Three treatises of the vanity of the creature. The sinfulness of sin. The life…Three treatises of the vanity of the creature. The sinfulnesse of sinne. The life…

Now we are to show two things. First, that a mere natural light will never thus far convince a man. Secondly, that the spirit by the Commandment doth. Some¹ things nature is sufficient to teach, God may be felt and found out in some fence by those that ignorantly worship him. Nature doth convince men that they are not so good as they should be, the Law is written in the² hearts of those that know nothing of the letter of it; Idleness, bestiality, lying, luxury the Cretan poet could³ condemn in his own country-men; Drinking of⁴ healths ad plenoscalices, by measure and constraint, condemned by Law of a heathen prince, and that in his luxury. Long hair condemned by the dictate of nature⁵ and right reason, and the reason why so many men, and whole nations notwithstanding use it, is given by Saint⁶ Hierome, Quia à natura deciderunt, sicut multis alijs rebus comprobatur. And indeed as Tertullian saith of women's long hair, that it is, Humilitatis suae sarcina, the⁷ burden as it were of their Humility, so by the warrant of that proportion which Saint Paul allows, 1. Cor. 11. 14. 15. We may call mens long hair Superbiae suae sarcinam, nothing but a clog of pride. Saint Austin hath written three whole chapters together against this sinful custom⁸ of nourishing hair, which he saith is expressly against the precept of the Apostle, whom to understand otherwise then the very letter sounds, is to wrest the manifest words of the Apostle unto a perverse construction. But to return, these Remnants of nature in the hearts of men are but like the blazes and glimmerings of a candle in the socket, there is much darkness mingled with them. Nature cannot throughly convince.