal Corporation suffereth, when it ought rather to be encou­raged, [Page 46]and caressed by all the Great and Learned for all the great advantages it promiseth in the future; for it is most true, that whosoever is a good Philo­sopher is a good man; because no one looketh into the recesses of Nature, who is not induced to extoll the Author of it, and so gratefully maketh his return for the immense favours in serving and honouring him who confer­red them. Thus out of a Physi­cal knowledge, a Moral one starts and we see Science and Virtue have the same Basis. It is certain, Learning hath no Enemies but the Envious, and Ignorant, and even from these evils she reapeth good; for from the detraction of the former, she raiseth repute, since nothing but Virtue is the [Page 47]subject of Envy, and from the in­veterateness of the latter, she hath a benefit too; since the praises of the unwise are reproaches, and whosoever delighteth in them, wrappeth himself in the better half of his Fools-coat; and E converso his reproaches must be praises.

The Divine

HAth the powers of cursing, and absolving upon Earth; and therefore ought to be reve­renc'd as Gods immediate instru­ment. Now, though his injuries be many from the disaffected, yet under these great pressures he ought with the Palme, to lift up [Page 48]his head highest; and to exalt his voice like a Trumpet to main­tain warre against all the Cham­pions of Vice; every one bendeth his bow to the head, and aims at the white of the Clergy's inno­cence, accusing them for cove­tous, and loos-livers, not consi­dering how many amongst them are neither: but grant they were so, we ought, as men, to pardon them their errors; and as the ser­vants of Heaven we ought to re­verence them: should we be struck so surely from above for every little sinne, as we do one another, our whole species had before this time been utterly de­stroyed, and had left the World to be possess'd by sensitive be­ings; but I fear the great con­cern of these pretenders will one­ly [Page 49]prove that which taketh not its source from a due principle, but a sensual end; the desire of possessing the Churches revenues; if so, oh how impious is their de­sign! surely they that serve at the Altar ought to live by it; if they who serve Earthly Kings, ought to live gloriously according to the dignity of their Lords; then à fortiori, they ought to be in all things above the rest, who at­tend upon the Monarch of Hea­ven, and Earth: but there is one thing which would in all like­lihood recover the Church, and that is, if the Nobility and Gen­try of the Nation could be per­swaded to enter into Orders; by their Alliance, and Interest, they might bulwark themselves against those who would break in upon [Page 50]them, through the mightiest fast­nesses of their Virtue: no one can be too good to attend at the Al­tar: David was King and Priest, and so were all his successors in Israel; and it was imputed to the Jews for sin, that they chose their Priests out of the meanest of the people; for their persons being held in contempt by those who were their equals before; their Office comes to be so too, and the best parts also suffer when clouded with poverty.

It is true, that Heaven lately shewed its displeasure to our Church, and seated Forreigners in its fattest Sees; yet it was said to them, as to the Israelites when [Page 51]they went to possess Canaan, I send you up to possess the Land of the Anakim, not for your own Righteousness, (for you are a stiffe-necked people) but to scourge the Nations which enjoy it. But now we may plainly see how great the concern of Hea­ven is for the Church, since the Ecclesiastical and politick Go­vernment are so united, that they both fall, and both rise together; Many now shoot at her founda­tions, but I hope she is built upon Zion which cannot be moved. The points of Toleration and Com­prehension have been so thorow­ly discuss'd, that here I need but mention their names, onely I must say, I should be very un­willing to see either of them ob­tain in this Kingdom. Now [Page 52]the Churchmen ought rather Magna vivere then Magna loqui, and to shew by their own practi­ces, that the Precepts which they give may be easily obeyed. The fat Bulls of Basan have prevail'd now; but the Almighty hath one­ly crowned them with success, to make them fall nobler Sacrifi­ces to his wrath.

The Physitian

IS to the body what the Divine is to the soul, though he doth not administer his province with a parallel integrity; since his Knowledge is increased, Diseases are so too; and our bodies by his applications are become less robust, and vigorous; for by re­lying [Page 53]on them, our natural heat and radical humours are impair­ed, which were our supports; and not seldome, the very remedy of one Malady is the cause of ano­ther; but not onely from this na­tural cause, but a more inhumane one, resulteth as great an evil; for to swell his own profit, he often prolongeth the Agonies, the Miseries of his poor Patient, making himself seem to him a greater distemper then that he is already travailed with. From those dry bones, which none who passe by, can think could live, he will extract a lively and sparkling Essence to himself, and he will draw sweetness from the most pu­trified Carcasse, his Recipe whose barbarous Character fully speak­eth his — manners) produ­ceth [Page 54]two Pieces to himself; then if you should recover, (which is more the effect of Providence then his Care,) the Apotheca­ry, or Chirurgeon giveth with a cruel Bill, the lately cicatrized wound, a new gash; he visiteth you as long as the pulse of your Purse beateth high; but when he findeth it to decline, then, he saith, you grow so well that you need not his Art; or your disease is so desperate, that it cannot assist you; his thoughts of God are not so as they ought to be; for by his so frequently view­ing the works of Nature, he is apt to misapply and attribute too much to second Causes. He adoreth that great principle of Nature, Self-preservation, but neglecteth that as great one of [Page 55]Christianity, to preserve his Bro­ther; nay rather like a Cannibal, he preyeth upon him: though I very much honour this profession, yet I must not the abuses of it; though it be very necessary, yet the neglects, and the ill ends of the professors of it, render it often dangerous: for it is most certain, that they not seldome by their Clothes do transferre the disease of one, to the other; and it is as sure that many suffer by their ap­plying Medicines to diseases, which plain Care, or Nature would work off. If his Fees were more moderate, the Patient would receive a greater advantage, and himselfe no detriment; for now, by the excess of them, the sick person cannot see him above once in a day, and there being so [Page 56]many critical minutes in a disease, it is impossible he should prescribe for them in his absence. Thus al­so the inferior sort of the Nation will enjoy a benefit; for many who are lost for want of advice, are able to give a Crown, who cannot afford a Guinny: it is in fine, a profession, which employ­eth the industry and study of its Professors, and chargeth them with the greatest duties and care, and therefore ought to be most coun­tenanced if it impose not too much upon the World.

The Lawyer.

FRom Adam to the Flood, the Law of Nature onely reign­ed; but, when wickednesses increas­ed upon the surface of the earth, God laid his commands against Murther and Bloud, and after­wards as the age degenerated Laws increased, and became an Asylum to the Good, and a ter­ror to the Bad. Since the con­cord of brethren is rare, because every man preferreth his own in­terest, Law is appointed for the preservation of the world; there­fore, the approaches to it, ought to be easie, for if a Sanctuary be locked, of what advantage is it to that miserable man who flieth to its protection: the Law which [Page 58]God gave to his peculiar people, which he often called stiff-neck'd and perverse, was comprised within the narrow compass of two Tables; and this he thought e­nough to bridle their greatest ex­orbitancies; the Twelve Tables, nay the Roman or Civil Law it self governed a Nation the most Great, most Glorious, and most Adventrous in the World; which without the impertinent, and in­digested glosses of Bartolus and Baldus, and others, is of very lit­tle volume; But we of this Nati­on are now exposed by what should be our refuge; devoured by what should be our guard; the Rules of our Law growing into so monstrous a body, that like the famed Dragon, they devour daily a considerable Member of [Page 59]the Virgin justice. Every Term bringeth forth a collection of new Reports; and every Judgement soweth the seed of a new strife; betwixt the Pleaders and the At­torneys, the Prize which the par­ties contend for is shared; the latter of which, is a generation of men so Magisterial where they live, and so oppressing, and with­al, so numerous, that at last, with the too much injur'd Client, they will devour the Lawyer too: who certainly hath the same ground to preferr a Bill in Parliament a­gainst them, for invading his pro­vince, as the Physician had against the Apothecary; how unhappy are since we under the wings of a pre­tended justice all enormities are committed! She now like a rich Heiress is bought and sold, and that [Page 60]which should oppose deceit, is it self now become the greatest, so that Photinus's principle in Lucan seemeth to be the Lawyer's.

The poor Country-man when with his Hat in his hand, he hath intreated his Councellour to let him buy his misery, is after two or three years attendance, and the charge of witnesses and jour­neys, dismissed with the loss of his cause, (so that it may be said, the Law, like Rome in her gran­deur, suis ipsa viribus ruit,) and after a seeming trouble is told, that his own mistaken instructions were the ruine of his affair. But those who have long been tossed in these troublesome waters find that the safest way to an Haven [Page 61]is to Fee his Antagonist's Coun­sel, as well as his own; the con­veyances which we make now are scarce contained in many skins of Parchment; and often for the mistake of one word, the whole fabrique is ruin'd, though it be evidently contrary to the in­tent of the Conveyer. Though these days are more adorn'd with Gold; yet those nearer the Nor­man Conquest, and before it, more resembled the Golden ones. For then; a few Rhithmes com­posed by an honest well mean­ing Bard, served to pass away the greatest possessions: the hearts of men were sure more honest, and their designs more honour­able, when it was enough to write.

The ways to prevent suits were to appoint a Register in every County, where the Estates of e­very Lord and Freeholder should be entred, that so the Purchaser may understand for what he traf­siqueth.

It would also prove much more easie for all, if the Parliament would enact that a summ should be difaulked from the ordinary Fees of the Lawyer, and that no cause should depend in any [Page 63]Court above a time which they should praefix; this would very much remedy the dilatoriness of their Processes: It rouseth my spleen to see men so infatuated, and so prone to gratifie revenge, that they will ruine themselves to advance people, many of whom are so great strangers to fence, if diverted from the paths they run in, that if one desireth to be resolved of the reason of a judge­ment or decree, they tell you it is according to their Books; by which, doubtless, they are fre­quently very much imposed on. They receive the placita of their Sages with greater reverence then the Auncients did their Oracles, which they thought were inspi­red from Heaven; and attribute a greater infalibility to them then [Page 64]those of the Roman perswasion in Ecclesiastick affairs to the Pope; forgetting that as humane, they may err in their opinions; setting them up above experi­ence, from which Osbourne said truly, King Charles received bet­ter Precepts then his Father from Buchanan. In fine, we may know them to be the soul of dissenti­on, and rapine; because like the issue of the Dragon's teeth sown by Cadmus, they begin to bite and embroile the Nation as soon as they tread her Stage.

The Poet

VErse to the brave, is like the Trumpet to the War­riour: it animates them to greater exploits. Ode Pin­darique inscribed the resur­rection. Mr. Cowley declareth its great use in the following Stanza.

[Page 66] It is reported of Alexander, that in all his expeditions he made Ho­mer his companion; and I verily suppose the Panegyricks of those dead Heroes inspired him with the briskest thoughts of emulation. Po­etry hath been Reverenced in all ages since the very first dawn of knowledge; which respect hath cer­tainly had its source from the O­racles delivering of their answers, and the ancient Philosophers set­ting forth their opinions in Mee­ter. The high sentiments which the Latines entertain for it, ap­pear by their giving the Professors of it the honourable Title of Vates. The Bards and Chroniclers in the Isles of Britain and Ireland have been in former times even ador'd for the Ballads in which they ex­toll'd the Deeds of their forefa­thers; [Page 67]and since the ages have been refined, doubtless, England hath produced those, who in this way have equall'd most of the Antients: and exceeded all the Moderns. Chaucer rose like the morning Starr of Wit, out of those black mists of ignorance; since him, Spencer may deserved­ly challenge the Crown; for though he may seem blameable in not observing decorum in some pla­ces enough, and in too much, in the whole, countenancing Knight­errantry; yet the easie similitudes, the natural Pourtraicts, the so re­fined and sublimated fancies with which he hath so bestudded every Canto of his subject will ea­sily reach him the Guerdon; and though fome may object to him that his Language is harsh and an­tiquated; [Page 68]yet his design was no­ble; to shew us that our language was expressive enough of our own sentiments; and to upbraid those who have indenizon'd such num­bers of forreign words; since in this way so many have excell'd, that we can give the Crown to no one, but the rest must be mani­festly injured: yet they must par­don me if I tell them that they seem to have degenerated by turning their stiles to light and insignificant Sonnets, and scur­rilous Burlesque, and offensive doggrel; which last way of Drol­lery hath so much obtain'd now, that they doubt not to abuse all se­rious things in it; nay even to make the lofty expressions of the Prince of Poets to seem ridiculous. They have not onely done this but some [Page 69]have turn'd that which us'd to charme our thoughtful heads, and to perswade our distemper'd spirits into gentle slumbers, by ea­sie and natural softness, into a rough Mistery and Art; they strive to bring wit, which is of so un­known a Nature, that like the wind no one knoweth whence it is, under logical Notions; ar­guing syllogistically and trou­bling the world with Volumes of what is impertinent to it; that they may advance their own names, so turning our delight in­to trouble. 'Tis a pity that men of these abilities should not en­noble some of those great sub­jects which our Nation yieldeth: but should spend their time in praising an Eye, or Feature, which they may see exceeded at [Page 70]any Countrey Wake. By this it is more evident that we have deviated from those paths which did lead our Ancestors to fame, and are become so effeminate, that like Sardanapalus, we spin amongst the Women, who by their Artifices have so wholly gain'd us, that we speak or think of nothing else; as commonly through our whole Malady those objects detain our thoughts most, which affected them at the begin­ning of it, and were its causes, since the stage which used to re­present general vices is come to reflect on particulars; it self, whilst it injureth the reputation of any one, becometh the greatest vice. Momus is not allowed to speak of all at all times. Since all men are naturally prone to ill, whoever [Page 71]is not purg'd himself, cannot ac­cuse another.

By these ways no Reformati­on is wrought, but great animo­sities arise. They who have fa­culties this way, ought to employ them in supporting the Pyramids of ancient virtue, or building new ones to it. Since the Sword defends the Pen, it ought to adorn the sword; since the Lawrels of the brave and valorous do defend the Muses from the Thunder of their Eenemies, and make them enjoy, in all tranquility, the sha­dy Groves, and refreshing Rills of their Parnassus; they ought in grateful layes to transmit the at­chievements of so great Benefa­ctors to all posterity.