the mind of man so weak, but it mates and masters the fear of death: and therefore Death is no such terrible enemy when a man hath so many attendants about him that can win the combat of him. Revenge triumphs over death; love slights it; honour aspireth to it; grief 25 flieth to it; fear preoccupateth it; nay, we read, after Otho the Emperor had slain himself, pity (which is the tenderest of affections) provoked many to die out of mere compassion to their sovereign, and as the truest sort of followers. Nay, Seneca adds niceness and satiety: 30 Cogita quamdiu eadem feceris; mori velle, non tantum fortis, aut miser, sed etiam fastidiosus potest. A man would die, though he were neither valiant nor miserable, only upon a weariness to do the same thing so oft over and over. It is no less worthy to observe, how little 35 alteration in good spirits the approaches of death make; for they appear to be the same men up to the last instant. Augustus Cæsar died in a compliment: Livia, conjugii nostri memor vive, et vale. Tiberius in dissimulation, as Tacitus saith of him, 7am Tiberium vires et corpus, non 40 dissimulatio, deserebant. Vespasian in a jest, sitting upon the stool, Ut puto Deus fio. Galba with a sentence, Feri, si ex re sit populi Romani, holding forth his neck. Septimius Severus in dispatch, Adeste, si quid mihi restat agendum. And the like.

:

45

Certainly the Stoics bestowed too much cost upon death, and by their great preparations made it appear more fearful. Better saith he Qui finem vitæ extremum inter munera ponat Naturæ. It is as natural to die as to be born and to a little infant, perhaps, the one is as 50 painful as the other. He that dies in an earnest pursuit, is like one that is wounded in hot blood: who, for the time, scarce feels the hurt; and therefore a mind fixed and bent upon somewhat that is good doth avert the dolours of death. But, above all, believe it, the sweetest

canticle is, Nunc dimittis, when a man hath obtained worthy ends and expectations. Death hath this also,

that it openeth the gate to good fame, and extinguisheth envy :

-Extinctus amabitur idem.

III

Of Unity in Religion

RELIGION being the chief band of human society, it is a happy thing when itself is well contained within the true band of unity. The quarrels and divisions about religion were evils unknown to the heathen. The reason was, because the religion of the heathen consisted rather in 5 rites and ceremonies than in any constant belief. For you may imagine what kind of faith theirs was, when the chief doctors and fathers of their church were the poets. But the true God had this attribute that he is a jealous God; and therefore his worship and religion will endure no mixture nor partner. We shall therefore speak a few words concerning the Unity of the Church; what are the Fruits thereof; what the Bounds; and what the Means.

ΤΟ

The Fruits of Unity (next unto the well-pleasing of 15 God which is all in all) are two; the one towards those that are without the Church, the other towards those that are within. For the former; it is certain, that heresies and schisms are of all others the greatest scandals, yea, more than corruption of manners. as in the natural body a wound or solution of continuity is worse than a corrupt humour, so in the spiritual. So that nothing doth so much keep men out of the Church,

For 20

30

and drive men out of the Church, as breach of unity. 25 And, therefore, whensoever it cometh to that pass that one saith, Ecce in deserto, another saith, Ecce in penetralibus, that is, when some men seek Christ in the conventicles of heretics, and others in an outward face of a Church-that voice had need continually to sound in men's ears, Nolite exire. The Doctor of the Gentiles (the propriety of whose vocation drew him to have a special care of those without) saith, If a heathen come in, and hear you speak with several tongues, will he not say that you are mad? And certainly it is little better when atheists and profane persons do hear of so many discordant and contrary opinions in religion; it doth avert them from the Church, and maketh them to sit down in the chair of the scorners. It is but a light thing to be vouched in so serious a matter, but yet it expresseth 40 well the deformity; there is a Master of scoffing, that in his catalogue of books of a feigned library, sets down this title of a book, The Morris Dance of Heretics. For, indeed, every sect of them have a diverse posture, or cringe, by themselves; which cannot but move deri45 sion in worldlings and depraved politics, who are apt to contemn holy things.

35

As for the Fruit towards those that are within, it is peace, which containeth infinite blessings. It establisheth faith; it kindleth charity; the outward peace of the 50 Church distilleth into peace of conscience, and it turneth the labours of writing and reading controversies into treatises of mortification and devotion.

Concerning the Bounds of Unity, the true placing of them importeth exceedingly. There appear to be two 55 extremes; for to certain zelants all speech of pacification is odious. Is it peace, Jehu? What hast thou to do with peace? turn thee behind me. Peace is not

the matter, but following and party.

Contrariwise,

certain Laodiceans and lukewarm persons think they may accommodate points of religion by middle ways, 60 and taking part of both, and witty reconcilements, as if they would make an arbitrement between God and man. Both these extremes are to be avoided; which will be done if the league of Christians, penned by our Saviour Himself, were in the two cross clauses thereof soundly 65 and plainly expounded: He that is not with us is against us; and again, He that is not against us is with us; that is, if the points fundamental, and of substance in religion, were truly discerned and distinguished from points not merely of faith, but of opinion, order, or good 70 intention. This is a thing may seem to many a matter trivial, and done already; but if it were done less partially, it would be embraced more generally.

Of this I may give only this advice, according to my small model. Men ought to take heed of rending God's 75 Church by two kinds of controversies. The one is,

when the matter of the point controverted is too small and light, not worth the heat and strife about it, kindled only by contradiction. For, as it is noted by one of the fathers, Christ's coat indeed had no seam, but the Church's & vesture was of divers cclours; whereupon he saith, In veste varietas sit, scissura non sit; they be two things, Unity and Uniformity. The other is, when the matter of the point controverted is great, but it is driven to an over-great subtilty and obscurity, so that it becometh a 85 thing rather ingenious than substantial. A man that is of judgment and understanding shall sometimes hear ignorant men differ, and know well within himself that those which so differ mean one thing, and yet they themselves would never agree. And if it come so to 90 pass in that distance of judgment which is between man and man, shall we not think that God above, that knows the heart, doth not discern that frail men, in some of