1. Think not thy felf better for any thing that happens to thee from without. For although thou mayft by gifts beftowed upon thee be better than another, as one horse is better than another, that is of more use to others; yet as thou art a man, thou haft nothing to commend thee to thy felf but that only by which thou art a man, that is, by what thou chufest and refuseft.

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2. Humility confifts not in railing against thy felf, or wearing mean cloaths, or going foftly and fubmiffly but in hearty and real evil or mean opinion of thy felf. Believe thy felf an unworthy perfon heartily, as thou believeft thy felf to be hungry, or poor, or fick, when thou art fo.

3. Whatsoever evil thou fayft of thy felf, be content that others fhould think to be true: and it thou calleft thy felt fool, be not angry if another say so of thee. For if thou thinkeft fo truly,all men in the world defire other men to be of their opinion; and he is an hypocrite that accufes himself before others, with an intent not to be believed. But he that calls himself intemperate, foolish,luftful,and is angry when his neighbours call him fo, is both a falfe and a proud perfon.

4. Love to be concealed, and little efteemed be Ama nefciri content to want praise, never being troubled when & pro nihilo reputari, Gerthou art flighted or undervalued; for thou canst not fon undervalue thy felf and if thou thinkeft fo meanly as there is reason, no contempt will seem unreasonable, and therefore it will be very tolerable.

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5. Never be afhamed of thy birth, or thy parents, villan noor thy trade, or thy prefent employment, for the bilitado non meannels or poverty of any of them: and when there cognofce pais an occafion to fpeak of them: fuch an occafion as * Chi del arwould invite you to fpeak of any thing that pleafes you, te fua fe ver. omit it not; but speak as readily and indifferently of pre vive con thy meanness as of thy greatness: Primiflans the first vergogna. King of Bohemia kept his country-fhooes always by him, to remember from whence he was raised: and Agathocles by the furniture of his Table confeffed, that from a Potter he was raised to be the King of Sicily. 6.Never speak any thing directly tending to thy praise

or glory; that is, with a purpose to be commended and for no other end. If other ends be mingled with thy honour, as if the glory of God, cr charity, or ne ceffity, or any thing of prudence be thy end, you are not tied to omit your difcourfe or your defign that you may avoid praife, but purlue your end, though praise come along in the company. Only let not praise be the defign.

7. When thou haft faid or done any thing for which thou receiveft praife or eftimation, take it indifferently and return it to God; reflecting upon him as the Giver of the gift, or the Bleffer of the action, or the aid of the design and give God thanks for making thee an inftrument of his glory, or the benefit of others.

8. Secure a good name to thy felf by living vertu oully and humbly: but let this good name be nurfed abroad and never be brought home to look uponit: let others use it for their own advantage; let them (peak of it if they pleafe; but do not thou at all ufe it, but as an instrument to do God glory, and thy neighbours more advantage. Let thy face like Mofes's fhine to o thers, but make no looking-glaffes for thy felf.

9. Take no content in praile when it is offered thee: but let thy rejoycing in God's gift be allayed with fear, left this good bring thee to evil. Ufe the praife as you use your pleasure in eating and drinking: if it Ti nuir comes, make it do drudgery, let it ferve other ends, Bexioxov and minilter to neceffities, and to caution, left by pride you lofe your juft praife which you have deferved; or females, elfe by being praised unjustly, you receive fhame unto ήθελον ένα your felf with God and wife men.

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10. Ufe no stratagems and devices to get praile. STUD TOUTES Some ufe to enquire into the faults of their own acti παυμάζω ons or discourses on purpose to hear that it was well σι, κι έπαι હું κολυθερίες done or spoken, and without fault: others bring the negu matter into talk, or thrust themselves into company, ζωσιν, ὦ , and intimate and give occafion to be thought or spoke μεγάλες φι - of Thefe men make a bait to perfuade themfelves to Apps, 4r. Ewallow the hook, till by drinking the waters of varian.Epift. nity they fwell and burft.

επικραυγή

C. 21. 1. I.

11. Make no fuppletories to thy felf, when thou

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art difgraced or flighted, by pleafing thy felf with Alter alteri fuppofing thou didit deferve praife, though they un- fatis amplum derftood thee not, or envioully detracted from thee: mus, faris uneither do thou get to thy felf a private theatre and nus, fatis nul Aatterers, in whofe vain noifes and phantaftick prailus. ¿Sen. fes thou may't keep up thine own good opinion of thy felf.

12. Entertain no fancies of vanity and private whifpers of the devil of pride; fuch as was that of Nabuchadonozor; Is not this great Babylon which I have built for the honour of my name, and the might of my majefty, and the power of my kingdom? Some phantaftick fpirits will walk alone, and dream waking of greatneffes, of palaces, of excellent orations, fuil theatres, loud applaufes, fudden advancement, great fortunes, and io will spend an hour with imaginative pleasure; all their employment being nothing but fumes of pride, and fecret indefinite defires and fignifications of what their heart wifhes. In this although there is nothing of its own nature directly vicious, yet it is either an ill mother or an ill daughter, an ill fign or an ill effect, and therefore at no hand confifting with the fafety and interefts of Humility.

13. Suffer others to be praised in thy prefence, and entertain their good and glory with delight; but at no hand difparage them, or leffen the report, or make an objection; and think not the advancement of thy brother is a leffening of thy worth. But this act is allo to extend further.

14. Be content that he should be employed, and thou laid by as unprofitable; his fentence approved, thine rejected; he be preferred, and thou fixed in a low employment.

15. Never compare thy felf with others, unless it be to advance them and to deprefs thy felf. To which purpose we must be fure in fome fence or other to think our felves the worft in every company where we come: One is more learned than I am, another is more prudent, a third honourable, a fourth more chast, or he is more charitable, or less proud. For the humble man obferves their good, and reflects only upon his

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own vileness; or confiders the many evils of him felf certainly known to himfelf, and the ili of others but by uncertain report: or he confiders that the evils done by another are out of much infirmity or ignorance, but his own fins are against a clearer light; and if the other had fo great helps, he would have done more good and lefs evil: or he remembers that his old fins before his converfion were greater in the nature of the thing, or in certain circumstances, than the fins of other men. (So S. Paul reckoned himself the chiefeft of finners, because tormerly he had acted the chiefeft fin of perfecuting the Church of God.) But this rule is to be used with this Caution, That though it be good always to think meaneft of our felves, yet it is not ever fafe to fpeak it, because those circumftances and confiderations, which determine thy thoughts are not known to others as to thy felf; and it may concern others, that they hear thee give God thanks for the graces he hath given thee. But if thou preferveft thy thoughts and opinions of thy felf truly humble, you may with more fafety give God thanks in publick for that good which cannot, or ought not to be concealed.

16. Be not always ready to excufe every overfight, or indifcretion, or ill action: but if thou beeft guilty of it, confefs it plainly: for vertue fcorns a lye for its cover: but to hide a fin with it,is like a cruft of leprofie drawn upon an ulcer. If thou beeft not guilty, (unless it be fcandalous) be not over-earnest to remove it; but rather ufe it as an argument to chaftife all greatnefs of fancy and opinion in thy felf; and accusftom thy felt to bear reproof patiently and contentedly, and the harfh words of thy enemies, as knowing that the anger of an enemy is a better Monitor,and reprefents our faults or admonishes us of our duty with more heartiness, than the kindness does, or precious balms of a friend.

17. Give God thanks for every weakness, deformity, and imperfection, and accept it as a favour and grace of God, and an inftrument to refift pride and nurfe humility; ever remembring, that when God, by giving thee a crooked back, hath alfo made thy fpirit

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ftoop or lefs vain, thou art more ready to enter the narrow gate of Heaven, than by being ftraight, and ftanding upright, and thinking highly. Thus the Apostles rejoyced in their infirmities, not moral,but natural and accidental, in their being beaten and whipt like (laves, in their nakedness and poverty.

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18. Upbraid no man's weakness to him to difcomfort him, neither report it to difparage him, neither delight to remember it to leffen him, or to fet thy felf above him. Be fure never to praise thy felf, or to difpraife any man elle, unlefs God's glory or fome holy end do hallow it. And it was noted to the praise of Cyrus, that amongst his equals in age he would never play at any fport, or ufe any exercife in which he knew himself more excellent than they: but in fuch in Ama Pamice which he was unskilful he would make his challenges, diffetto fuo. left he should fhame them by his victory, and that In colloquis himfelt might learn fomething of their skill, and do pueri invi them civilities.

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aliis non fient, fi mon omnino in

difputationibus victoriam femper obtinere laborent. Non tantum egregium eft fcire vincere, fed etiam pofe vinci pulchrum eft, ubi victoria eft damnofa. Plut, de educ. liber.

19. Befides the foregoing parts and actions, Humility teaches us to fubmit our felves and all our faculties to God, To believe all things, to do all things, to fuffer all things which his will enjoyns us: to be content in every estate or change, knowing we have deferved worse than the worft we feel; and (as Anytus Nihil ita digfaid to Alcibiades) he hath taken but half, when he num eft oc might have taken all: to adore his goodness, to fear ut eorum mo his greatnefs, to worship his eternal and infinite ex- res qui com pellantibus fe cellencies, and to submit our felves to all our fu- difficiles pr periours in all things according to Godliness, and to bent, Plati be meek and gentle in our converfation towards' others

Now although according to the nature of every grace, this begins as a gift, and is increafed like a habit, that is, beft by its own acts; yet befides the former acts and offices of Humility, there are certain other exercises and confiderations, which are good

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