The Vnfortunate Traveller, or The Life Of Jack Wilton Read online

thrust a payre of dry olde bootes as abreast plate before his belly of his doublet, because he would notbe dangerously hurt: another that had twilted all his trusse full ofcounters, thinking if the enemie shoulde take him, he would mistake themfor golde, and so saue his life for his money. Very deuout asses theywere, for all they were so dunstically set forth, & such as thoughtthey knew as much of Gods minde as richer men, why inspiration was theirordinarie familiar, and buzde in theyr eares like a Bee in a boxe eueriehoure what newes from heauen, hell, and the lands of whipperginnie,displease them who durst, hee shoulde have his mittimus to damnation _extempore_, they woulde vaunt there was not a pease difference twixt themand the Apostles, they were as poore as they, of as base trades as they,and no more inspired than they, and with God there is no respect ofpersons, onely herein may seeme some little diuersitie to lurke, that_Peter_ wore a sword, and they count it flat hel fire for anie man toweare a dagger, nay so grounded and grauelled were they in this opinion,that now when they should come to battel, thers nere a one of them woldbring a blade (no not an onion blade) about him, to die for it Itwas not lawfull sayde they, for anie man to draw the sworde but themagistrate, and in fidelitie (which I had welnigh forgot) _Iacke Leiden_theyr magistrate had the image or likenesse of a peece of a rustie swordlike a lusty lad by his side, now I remember me, it was but a foileneither, and he wore it, to shew that he should haue the foile of hisenemies, which might haue bin an oracle for his twohande interpretation._Quid plura_, his battell is pitcht, by pitcht, I do not meane set inorder, for that was far from their order, onely as sailers do pitchtheir appareil, to make it stormeproofe, so had most of them pitchttheir patcht clothes, to make them impearceable. A neerer way than tobe at the charges of armor by halfe: and in another sort hee mightbee sayde to haue pitcht y field, for he had pitcht or set vp his restwhither to flie if they were discomfited. Peace, peace there in thebelfrie, seruice begins, vpon their knees before they ioyne, fals _IohnLeiden_ and his fraternitie verie deuoutly, they pray, they houle, theyexpostulate with God to grant them victory, and vse such vnspeakablevehemence, a man would thinke them the onely well bent men vtiderheauen, wherein let mee dilate a little more grauely than the nature ofthis historie requires, or will be expected of so young a practitionerin diuinitie: that not those that intermissiuely cry, Lord open vnto us,Lord open vnto us, enter first into the kingdome of heauen, that not thegreatest professors haue the greatest portion in grace, that all isnot golde that glisters. When Christ sayd, the kingdome of heauen mustsuffer violence, hee meant not the violence of long babling praiers tono purpose, nor the violence of tedious inuective sermons without wit,but the violence of faith, the violence of good works, the violence ofpatient suffering. The ignorant arise and snatch the kingdome of heauento themselues with greedines, when we with all our learning sinke downeinto hell. Where did _Peter_ and _Iohn_ in the third of the Acts, findethe lame cripple but in the gate of the temple called beautifull, in thebeautifullest gates of our temple, in the forefront of professors, aremany lame cripples, lame in lyfe, lame in good workes, lame in eueriething, yet will they alwayes sit at the gates of the temple, none bemore forwarde tha they to enter into matters of reformation, yet nonemore behinde hand to enter into the true temple of the Lord by the gatesof good life. You may obiect, that those which I speak against, aremore diligent in reading the scriptures, more carefull to resort vntosermons, more sober in their lookes and modest in their attire than anieelse: but I praie you let me aunswere you, Doth not Christ saie, thatbefore the latter daie the Sunne shall be turned into darknes, & theMoone into bloud, whereof what may the meaning be, but that theglorious sun of the gospell shall be eclipsed with the dun cloude ofdissimulation, that that which is the brightest planet of saluation,shall be a meanes of errour and darknes: and the moone shal be turnedinto bloud, those that shine fairest, make the simplest shew, seeme mostto fauour religion, shall rent out the bowels of the Church, be turnedinto bloud, and all this shall come to passe, before the notable daieof the Lord, whereof this age is the eue. Let me vse a more familiarexample since the heate of a great number hath outraged so excessiuely.Did not the deuill leade Christ to the pinacle or highest part of thetemple to tempt him, if he lead Christ, he wil leade a whole armie ofhypocrites to the toppe or highest part of the temple, the highest stepof religion and holines, to seduce them and subuert them. I say vnto youthat which this our tempted sauiour with many other words besought hisdisciples, saue your selues from this froward generation. Verily, verilythe seruaunt is not greater than his master: verily, verily, sinfulmen are not holier than holy Jesus their maker. That holy Jesus againerepeats this holy sentence, Remember the wordes I sayde vnto you, theseruant is not holier or greater than his master, as if he should say,remember then, imprint in your memorie your pride and singularitie willmake you forget them, the effectes of them many yeeres hence willcome to passe. Whosoeuer will seeke to saue his soule shall loose itWhosoeuer seekes by headlong meanes to enter into heauen, & disanullGods ordinance, shal with y gyants that thought to scale heauen incontempt of Jupiter, be ouerwhelmed with mount Ossa & Pelion, & dwelwith the deuill in eternal desolation. Though the high priests officewas expired, when _Paul_ said vnto one of them, God rebuke thee thoupainted sepulchre, yet when a stander by reproued him saying, Reuilestthou the high priest? he repented & askt forgiuenesse. That which Isuppose I doe not grant, the lawfulnes of the authoritie they opposethemselues agaynst, is sufficiently proued, farre bee it my vnderageargumentes should intrude themselues as a greene weake prop to supportso high a building, let it suffice, if you knowe Christ, you know hisfather also, if you know Christianitie, you know the Fathers of theChurch also, but a greate number of you with _Philip_ haue bene longwith Christ, and haue not knowen him, haue long professed your seluesChristians, and not knowen his true ministers, you follow the French andScotitsh fashion and faction, and in all pointes are lyke the Swizers,_Qui quorunt cum qua gente cadunt_, that seeke with what nation they mayfirst miscarrie.

  In the dayes of _Nero_ there was an odde fellowe that had found out anexquisite waie to make glasse as hammer proofe as golde: shall I saie,that the like experiment he made vppon glasse, we haue practised on theGospell? I, confidently will I, we haue found out a slight to hammer itto anie heresie whatsoeuer, but those furnaces of falshood and hammerheads of heresie must be dissolued and broken as his was, or els I feareme the false glittering glasse of innouation will bee better esteemed ofthan the ancient gold of the gospell. The fault of faults is this, thatyour dead borne faith is begotten by to too infant fathers. _Cato_ oneof the wisest men Roman histories canonized, was not borne till hisfather was foure score yeeres olde, none can be a perfect fatherof faith and beget men aright vnto God, but those that are aged inexperience, haue many yeres imprinted in their milde conuersation, andhaue with Zaclteus sold all their possessions of vanities, to inioy thesweet fellowshippe, not of the humane but spirituall messias. Ministersand pastors sell awaie your sects and schismes to the decrepite Churchesin contention beyond sea, they haue bene so long inured to warre bothabout matters of religion and regiment, that now they haue no peace ofminde, but in troubling all other mens peace. Because the pouertie oftheir prouinces will allow them no proportionable maintenance for highercallings of ecclesiasticall magistrates, they would reduce vs to thepresident of their rebellious persecuted beggerie: much like the sectof philosophers called cinikes, who when they saw they were borne tono lands or possessions, nor had anie possible meanes to support theirdesperate estates, but they must liue despised and in miserie doe whatthey could, they plotted and consulted with themselues howe to maketheyr pouertie better esteemed of than rich dominion and soueraigntie.The vpshot of their plotting and consultation was this, that they wouldliue to themselues, scorning the verie breath or conipanie of all men,they profest (according to y rate of their lands) voluntarie pouerty,thin fare and lying hard, contemning and inueighing against al thoseas brute beasts whatsoeuer whom the world had giuen anie reputation forriches or prosperitie. _Diogenes_ was one of the
first and fonnost ofthe ringleaders of this rustie morositie, and he for all his nicedogged disposition, and blunt deriding of worldly drosse, and the grossefelycitie of fooles, was taken notwithstanding a little after veriefairely coining monie in his cell: so fares it vp and down with ourcinicall reformed forraine Churches, they will disgest no grapes of greatBishoprikes forsooth, because they cannot tell how to come by them, theymust shape their cotes good men according to their cloth, and doe asthey may, not as they woulde, yet they must giue vs leaue heere inEngland that are their honest neighbours, if wee haue more cloth thanthey, to make our garment somewhat larger. What was the foundation orgroundworke of this dismall declining of Munster, but the banishing oftheir Bishop, their confiscating and casting lots for Church liuings,as the souldiers cast lots for Christes garments, and in short tearmes,theyr making the house of God a den of theeues. The house of God a numberof hungry