The happiness of the church, or, A description of those spiritual prerogatives wherewith Christ…The happines of the church, or, A description of those spirituall prerogatiues vvherewith Christ…

The Fryers and Jesuits have very strongly & strangely backbited Riches: but all their railing on it is but behind the back: secretly and in their hearts they love it. When they are out of the reach of eyes, then Gold is their Sun by day, and silver their Moon by night. Some of them for enforced want, like the fox dispraise the grapes they cannot reach. Or as Eusebius notes of Licinius the Emperor; that he used to rail at learning, & to say, nothing worse became a prince, because himself was illiterate. So they commend nothing more then Poverty, because they are, & must be poor, against their wills.

The Fryers and Iesuites haue very strongly & strangly backbited Riches: but all their railing on it is but behind the backe: secretly and in their hearts they loue it. When they are out of the reach of eyes, then Gold is their Sunne by day, and siluer their Moone by night. Some of them for enforced want, like the foxe dispraise the grapes they cannot reach. Or as Eusebius notes of Licinius the Emperor; that he vsed to raile at learning, & to say, nothing worse became a prince, because himself was illiterate. So they cōmend nothing more then Pouerty, because they are, & must be poore, against their wills.

Others of them find fault with Riches, whereof they have great store; but would that none should covet it beside themselves. So the cozening Epicure made all his fellow guests believe, that the banquet was poisoned; that all they refusing, he might glut himself alone. These often cheat themselves, and work their own bane: whiles they so beat off others from the world, and wrap themselves up in it to their confusion. The fox in the fable, with diverse other beasts, found a rich booty of costly robes and jewels. He persuades the Lyon that he needs not trouble himself with them, because he is king, and may command all at his pleasure. He tells the Stag, that if he should put them on, they would so molest him that he could not escape the huntsmen. For the Boar, he says they would evil favouredly become him: and the wolf he shuffles off with the false news of a fold of Lambs hard by, which would do him more good. So all gone he begins to put on the robes himself, and to rejoice in his lucky fraud. But instantly came the owners, and surprised him: who had so puzzled himself in these habiliments, that he could not by flight escape: so they took him, and hanged him up.