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day;" ;" for future things shall in their turns become presents, therefore the care of the present sufficeth; and yet moderate cares (whether they concern our particular, or the commonwealth, or our friends) are not blamed. But herein is a twofold excess; the one when the chain or thread of our cares, extended and spun out to an over great length, and unto times too far off, as if we could bind the divine providence by our provisions, which even with the heathen, was always found to be a thing insolent and unlucky; for those which did attribute much to fortune, and were ready at hand to apprehend with alacrity the present occasions, have for the most part in their actions been happy; but they who in a compass, wisdom, have entered into a confidence that they had belayed all events, have for the most part encountered misfortune. The second excess is, when we dwell longer in our cares than is requisite for due deliberating or firm resolving; for who is there amongst us that careth no more than sufficeth either to resolve of a course or to conclude upon an impossibility, and doth not still chew over the same things, and tread a maze in the same thoughts, and vanisheth in them without issue or conclusion: which kind of cares are most contrary to all divine and human respects.

OF EARTHLY HOPE.

"Better is the sight of the eye, than the apprehension of the mind."

Pure sense receiving every thing according to the natural impression, makes a better state and govern

ment of the mind, than these same imaginations and apprehensions of the mind; for the mind of man hath this nature and property even in the gravest and most settled wits, that from the sense of every particular, it doth as it were bound and spring forward, and take hold of other matters, foretelling unto itself that all shall prove like unto that which beateth upon the present sense; if the sense be of good, it easily runs into an unlimited hope, and into a like fear, when the sense is of evil, according as is said

"The oracles of hopes doth oft abuse."

And that contrary,

"A froward soothsayer is fear in doubts."

But yet of fear there may be made some use; for it prepareth patience and awaketh industry,

"No shape of ill, comes new or strange to me,
"All sorts set down, yea, and prepared be."

But hope seemeth a thing altogether unprofitable; for to what end serveth this conceit of good. Consider and note a little if the good fall out less than thou hopest; good though it be, yet less because it is, it seemeth rather loss than benefit through thy excess of hope; if the good prove equal and proportionable in event to thy hope, yet the flower thereof by thy hope is gathered; so as when it comes the grace of it is gone, and it seems used, and therefore sooner draweth on satiety; admit thy success prove better than thy hope, it is true a gain seems to be made but had it not been better to have gained the principal by hoping for nothing, than the increase by hoping for less; and this is the operation of hope

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in good fortunes, but in misfortunes it weakeneth all force and vigour of the mind; for neither is there always matter of hope, and if there be, yet if it fail but in part, it doth wholly overthrow the constancy and resolution of the mind; and besides, though it doth carry us through, yet it is a greater dignity of mind to bear evils by fortitude and judgment, than by a kind of absenting and alienation of the mind from things present to things future, for that it is to hope. And therefore it was much lightness in the poets to fain hope to be as a counter-poison of human diseases, as to mitigate and assuage the fury and anger of them, whereas indeed it doth kindle and enrage them, and causeth both doubling of them and relapses. Notwithstanding we see that the greatest number of men give themselves over to their imaginations of hope and apprehensions of the mind in such sort, that ungrateful towards things past, and in a manner unmindful of things present, as if they were ever children and beginners, they are still in longing for things to come. "I saw all men walk

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ing under the sun, resort and gather to the second 66 person, which was afterwards to succeed: this is an " evil disease, and a great idleness of the mind."

But perhaps you will ask the question, whether it be not better, when things stand in doubtful terms, to presume the best, and rather hope well than distrust; specially seeing that hope doth cause a greater tranquillity of mind?

Surely I do judge a state of mind which in all doubtful expectations is settled and floateth not; and

doth this out of a good government and composi-
tion of the affections, to be one of the principal sup-
porters of man's life: but that assurance and repose
of the mind, which only rides at anchor upon hope,
I do reject as wavering and weak; not that it is not
convenient to foresee and pre-suppose out of a sound
and sober conjecture, as well the good as the evil,
that thereby we may fit our actions to the probabi-
lities and likelihoods of their event, so that this be a
work of the understanding and judgment, with a
due bent and inclination of the affection: but which
of
you hath so kept his hopes within limits, as when
it is so, that you have out of a watchful and strong
discourse of the mind set down the better success to
be in apparency the more likely; you have not
dwelt upon the very muse and forethought of the
good to come, and giving scope and favour unto
your mind, to fall into such cogitations as into
a pleasant dream; and this it is which makes the
mind light, frothy, unequal, and wandering; where-
fore all our hope is to be bestowed upon the heavenly
life to come but here on earth the purer our sense
is from the infection and tincture of imagination, the
better and wiser soul.

"The sum of life to little doth amount,
"And therefore doth forbid a longer count."

OF HYPOCRITES.

"I demand mercy and not sacrifice."

All the boasting of the hypocrite is of the works of the first table of the law, which is of adoration and

duty towards God; whereof the reason is double, both because such works have a greater pomp and demonstration of holiness, and also because they do less cross their affections and desires; therefore the way to convict hypocrites, is to send them from the works of sacrifice to the works of mercy, whence cometh that saying:

This is pure and immaculate religion with God "the Father, to visit orphans and widows in their "tribulations:" and that saying, "He that loveth "not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he "love God, whom he hath not seen."

Now there is another kind of deeper and more extravagant hypocrisy; for some, deceiving themselves, and thinking themselves worthy of a more near access and conversation with God, do neglect the duties of charity towards their neighbour, as inferior matters, which did not indeed cause originally the beginning of a monastical life (for the beginnings were good), but brought in that excess and abuse which are followed after; for it is truly said, "That "the office of praying is a great office in the church :” and it is for the good of the church that there be consorts of men freed from the cares of this world, who may with daily and devout supplications and observances solicit the divine Majesty for the causes of the church. But unto this ordinance, that other hypocrisy is a nigh neighbour; neither is the general institution to be blamed, but those spirits which exalt themselves too high to be refrained; for even Enoch, which was said to walk with God, did pro