A20559:589
The bright star which leadeth wise men to our Lord Jesus Christ, or, A…
The bright star which leadeth wise men to our Lord Jesus Christ, or, A familiar and learned exposition on the ten commandments gathered from the mouth of a faithful pastor by a gracious young man, sometime scholar in Cambridge.The bright star which leadeth wise men to our Lord Jesus Christ, or, A familiar and learned exposition on the ten commandements gathered from the mouth of a faithfull pastor by a gracious young man, sometime scholler in Cambridge.
London: printed by John Harison for Thomas Man, 1603London: printed by Iohn Harison for Thomas Man, 1603
Title page typeset from the transcription.
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.
And in truth, experience shows this among us daily, that if a man be left well and be of sufficient wealth to maintain himself in good sort, let him but give harbour to idleness, and all flies away, it goes to wrack, and by little & little like a moth it moulters away his great wealth, & makes him no better then a beggar afore it have done with him, unless he shake it of betime. And true it is that Solomon saith, His poverty comes like an armed man: Idle persons be poverties prisoners, if they have no calling to settle themselves in, poverty hath a calling to arrest them, and if they can take up themselves in no lawful business, poverty comes with a commission to take up them, and will not be put back neither, it comes armed, it will prevail. So that an idle man is a thief to himself, he does that to himself, that if another should do it, all men would take heed of him for a notorious cozener. And besides 2. Thess. 3. he condemns ⟨p. 67⟩such as walk inordinately, and bids them labour with their hands, and not be idle, that they may eat their own bread; as if he had said, he that doth nothing, hath right to nothing, he hath no bread of his own to eat, he puts stolen meat into his mouth every bit he eats, he cannot say, Lord give me this day my daily bread, for it is none of his, because he never earned it, God will have him do something afore he have any thing. God indeed allows recreation, he will have it to fit us for our calling not to hinder us from it. And why do we account any man a thief, but because he is a naughty fellow, he takes his neighbours meat and pays not for it, he takes his clothes, and gives him nothing in recompense: and why then is not an idle man a thief, for he takes his meat and his apparel, and what ever he hath from an other without allowance, without doing any thing for them; they be Gods, and God hath made no such bargain that he shall have them without doing service to him, but when he leaves his calling, he looseth his right and title, he lives of an others goods, & shall answer for it as a thief.
And in truth, experience shewes this among vs daily, that if a man be left well and be of sufficient wealth to maintaine himselfe in good sort, let him but giue harbour to idlenesse, and all flies away, it goes to wracke, and by little & little like a moath it moolters away his great wealth, & makes him no better then a begger afore it haue done with him, vnlesse he shake it of betime. And true it is that Salomon saith, His pouertie comes like an armed man: Idle persons be pouerties prisoners, if they haue no calling to settle thēselues in, pouertie hath a calling to arrest thē, and if they can take vp themselues in no lawfull businesse, pouertie comes with a commission to take vp them, and will not be put backe neither, it comes armed, it will preuaile. So that an idle man is a theefe to himselfe, he does that to himselfe, that if another should doe it, all men would take heed of him for a notorious cousener. And besides