A02178:4679
The works of the reverend and faithful servant of Jesus Christ M. Richard Greenham,…The workes of the reuerend and faithfull seruant af Iesus Christ M. Richard Greenham,…
The works of the reverend and faithful servant of Jesus Christ M. Richard Greenham, minister and preacher of the Word of God collected into one volume: revised, corrected, and published, for the further building of all such as love the truth, and desire to know the power of godliness. By H.H.The workes of the reuerend and faithfull seruant af Iesus Christ M. Richard Greenham, minister and preacher of the Word of God collected into one volume: reuised, corrected, and published, for the further building of all such as loue the truth, and desire to know the power of godlinesse. By H.H.
London: printed by Thomas Snodham and Thomas Creede for William Welby, 1612London: printed by Thomas Snodham and Thomas Creede for VVilliam VVelby, 1612
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
2 Riches dim our eyes as a cloud, that we cannot see far with them, and one may1 well say: Poverty hath slain a thousand, but riches hath slain ten thousand. They are very uncertain, they promise that which they cannot perform: neither can they afford a contented mind. A man will say, Oh, if I could get so many Furs, I should be very warm, and yet his heat cometh from his body, so many will say, if I had many farms, I should be well contented, when as a contented mind cometh from the Lord. Take •ivet and rub a Beggars cloak with it, it will make the cloak sweet; rub Velvet with it, and it will slain it. Likewise take riches, and give them to a poor man, and2 they will refresh him, give them to one already rich, and they will surcharge him. They are not the water of life always flowing, but they are as the brooks of Arabia which are3 most dry, when one should most need them for water. And they be as Spiders webs,4 which when they wax 'great, are swept away with a besom, and then either thou perishest from them, as did the rich man, or they perish from thee, as we may see in Jo•, ⟨p. 784⟩Art thou rich in money, thou art in danger of thieves? Art thou plentiful in household stuff, thou art in danger of fire? Hast thou much gold, the rust doth venom it and thee? Is thine apparel gorgeous, thou hast the Moth thine enemy? Hast thou much cattle, thou fearest rottenness, in merchandise Pirates fear thee, in husbandry blasting hindereth thee? Thus the Lord of Hosts hath set an host of enemies against all worldly things whatsoever. When the ice is frozen, one may walk on it for a time, but when the Sun cometh, it melteth, and such things perish sooner than they grow, In momento ardet, quod diu crescebat lignum. The Temple was destroyed in forty and six hours, that was so long in building.
2 Riches dimme our eyes as a cloude, that we cannot see farre with them, and one may