feen, se presencer than 7 rank, nor affe&t a higher place than becomes thee. For bet ter, more honourable, [it is] that it be said unto thee, Come up hither; than that thou shouldst be put lower in the presence of the prince whom thine eyes have 8 feen, which must be very mortifying, (Luke xiv. 9) Go not forth haftily to strive without due consideration, either in-battle, or at law, left (thou know not] what to do in the end thereof, when thy neighbour hath put thee to 9 Thame. Debate thy cause with thy neighbour (him felf;] and discover not a secret to another, that is, a secret quarrel: a maxim particularly to be regarded by huf10 bands and wives if they Mould have any differences: Left he that heareth [it] put thee to shame, and thine in famy turn not away; left by telling the story he expose thee' II to contempt. A word fitly spoken [is like] apples of . I gold in pictures of silver, or rather, like oranges in a basket of wrought silver,' which must look extremely beauti. . ful. Such words as these have a rich and valuable meaning, 12 besides the handsome manner in which they are spoken. [AS] an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, [so thinking himself wronged or being provoked by it, he 13 esteems it precious. As the cold of snow, or a cooling breeze, in the time of harvest, [fo is] a faithful messenger to them that send him: for he refresheth the soul of his masters, who were ready to faint under the appre. 14 hension of ill success. Whoso boasteth himself of a false gift, of fine compliments not answered, and fine promises not performed, [is like] clouds and wind without rain, which 15 disappoint the expe&tation. By long, forbearing is a prince persuaded, whereas by violent opposition he is more in censed; and a soft tongue breaketh the bone, overcomes 16 the most stubborn resolution. Hast thou found honey? eat so much as is sufficient for thee, left thou be filled therewith, and vomit it: this is applicable to all worldly 17 delights, use them with moderation. Withdraw thy foot from thy neighbour's house; left he be weary of thee, and (soj hate thee; do not frequently press in upon him, or tarry too long, for that is hindering his business and thy own. There is such a thing as making ourselves too cheap; a cau tion which ministers should attend to above all other perfons. 18 A man that beareth false witness against his neighbour [is] a maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow; a compli. cated instrument of mischief, it smites and bruises like a maul, it pierces like a sword, when near at hand, and at a distance it wounds like a harp arrow, so that a man is 19 never out of its reach. Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint; they are not only useless but trouble fome, when 20 there is occasion to use them. As] he that taketh away a garment in cold weather, which is very unfeasonable, (and as] vinegar upon nitre, which makes a great fer ment, fo [is] he that singeth songs to an heavy heart; 21 it makes him more melancholy than before. If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink: For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the Lord shall reward thee; the human mind is fo formed as to be won by kindness, and is as sensible of it as the body is of burning coals applied to 23 the tenderest part. The north wind driveth away rain : so [doth) an angry countenance a backbiting tongue ; if it be proper no other way to reprove it, an angry.countenance may testify our strong disike, and make the panderer unwilling to vent his illnature in our presence. This is ap24 plicable to hearing prophaneness, &c. [It is] better to dwell in the corner of the house top, than with a 25 brawling woman and in a wide house. (As) cold waters to a thirsty soul, fo [is] good news from a far country, from which it is hard to get intelligence. We have reason to bless God for the art of writing, for the convenience of posts, and such easy conveyance of intelligence from our 26 absent friends ; especially for good news from heaven. A righteous man falling down before the wicked, being oppressed and trampled upon by him, [is as] a troubled 27 fountain, and a corrupt spring, a publick calamity. [It is] not good to eat much honey tho® very pleasant : fo [for men] to search their own glory [is not] glory; to hunt after applause is dishonourable, it counterbalances and 28 lesens all the other beauties of a man's charafter. He that (hath] no rule over his own fpirit, that cannot' bear VOL. V. affronts :: affronts and provocations with meekness, and afflictions with patience, [is like) a city (that is] broken down, [and] without walls; he is liable to every surprize, is very contemptible, and is exposed to innimerable mischiefs. Let us labour after the government of our felves; and learn of Christ, who was meek and lowly in heart; fofall we find honour, security, and peace to our souls.. . CHA P. XXVI.. A S snow in summer, and as rain in harvest, which i o prevent reaping and gathering in the fruits of the earth, so honour is not seemly for a fool; tho' he may look grand, he knows not how to use it, and does mischief 2 with it. As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse cáuselëss shall not come; a man is in no more danger from the causeless curse of others, than from the flying of a bird over his head; it fixes nowhere except upon :3 him that uttered it. A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, and a rod for the fool's back; a foolish wicked man must be taught and restrained by severe methods; no 4 others will do. Answer not a fool according to his folly, 5 left thou also be like unto him. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit; do not anfwer every impertinent speech or accufation of a clamorous fool; it is the better way to despise him: but if he should 1. grow insolent from your filence, a wise man may condescend to mortify him. A person must judge for himself which is . most proper; but it is best in general to be silent, there is no “: 6 furer way to mortify a fool. He that sendeth a message by the hand of a fool, cutteth off the feet, [and] drink eth damage; such a messenger will make lame work of his : : message, and bring inconveniences on him that employs him. '7 The legs of the lame are not equal, which gives a man a :...disagreeable air, especially if he affeEts agility: so [is] a parable in the mouth of fools; fo ridiculous is it for .....i wicked men to applaud and recommend virtue ; it only makes is their own wickedness the more conspicuous. As he that bindeth a stone in a sling, which is presently thrown out, 10 so [is] he that giveth honour to a fool; it will not con9tinue with him. [As] a thorn goeth up into the hand of a drunkard, fo [is] a parable in the mouth of fools; a drunkard when stumbling catcheth hold of a thorn to fupport him, which wounds him.' Thus wicked men, when they talk of religion, meddle to their hurt. A wicked man thinks to support himself by it; but he only hurts his character the 10 more, tho' his parable be ever so fine. The great (God) that formed all (things] both rewardeth the fool, and rewardeth transgressors, tho” he may suffer them to go on II a great while. As a dog returneth to his vomit, [10] a fool returneth to his folly; he commits the same errors for which he formerly smarted and professed to repent of, and 12 to becomes odious to God and man. Seest thou a man wife in his own conceit? [there is more hope of a fool than of him, that is, of one that has hardly common sense; he is a fool of God's making, the other makes himself ro. 13 The slothful (man) faith, [There is a lion in the way; a lion [is] in the streets: thus idle people frighten thein: selves from business; raise imaginary difficulties and aggra vate real ones. Many of these lions stand in the way on the 14 Lord's day. [As) the door turneth upon his hinges, 15 fo [doth] the flothful upon his bed. The flothful hideth his hand in [his] bosom; it grieveth him to bring it again to his mouth. A beautiful gradation; he does not care to stir or rise out of his bed : when he is up, he does not care to stretch out his hand to feed himself, and would be glad to eat by proxy. This habits of idleness grow; 16 the less a man doth, the less he is disposed to do. The sluggard [is] wiser in his own conceit than seven men that can render a reáfon; as stupid a creature as he is, he has a great conceit of his own abilities, thoʻ he has nothing 17 to say in defence of his opinions or practices. He that pafia eth by, [and] meddleth with strife [belonging] not to him, [is like) one that taketh a dog by the ears; he gets the displeasure of both parties, and is often hurt in the 18 quarrel. As a mad [man) who castěth firebrands, 19" arrows, and death, So [is] the man [that] deceiveth his neighbour, who leads him into fin, or impofes upon him, and faith, Am not I in sport? pretends that he G 2 means means no harm, only to make himself and others merry; while vice is thus encouraged, guilt contracted, and great mis20 chief is done. Where no wood is, (there] the fire goeth out: so where (there is no talebearer, the strife ceas. eth, therefore when you meet with such persons frown upon 21 them. [As] coals (are] to burning coals, and wood to · fire, kindling one another, fo [is] a contentious man to _1 kindle ftrife; he is easily enflamed himself and quickly 22 kindles others. The words of a talebearer [are) as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the 23 the belly, do secret, yet deep, and incurable injury. Burn ing lips and a wicked heart, illnatured, fatyrical terms, especially when used to expose what is virtuous and good, and to countenance vice, sare like a potsherd, or piece of broken pot or crucible covered with silver dross, in which silver has been melted, and is spread over it; fo contemptible is wicked wit. Many of the fatyrical produktions of our in 24 celebrated poets are of this nature. He that hateth dif- ' sembleth with his lips, and layeth up deceit within him; he intends a man's ruin when he makes a profession of 25 friendship; When he speaketh fair, believe him not: for (there are] seven abominations in his heart; when you have once discovered a man to be of that disposition, you have need of the greatest caution in dealing with him; he is 26 a most dangerous enemy. Whofe] hatred is covered by deceit, his wickedness shall be showed before the (whole] congregation; he will probably be exposed to mana kind, and become universally contemptible; and certainly be exposed to the view of the whole world at the judgment day. 27 Whoso diggeth a pit, with an ewil design, shall fall there. in: and he that rolleth a stoné, to injure others, it will 28 return upon him, and hurt himself. A lying tongue hateth (those that are] afflicted by it; it is hard for those who have done an injury to repeat the person wronged, they still go on to do more; and a flattering mouth worketh ruin; perfons by being courted and applauded are often ruined. Hence we see what mischief deceit, falsehood, and flattery do in the world, and bring on these who practise them. Let it then be our ambition to be christians indeed, in , whom there is no guile. CHA P. |