Moses his self-denial delivered in a treatise upon Hebrews 11, the 24. verseMoses his self-denyall delivered in a treatise upon Hebrewes 11, the 24. verse

Fourthly,¹ it is not much in the esteem of men neither, who are wise, and rational: hence it is observed by some, that we never read of any in scripture but three, who solemnized their birth days,² and they were Pharaoh, Jeroboam, and Herod, by which they gather how little the glory that came from parentage was esteemed; he that boasts of his pedigree boasts of another's. Seneca in his four and fortieth Epistle writing to a knight of Rome who was preferred for his ⟨p. 18⟩valour, but yet of mean parentage, for which he seemed to be troubled, Seneca cites him a notable speech of Plato: ³there is no King but is raised from those which were servants; there is no servant but had some of his ancestors Kings. Rehoboam was of a foolish childish spirit, though above forty years old, and yet he came from Solomon the wisest upon the earth. Nabal, whose name was a fool, whose disposition was accordingly, who was of a sordid churlish spirit, yet he came from Caleb, a man of a most choice & excellent spirit: 1 Sam. 25. 3. Jonathan that was that idol Priest we read of, Jud. 18. 30. yet he was Moses his grandchild, Cershoms son. Honour is but a shadow, and therefore it need be of something that is our own; riches, places of dignity, titles of honour put upon ancestors by Princes are accounted now the greatest nobility, and this descends to the honour of children; but that nobility which these things now put upon men, heretofore Martyrdom was esteemed to ⟨p. 19⟩do: and therefore amongst Christians, in the primitive times, children were wont to glory in their parentage as noble, if they had been Martyrs:⁴ but yet Chrysostom in his third sermon upon Lazarus labours to take off men from glorying in this, because it was not their own; he says it is a frigid, empty, vain boasting to boast of this, and gives this reason; for the virtue of others cannot perfect us. It is not from whence a man comes, that is his true glory, but what he is, and what good he does. It was the expression of a heathen, that he regarded no more his wicked children that came from him, then he would vermin that came from his body: if we be wicked, we may be a disgrace to our ancestors, they can be no honour to us.