Here are
_Indian_
Ants that carry Gold, and hoard it up.
Erasmus
_Ti. _ Have you any other beside this? For truly this is a wonderful neat
one, and with a pleasing Aspect salutes a Man at his entring in, and
bids him welcome.
_Eu. _ Let every Man gather a Nosegay, that may put by any worse Scent he
may meet with within Doors. Every one likes not the same Scent,
therefore let every one take what he likes. Don't be sparing, for this
Place lies in a Manner common; I never shut it up but a-Nights.
_Ti. _ St. Peter keeps the Gates, I perceive.
_Eu. _ I like this Porter better than the _Mercuries_, Centaurs, and
other fictitious Monsters, that some paint upon their Doors.
_Ti. _ And 'tis more suitable to a Christian too.
_Eu. _ Nor is my Porter dumb, for he speaks to you in Three Languages.
_Ti. _ What does he say?
_Eu. _ Read it yourself.
_Ti. _ It is too far off for my Eyes.
_Eu. _ Here's a reading Glass, that will make you another _Lynceus. _
_Ti. _ I see the Latin. _Si vis ad vitam ingredi, serva mandata_, Mat.
19, 17. If thou wilt, enter into Life, keep the Commandments.
_Eu. _ Now read the _Greek_.
_Ti. _ I see the _Greek_, but I don't well know what to make on't; I'll
refer that to _Theophilus_, who's never without _Greek_ in his Mouth.
_Th. _ [Greek: Metanoêsate kai epistrepsate. Praxeôn tô tritô. ] _Repent
and be converted. _ Acts 3. 19.
_Ch. _ I'll take the _Hebrew_ upon myself, [Hebrew: vetsadik be'emunato
yihyeh] _And the Just shall live by Faithfulness. _
_Eu. _ Does he seem to be an unmannerly Porter, who at first Dash, bids
us turn from our Iniquities, and apply our selves to Godliness, and then
tells us, that Salvation comes not from the Works of the Law; but from
the Faith of the Gospel; and last of all, that the Way to eternal Life,
is by the Observance of evangelical Precepts.
_Ti. _ And see the Chapel there on the right Hand that he directs us to,
it is a very fine one. Upon the Altar there's _Jesus Christ_ looking up
to Heaven, and pointing with his right Hand towards God the Father, and
the holy Spirit; and with his Left, he seems to court and invite all
Comers.
_Eu. _ Nor is he mute: You see the _Latin; Ego sum via, veritas, et vita;
I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. _ [Greek: Egô eimi to alpha kai to
ômega. ] In _Hebrew_, [Hebrew: Lechu banim shim'uh li, yr'at adonai
alamdeichem] _Come, ye Children, hearken unto me; I will teach you the
fear of the Lord. _
_Ti. _ Truly the Lord _Jesus_ salutes us with a good Omen.
_Eu. _ But that we may not seem uncivil, it is meet that we pay back an
Acknowledgment, and pray that since we can do nothing of ourselves, he
would vouchsafe of his infinite Goodness to keep us from ever straying
out of the Path of Life; but that we casting away _Jewish_ Ceremonies,
and the Delusions of the World, he would guide us by the Truth of the
Gospel to everlasting Life, drawing us of himself to himself.
_Ti. _ It is most reasonable that we should pray, and the Place invites
us to it.
_Eu. _ The Pleasantness of the Garden draws a great many Persons to it;
and 'tis a rare Thing that any Passes by Jesus without an Ejaculation. I
have made him Keeper, not only of my Garden, but of all my Possessions,
and of both Body and Mind, instead of filthy _Priapus_. Here is you see
a little Fountain pleasantly bubbling with wholsome Waters, this in some
Measure represents that only Fountain of Life, that by its divine
Streams, refreshes all that are weary and heavy laden; which the Soul,
tired with the Evils of this World, pants after, just as the Hart in the
Psalmist does after the Water Brooks, having tasted of the Flesh of
Serpents. From this Fountain, whoever thirsts, may drink _gratis_. Some
make it a Matter of Religion to sprinkle themselves with it; and others
for the Sake of Religion, and not of Thirst, drink of it. You are loath,
I perceive, to leave this Place: But it is Time to go to see this little
square Garden that is wall'd in, 'tis a neater one than the other. What
is to be seen within Doors, you shall see after Dinner, when the Heat of
the Sun keeps us at Home for some Hours like Snails.
_Ti. _ Bless me! What a delightful Prospect is here.
_Eu. _ All this Place was designed for a Pleasure Garden, but for honest
Pleasure; for the Entertainment of the Sight, the recreating the
Nostrils, and refreshing the Mind; nothing grows here but sweet Herbs,
nor every Sort of them, but only choice ones, and every Kind has its Bed
by itself.
_Ti. _ I am now convinced that Plants are not mute with you.
_Eu. _ You are in the Right; others have magnificent Houses, but mine is
made for Conversation, so that I can never be alone in it, and so you'll
say, when you have seen it all. As the several Plants are as it were
form'd into several Troops, so every Troop has its Standard to itself,
with a peculiar Motto, as this Marjoram's is, _Abstine, sus, non tibi
spiro: Keep off, Sow, I don't breathe my Perfume for thee_; for though
it be of a very fragrant Scent, yet Sows have a natural Aversion to it:
And so every Sort has its Title, denoting the peculiar Virtue of the
Plant.
_Ti. _ I have seen nothing yet more delightful than this little Fountain,
which being in the midst of them, does as it were smile upon all the
Plants, and promises them Refreshment against the scorching Heat of the
Sun. But this little Channel which shews the Water to the Eye so
advantageously, and divides the Garden every where at such equal
Distances, that it shews all the Flowers over on both Sides again, as in
a Looking-glass, is it made of Marble?
_Eu. _ Marble, quoth thee, how should Marble come hither? It is a
counterfeit Marble, made of a sort of Loam, and a whitish Colour given
it in the Glasing.
_Ti. _ But where does this delicious Rivulet discharge itself at last?
_Eu. _ Just as it is with human Obligations, when we have served our own
Turns: After this has pleasured our Eyes, it washes our Kitchen, and
passes through the Sink into the common Shore.
_Ti. _ That's very hard-hearted, as I am a Christian.
_Eu. _ It had been hard-hearted, if the divine Bounty of Providence had
not appointed it for this Use. We are then hard-hearted, when we pollute
the Fountain of divine Truth, that is much more pleasant than this, and
was given us for the refreshing and purging our Minds from our Lusts and
vicious Appetites, abusing the unspeakable Bounty of God: For we make no
bad Use of the Water, if we put it to the several Uses for which he
appointed it, who supplies every Thing abundantly for human Use.
_Ti. _ You say right: But how comes it about, that all your artificial
Hedges are green too?
_Eu. _ Because I would have every Thing green here. Some are for a
Mixture of Red, because that sets off Green: But I like this best, as
every Man has his Fancy, though it be but in a Garden.
_Ti. _ The Garden is very fine of itself; but methinks these three Walks
take off very much from the Lightsomeness and Pleasantness of it.
_Eu. _ Here I either study or walk alone, or talk with a Friend, or eat,
as the Humour takes me.
_Ti. _ Those speckled, wonderful, pretty party-coloured Pillars, that at
equal Distances support that Edifice, are they Marble?
_Eu. _ Of the same Marble that this Channel is made of.
_Ti. _ In Truth, a pretty Cheat, I should have sworn they had been
Marble.
_Eu. _ For this Reason then, take Care that you neither believe, nor
swear any Thing rashly: You see how a Man may be mistaken. What I want
in Wealth, I supply by Invention.
_Ti. _ Could you not be content with so neat, and well furnished a Garden
in Substance, without other Gardens in Picture besides?
_Eu. _ In the first Place, one Garden will not hold all Sorts of Plants;
and in the second, 'tis a double Pleasure, to see a painted Flower vie
with the Life; and in one we contemplate the Artifice of Nature, in the
other the Skill of the Painter; and in both, the Goodness of God, who
gives all Things for our Use, in every Thing equally admirable and
amiable: And in the last Place, a Garden is not always green; nor the
Flowers always fresh; but this Garden is fresh and green all the Winter.
_Ti. _ But it is not fragrant.
_Eu. _ But then on the other Hand it wants no dressing.
_Ti. _ It only delights the Eye.
_Eu. _ But then it does that always.
_Ti. _ Pictures themselves grow old.
_Eu. _ They do so; but yet they out-live us; and besides, whereas we are
the worse for Age, they are the better for it.
_Ti. _ That's too true, if it could be otherwise.
_Eu. _ In this Walk that looks toward the West, I take the Benefit of the
Morning Sun; in that which looks toward the East, I take the Cool of the
Evening; in that which looks toward the South, but lies open to the
North, I take Sanctuary against the Heats of the Meridian Sun; but we'll
walk 'em over, if you please, and take a nearer View of them: See how
green 'tis under Foot, and you have the Beauty of painted Flowers in the
very Chequers of the Pavement. This Wood, that you see painted upon this
Wall, affords me a great Variety of Prospect: For in the first Place, as
many Trees as you see, so many Sorts of Trees you see; and all express'd
to the Life. As many Birds as you see, so many Kinds you see; especially
if there be any scarce Ones, and remarkable upon any Account. For as for
Geese, Hens, and Ducks, it is not worth While to draw them. Underneath
are four-footed Creatures, or such Birds as live upon the Ground, after
the Manner of Quadrupedes.
_Ti. _ The Variety indeed is wonderful, and every Thing is in Action,
either doing or saying something. There's an Owl sits peeping through
the Leaves, what says she?
_Eu. _ She speaks _Greek_; she says, [Greek: Sôphronei, ou pasin
hiptêmi], she commands us to act advisedly; _I do not fly to all_;
because an inconsiderate Rashness does not fall out happily to all
Persons. There is an Eagle quarrying upon a Hare, and a Beetle
interceding to no Purpose; there is a Wren stands by the Beetle, and she
is a mortal Enemy to the Eagle.
_Ti. _ What has this Swallow got in her Mouth?
_Eu. _ The Herb Celandine; don't you know the Plant? with it, she
restores Sight to her blind young Ones.
_Ti. _ What odd Sort of Lizard is this?
_Eu. _ It is not a Lizard, but a Chamæleon.
_Ti. _ Is this the Chamæleon, there is so much Talk of? I thought it had
been a Beast twice as big as a Lion, and the Name is twice as long too.
_En. _ This Chamæleon is always gaping, and always hungry. This is a
wild Fig-Tree, and that is his Aversion. He is otherwise harmless; and
yet the little gaping Creature has Poison in him too, that you mayn't
contemn him.
_Ti. _ But I don't see him change his Colour.
_Eu. _ True; because he does not change his Place; when he changes his
Place, you will see him change his Colour too.
_Ti. _ What's the Meaning of that Piper?
_Eu. _ Don't you see a Camel there dancing hard by?
_Ti. _ I see a very pleasant Fancy; the Ape pipes, and the Camel dances.
_Eu. _ But it would require at least three Days to run through the
Particulars one by one; it will be enough at present to take a cursory
View of them. You have in the first Spot, all Sorts of famous Plants
painted to the Life: And to increase the Wonder, here are the strongest
Poisons in the World, which you may not only look upon, but handle too
without Danger.
_Ti. _ Look ye, here is a Scorpion, an Animal very seldom seen in this
Country; but very frequent in _Italy_, and very mischievous too: But the
Colour in the Picture seems not to be natural.
_Eu. _ Why so?
_Ti. _ It seems too pale methinks; for those in _Italy_ are blacker.
_Eu. _ Don't you know the Herb it has fallen upon?
_Ti. _ Not very well.
_Eu. _ That's no Wonder, for it does not grow in these Parts: It is
Wolf's-bane, so deadly a Poison, that upon the very touch of it, a
Scorpion is stupified, grows pale, and yields himself overcome; but when
he is hurt with one Poison, he seeks his Remedy with another. Do you see
the two Sorts of Hellebore hard by; if the Scorpion can but get himself
clear of the Wolf's-bane, and get to the white Hellebore, he recovers
his former Vigour, by the very Touch of a different Poison.
_Ti. _ Then the Scorpion is undone, for he is never like to get off from
the Wolfs'-bane. But do Scorpions speak here?
_Eu. _ Yes, they do, and speak _Greek_ too.
_Ti. _ What does he say?
_Eu. _ [Greek: Eure theos ton alitron], _God hath found out the Guilty. _
Here besides the Grass, you see all Sorts of Serpents. Here is the
Basilisk, that is not only formidable for his Poison; but the very Flash
of his Eyes is also mortal.
_Ti. _ And he says something too.
_Eu. _ Yes, he says, _Oderint, dum metuant; Let them hate me, so they
fear me. _
_Ti. _ Spoken like a King entirely.
_Eu. _ Like a Tyrant rather, not at all like a King. Here a Lizard fights
with a Viper, and here lies the _Dipsas_ Serpent upon the Catch, hid
under the Shell of an _Estridge_ Egg. Here you see the whole Policy of
the Ant, which we are call'd upon to imitate by _Solomon_ and _Horace_.
Here are _Indian_ Ants that carry Gold, and hoard it up.
_Ti. _ O good God! how is it possible for a Man to be weary of this
Entertainment.
_Eu. _ And yet at some other Time you shall see I'll give you your Belly
full of it. Now look before you at a Distance, there is a third Wall,
where you have Lakes, Rivers, and Seas, and all Sorts of rare Fishes.
This is the River _Nile_, in which you see the _Dolphin_, that natural
Friend to Mankind, fighting with a _Crocodile_, Man's deadly Enemy. Upon
the Banks and Shores you see several amphibious Creatures, as Crabs,
Seals, Beavers. Here is a Polypus, a Catcher catch'd by an Oyster.
_Ti. _ What does he say? [Greek: airôn airoumai]; _The Taker taken. _ The
Painter has made the Water wonderfully transparent.
_Eu. _ If he had not done so, we should have wanted other Eyes. Just by
there's another Polypus playing upon the Face of the Sea like a little
Cock-Boat; and there you see a Torpedo lying along upon the Sands, both
of a Colour, you may touch them here with your Hand without any Danger.
But we must go to something else, for these Things feed the Eye, but not
the Belly.
_Ti. _ Have you any more to be seen then?
_Eu. _ You shall see what the Back-side affords us by and by. Here's an
indifferent large Garden parted: The one a Kitchen Garden, that is my
Wife's and the Family's; the other is a Physick Garden, containing the
choicest physical Herbs. At the left Hand there is an open Meadow, that
is only a green Plot enclos'd with a quick-set Hedge. There sometimes I
take the Air, and divert myself with good Company. Upon the right Hand
there's an Orchard, where, when you have Leisure, you shall see a great
Variety of foreign Trees, that I have brought by Degrees to endure this
Climate.
_Ti. _ O wonderful! the King himself has not such a Seat.
_Eu. _ At the End of the upper Walk there's an Aviary, which I'll shew
you after Dinner, and there you'll see various Forms, and hear various
Tongues, and their Humours are as various. Among some of them there is
an Agreeableness and mutual Love, and among others an irreconcilable
Aversion: And then they are so tame and familiar, that when I'm at
Supper, they'll come flying in at the Window to me, even to the Table,
and take the Meat out of my Hands. If at any Time I am upon the
Draw-Bridge you see there, talking, perhaps with a Friend, they'll some
of them sit hearkening, others of them will perch upon my Shoulders or
Arms, without any Sort of Fear, for they find that no Body hurts them.
At the further End of the Orchard I have my Bees, which is a Sight worth
seeing. But I must not show you any more now, that I may have something
to entertain you with by and by. I'll shew you the rest after Dinner.
_Boy. _ Sir, my Mistress and Maid say that the Dinner will be spoil'd.
_Eu. _ Bid her have a little Patience, and we'll come presently. My
friends, let us wash, that we may come to the Table with clean Hands as
well as Hearts. The very _Pagans_ us'd a Kind of Reverence in this Case;
how much more then should _Christians_ do it; if it were but in
Imitation of that sacred Solemnity of our Saviour with his Disciples at
his last Supper: And thence comes the Custom of washing of Hands, that
if any Thing of Hatred, Ill-Will, or any Pollution should remain in the
Mind of any one, he might purge it out, before he sits down at the
Table. For it is my Opinion, that the Food is the wholesomer for the
Body, if taken with a purified Mind.
_Ti. _ We believe that it is a certain Truth.
_Eu. Christ_ himself gave us this Example, that we should sit down to
the Table with a Hymn; and I take it from this, that we frequently read
in the Evangelists, that he bless'd or gave Thanks to his Father before
he broke Bread, and that he concluded with giving of Thanks: And if you
please, I'll say you a Grace that St. _Chrysostom_ commends to the Skies
in one of his Homilies, which he himself interpreted.
_Ti. _ We desire you would.
_Eu. _ Blessed be thou, O God, who has fed me from my Youth up, and
providest Food for all Flesh: Fill thou our Hearts with Joy and
Gladness, that partaking plentifully of thy Bounty, we may abound to
every good Work, through _Christ Jesus_ our Lord, with whom, to thee and
the Holy Ghost, be Glory, Honour, and Power, World without End. _Amen. _
_Eu. _ Now sit down, and let every Man take his Friend next him: The
first Place is yours, _Timothy_, in Right of your Grey Hairs.
_Ti. _ The only Thing in the World that gives a Title to it.
_Eu. _ We can only judge of what we see, and must leave the rest to God.
_Sophronius_, keep you close to your Principal. _Theophilus_ and
_Eulalius_, do you take the right Side of the Table; _Chrysoglottus_ and
_Theodidactus_ they shall have the left. _Uranius_ and _Nephalius_ must
make a Shift with what is left. I'll keep this Corner.
_Ti. _ This must not be, the Master of the House ought to take the first
Place.
_Eu. _ The House is as much yours as mine, Gentlemen; however, if I may
rule within my own Jurisdiction, I'll sit where I please, and I have
made my Choice already. Now may Christ, the Enlivener of all, and
without whom nothing can be pleasant, vouchsafe to be with us, and
exhilarate our Minds by his Presence.
_Ti. _ I hope he will be pleased so to do; but where shall he sit, for
the Places are all taken up?
_Eu. _ I would have him in every Morsel and Drop that we eat and drink;
but especially, in our Minds. And the better to fit us for the Reception
of so divine a Guest, if you will, you shall have some Portion of
Scripture read in the Interim; but so that you shall not let that hinder
you from eating your Dinner heartily.
_Ti. _ We will eat heartily, and attend diligently.
_Eu. _ This Entertainment pleases me so much the better, because it
diverts vain and frivolous Discourse, and affords Matter of profitable
Conversation: I am not of their Mind, who think no Entertainment
diverting, that does not abound with foolish wanton Stories, and bawdy
Songs. There is pure Joy springs from a clear and pure Conscience; and
those are the happy Conversations, where such Things are mentioned, that
we can reflect upon afterwards with Satisfaction and Delight; and not
such as we shall afterwards be ashamed of, and have Occasion to repent
of.
_Ti. _ It were well if we were all as careful to consider those Things as
we are sure they are true.
_Eu. _ And besides, these Things have not only a certain and valuable
Profit in them, but one Month's Use of them, would make them become
pleasant too.
_Ti. _ And therefore it is the best Course we can take to accustom
ourselves to that which is best.
_Eu. _ Read us something, Boy, and speak out distinctly.
_Boy. _ Prov. xxi. _The King's Heart is in the Hand of the Lord; as the
Rivers of Waters, he turneth it whither soever he will. Every Man is
right in his own Eyes, but the Lord pondereth the Hearts. To do Justice
and Judgment, is more acceptable to the Lord than Sacrifice_, ver. 1, 2,
3.
_Eu. _ Hold there, that's enough; for it is better to take down a little
with an Appetite, than to devour more than a Man can digest.
_Ti. _ 'Tis better, I must confess, in more Cases than this: _Pliny_
would have one never have _Tully's_ Offices out of ones Hand; and in my
Opinion, it were well if all Persons, but especially Statesmen, had him
every Word by Heart: And as for this little Book of Proverbs, I have
always look'd upon it the best Manual we can carry about with us.
_Eu. _ I knew our Dinner would be unsavoury, and therefore I procured
this Sauce.
_Ti. _ Here is nothing but what is very good; but if you had given us
this Lecture to a Dish of Beets only, without either Pepper, Wine or
Vinegar, it would have been a delicious Treat.
_Eu. _ I could commend it with a better Grace, if I did but perfectly
understand what I have heard. And I would we had some able Divine among
us, that did not only understand it, but would thoroughly expound it.
But I don't know how far it may be lawful for us Laymen to descant upon
these Matters.
_Ti. _ Indeed, I see no Hurt in't, even for a _Tarpawlin_ to do it,
abating the Rashness of passing Sentence in the Case. And who knows but
that _Christ_ himself (who has promis'd to be present, where two or
three are gathered together in his Name) may vouchsafe his Assistance to
us, that are a much larger Congregation.
_Eu. _ What if we should take these three Verses, and divide 'em among us
nine Guests?
_Guests. _ We like it well, provided the Master of the Feast lead the
Way.
_Eu. _ I would not refuse it; but that I am afraid I shall entertain you
worse in my Exposition, than I do in my Dinner: But however, Ceremony
apart, that I may not seem to want much Persuasion, omitting other
Meanings that Interpreters put upon the Place: This seems to me to be
the moral Sense; "That private Men may be wrought upon by Admonition,
Reproofs, Laws and Menaces; but Kings who are above Fear, the more they
are opposed, the fiercer their Displeasure; and therefore Kings, as
often as they are resolutely bent upon any, should be left to
themselves: Not in respect of any Confidence of the Goodness of their
Inclinations; but because God many Times makes Use of their Follies and
Wickedness, as the Instruments for the Punishment of the Wicked. " As he
forbad that _Nebuchodonosor_ should be resisted, because he had
determin'd to chastise his People by him, as an Instrument. And
peradventure, that which _Job_ says, looks this Way: _Who maketh the
Hypocrite reign for the Sins of his People. _ And perhaps, that which
_David_ says, bewailing his Sin, has the same Tendency: _Against thee
only have I sinned, and done this Evil in thy Sight:_ Not as if the
Iniquity of Kings were not fatal to the People; but because there is
none that has Authority to condemn them, but God, from whose Judgment
there is indeed no Appeal, be the Person never so great.
_Ti. _ I like the Interpretation well enough thus far; but what is meant
by _the Rivers of Waters? _
_Eu. _ There is a Similitude made Use of that explains it. The Wrath of a
King is impetuous and unruly, and not to be led this Way or that Way,
but presses forward with a restless Fury: As the Sea spreads itself over
the Land, and flows sometimes this Way, and sometimes that Way, not
sparing Pastures nor Palaces, and sometimes buries in its own Bowels all
that stands in its Way; and if you should attempt to stop its Course, or
to turn it another Way, you may e'en as well let it alone: Whereas, let
it but alone, and it will sink of itself, as it happens in many great
Rivers, as is storied of _Achelous. _ There is less Injury done by
quietly yielding, than by violently resisting.
_Ti. _ Is there no Remedy then against the Unruliness of wicked Kings?
_Eu. _ The first will be, not to receive a Lion into the City: The
second, is to tie him up by parliamentary and municipal Laws, that he
can't easily break out into Tyranny: But the best of all would be, to
train him up from his Childhood, in the Principles of Piety and Virtue,
and to form his Will, before he understands his Power. Good Counsels and
Persuasions go a great Way, provided they be seasonable and gentle. But
the last Resort must be to beg of God, to incline the King's Heart to
those Things that are becoming a Christian King.
_Ti. _ Do you excuse yourself, because you are a Layman? If I were a
Batchelor in Divinity, I should value myself upon this Interpretation.
_Eu. _ I can't tell whether it is right or wrong, it is enough for me if
it were not impious or heretical. However, I have done what you required
of me; and now, according to the Rules of Conversation, 'tis my Turn to
hear your Opinion.
_Ti. _ The Compliment you pass'd upon my grey Hairs, gives me some kind
of Title to speak next to the Text, which will bear yet a more
mysterious Meaning.
_Eu. _ I believe it may, and I should be glad to hear it.
_Ti. _ "By the Word King, may be meant, a Man so perfected, as to have
wholly subdued his Lusts, and to be led by the Impulse of the Divine
Spirit only. Now perhaps it may not be proper to tie up such a Person to
the Conditions of human Laws; but to leave him to his Master, by whom he
is govern'd: Nor is he to be judg'd according to the Measures by which
the Frailty of imperfect Men advances towards true Holiness; but if he
steers another Course, we ought to say with St. _Paul, God hath accepted
him, and to his own Master he stands or falls. He that is spiritual,
judgeth of all Things, but he himself is judged of no Man_. " To such,
therefore, let no Man prescribe; for the Lord, who hath appointed Bounds
to the Seas and Rivers, hath the Heart of the King in his Hand, and
inclines it which Way soever it pleases him: What need is there to
prescribe to him, that does of his own accord better Things than human
Laws oblige him to? Or, how great a Rashness were it, to bind that
Person by human Constitutions, who, it is manifest, by evident Tokens,
is directed by the Inspirations of the Holy Spirit.
_Eu. _ O _Timothy_, thou hast not only got grey Hairs on this Head, but
you have likewise a Mind venerable for experimental Knowledge. And I
would to God, that we had more such Kings as this King of yours among
Christians, who, indeed, all of them ought to be such. But we have dwelt
long enough upon our Eggs and Herbs; let them be taken away, and
something else set in their Room.
_Ti. _ We have done so well already on this Ovation, that there is no
Need of any more, either of Supplication or Triumph.
_Eu. _ But since, by God's Assistance, we have succeeded so well in the
first Verse, I wish your _Umbra_ would explain the other, which seems to
me a little more obscure.
_Soph. _ If you'll put a good Construction upon what I shall say, I will
give you my Thoughts upon it. How else can a Shadow pretend to give
Light to any Thing?
_Eu. _ I undertake that for all the Company; such Shadows as you give as
much Light as our Eyes will well bear.
_Soph. _ The same Thing seems to be meant here, that _Paul_ says: _That
there are several Ways of Life, that lead to Holiness_. Some affect the
Ministry, some Celibacy, others a married State; some a retired Life,
others publick Administrations of the Government, according to the
various Dispositions of their Bodies and Minds: Again, to one Man all
Meats are indifferent, another puts a Difference betwixt this Meat and
that; another he makes a Difference of Days, another thinks every Day
alike. In these Things St. _Paul_ would have every one enjoy his own
Freedom of Mind, without reproaching another; nor should we censure any
Man in those Cases, but leave him to be judg'd by him that weigheth the
Heart. It oftentimes happens, that he that eats may be more acceptable
to God, than he that forbears; and he that breaks a Holy-day, than he
that seems to observe it; and he that marries, is more acceptable to
God, than a great many that live single. I who am but a Shadow, have
spoken my Mind.
_Eu. _ I wish I could have Conversation with such Shadows often. I think
you have hit the Nail on the Head: But here is one that has lived a
Batchelor, and not of the Number of Saints, who have made themselves
Eunuchs for the Sake of the Kingdom of God but was made so by force, to
gratify our Bellies, _till God shall destroy both them and Meats_. It is
a Capon of my own feeding. I am a great Lover of boil'd Meats. This is a
very good Soop, and these are choice Lettuces that are in it. Pray every
one help himself to what he likes best. But that you may not be
deceiv'd, I tell you, that we have a Course of Roast a coming, and after
that some small Desert, and so conclude.
_Ti. _ But we exclude your Wife from Table.
_Eu. _ When you bring your own Wives, mine shall keep them Company. She
would, if she were here, be nothing but a Mute in our Company. She talks
with more Freedom among the Women, and we are more at Liberty to
philosophise. And besides that, there would be Danger, lest we should be
serv'd as _Socrates_ was, when he had several Philosophers at Table with
him, who took more Pleasure in talking than they did in eating, and held
a long Dispute, had all their Meat thrown on the Floor by _Xantippe_,
who in a Rage overturn'd the Table.
_Ti. _ I believe you have nothing of that to be afraid of: She's one of
the best-humour'd Women in the World.
_Eu. _ She is such a one indeed, that I should be loath to change her if
I might; and I look upon myself to be very happy upon that Account. Nor
do I like their Opinion, who think a Man happy, because he never had a
Wife; I approve rather what the _Hebrew_ Sage said, _He that has a good
Wife has a good Lot_.
_Ti. _ It is commonly our own Fault, if our Wives be bad, either for
loving such as are bad, or making them so; or else for not teaching them
better.
_Eu. _ You say very right, but all this While I want to hear the third
Verse expounded: And methinks the divine _Theophilus_ looks as if he had
a Mind to do it.
_Theo. _ Truly my Mind was upon my Belly; but however, I'll speak my
Mind, since I may do it without Offence.
_Eu. _ Nay, it will be a Favour to us if you should happen to be in any
Error, because by that Means you will give us Occasion of finding the
Truth.
_Th. _ The Sentence seems to be of the same Importance with that the Lord
expresses by the Prophet _Hosea_, Chap. vi. _I desire Mercy and not
Sacrifice, and the Knowledge of God more than Burnt-Offerings_. This is
fully explain'd, and to the Life, by the Lord _Jesus_, in St. _Matthew_,
Chap. ix.
