Moses his choice with his eye fixed upon Heaven, discovering the happy condition of…

Again further, if you would have this recompense ¹of reward, labour to unsnarl your selves from the creature, labour to get your hearts loose and untangled from whatsoever is in the world, from all earthly engagements. It is a speech that I have read of one Demades, when the Emperor sent to his Countrymen of Athens, to give him Divine honour, and they were loth to yield unto it, but consulted about ⟨p. 718⟩it, says he, Take heed you be not so busy about heavenly matters, as to lose your earthly possessions; that indeed is the voice of a carnal heart, Let not me look after the high conceits of heavenly matters as to lose my earthly possessions: but rather turn it the other way, Take heed you be not so busy about earthly matters, as to lose your heavenly possessions.

Again further, if you would have this recompence ¹of reward, labor to unsnarl your selves from the creature, labor to get your hearts loose and untangled from whatsoever is in the world, from all earthly engagements. It is a speech that I have read of one Demades, when the Emperor sent to his Countreymen of Athens, to give him Divine honor, and they were loth to yield unto it, but consulted about ⟨p. 718⟩it, says he, Take heed you be not so busie about heavenly matters, as to lose your earthly possessions; that indeed is the voyce of a carnal heart, Let not me look after the high conceits of heavenly matters as to lose my earthly possessions: but rather turn it the other way, Take heed you be not so busie about earthly matters, as to lose your heavenly possessions.

1. 14.

I have read of Antipater King of Macedonia, that when one presented him a Book treating of happiness, his answer was, [Greek or Hebrew], I have no leisure; you have been presented with Sermons, and now with a Book treating of heavens happiness, take heed that no earthly entanglements so take your heart, that you should put off all with such a thought, I must mind and follow my occasions; let no other things take up your heads or hearts, that you should have no liberty to your spirits to seek after these glorious things, or at least not so to seek after them as becomes things of such a high and glorious nature as these are.