dBe not ashamed, saith Augustine, of thy Christian profession. Be not ashamed of it? will some say. It seemeth a needless admonition. eThere are so few now that are not Christians, that if a man be not one, he shall rather be noted and pointed at. But for all that, saith he, ftry it when thou wilt, and thou shalt find my words true. Do but strive to live according to the rules of Christianity; and see if thou be not derided and scoffed at for it by those, that are Christians in Name, but not in deed. And the like may be said truly of these times of ours, wherein tReligion is grown to be, as Bernard sometime complained, not a matter of form, but a matter of scorn: uSimon Zealots is become an odious Name; profession of Piety is accounted ⟨p. 118⟩Pharisaism, scrupulosity, and hypocrisy; “the fear of God esteemed folly; & […] religious carriage made commonly matter of reproach. †If a man live somewhat more strictly than the looser sort8 do, though not so strictly neither as his Christian profession requireth of him, (for even the best and the forwardest have their failings, and come far short of what they should) yhe shall not scape to have those opprobrious rearms and titles fastened on him, of a Precisian, a Puritan, and the like, by those that affect looseness, and zaccount the strictness of others a real controlling of their carriage. If he be conversant in Gods word, and diligent in frequenting the ministry of it; he is a Bible-bearer, and a gather up and down after Sermons. If he amake conscience of an oath, and will reprove others when they swear; he is a superstitious fellow, too straitlaced, more nice than wise. If he will not swill and swagger, drink healths and play the goodfellow, go for company to a Brothel-house, or *to a Play-house, blittle better, the very seminaries ⟨p. 119⟩and nurseries of all filthiness and profaneness; he is a man altogether unsociable, of a melancholy disposition, little better than a lunatic, as cthey said sometime of John the Baptist. If he will bear an evil word, & put up a supposed wrong, not stab or challenge at least any one that shall give him the lie, nor be ready to right himself by private revenge; he is a coward, a meacock, baseminded, a man of no courage, one of God Almighty's fools, at the least and the best.
dBe not ashamed, saith Augustine, of thy Christian profession. Be not ashamed of it? will some say. It seemeth a needlesse admonition. eThere are so few now that are not Christians, that if a man be not one, he shall rather be noted and pointed at. But for all that, saith he, ftrie it when thou wilt, and thou shalt finde my words true. Doe but striue to liue according to the rules of Christianitie; and see if thou be not derided and scoffed at for it by those, that are Christians in Name, but not in deed. And the like may be said truly of these times of ours, wherein tReligion is growne to be, as Bernard sometime complained, not a matter of forme, but a matter of scorne: uSimon Zelotes is become an odious Name; profession of Pietie is accounted ⟨p. 118⟩Pharisaisme, scrupulositie, and hypocrisie; “the feare of God esteemed folly; & 〈…〉 religious cariage made commonly matter of reproch. †If a man liue somewhat more strictly than the looser sort8 doe, though not so strictly neither as his Christian profession requireth of him, (for euen the best and the forwardest haue their failings, and come farre short of what they should) yhe shall not scape to haue those opprobrious rearmes and titles fastened on him, of a Precisian, a Puritane, and the like, by those that affect loosenesse, and zaccount the strictnesse of others a reall controlling of their cariage. If he be conuersant in Gods word, and diligent in frequenting the ministery of it; he is a Bible-bearer, and a gadder vp and downe after Sermons. If he amake conscience of an oath, and will reproue others when they sweare; he is a superstitious fellow, too straitlaced, more nice than wise. If hee will not swill and swagger, drinke healths and play the goodfellow, goe for company to a Brothel-house, or
- dNoli erubescere Christianum profiteri te &c. Aug. in Psal. 30.
- eTam pauci non Christiani remanserunt, ut eis magis objiciatur quia Christiani nō sunt, quàm ipsi audeant aliquibus objicere, quia Christiani sunt.Tam pauci non Christiani remanserunt, ut eis magis objiciatur quia Christiani nō sunt, quàm ipsi audeant aliquibus objicere, quia Christiani sunt.
- fTamen dico vobis, incipe, quicunque me audis, vivere quomodo Christianus, & vide si non tibi objiciatur & à Christianis, sed nomine, non vita, non moribus. Aug. ibid. Non deerunt & Christiani, qui prohibeant Christianè vivere. Idem de tem. 52. Turba ipsa quae cum Domino est, clamantes prohibet. Matth. 20. 31. i. Bonos Christianos, verè studiesos, volentes facere in Evangelio scripta Dei praecepta, Christiani mali & tepidi prohibent. Idem de verb. Dom. 18.Tamen dico vobis, incipe, quicunque me audis, vivere quomodo Christianus, & vide si non tibi objiciatur & à Christianis, sed nomine, non vita, non moribus. Aug. ibid. Non deerunt & Christiani, qui prohibeant Christianè vivere. Idem de tem. 52. Turba ipsa quae cum Domino est, clamantes prohibet. Matth. 20. 31. i. Bonos Christianos, verè studiesos, volentes facere in Euangelio scripta Dei praecepta, Christiani mali & tepidi prohibent. Idem de verb. Dom. 18.
- tPsalm. 14. 6. Non modò pietatis virtutem amisimus, sed nec speciem retinemus. Bern. apolog. ad Gu•elm. Abb. Ipsa religio in opprobrium venit. Idem Bern. epist. 117.
- u[Greek or Hebrew]. Luk. 6. 15. qui & [Greek or Hebrew] Matth. 10. 4. & Marc. 3. 18. non à patria, sed ab Hebr. radice [Greek or Hebrew] quod [Greek or Hebrew] significat. Ang. Canin. de Voc. N. T.〈non-Latin alphabet〉.
