LIBERALITY or beneficence, is to cast thy bread upon the waters; to give a portion to seven, and also to eight; in a word, to give of his bread to the poor, and not to withhold his goods from the owners thereof, (i.e. the needy) though there be power in his hand to do it, and not to say to his neighbour, Go and come again, to morrow I will give thee, if he now have it: not that God would not have us enjoy the comforts he gives us, ourselves; for, to every man to whom God hath given riches and treasures, and giveth him power to eat thereof, and to take his part, and to enjoy his labours, this is the gift of God; but if the clouds be full, they will pour out rain upon the earth, and yet they shall be never the emptier. The liberal person shall have plenty, and he that watereth, shall also have rain: yea not only he, that giveth to the poor, shall not lack, but shall find it after many days; whereas he, that hideth his eyes, shall have many curses: but, There is that scattereth, and is more increased: thus He, that hath a good eye, is blessed of God. Ec. xi. 1. xi. 2. Pr. xxii. 9. iii. 27. iii. 28. Ec. v. 18. xi.3. Pr. xi. 25. xxviii. 17. Ec. xi. 1. Pr. xi. 24. xxii. 9.

The covetous is he, that is greedy of gain, that having an evil eye, and coveting still greedily, travailleth too much to be rich, and therefore both spareth more than is right, and increaseth his goods by usury and interest: There is one alone, and there is not a second, which hath neither son, nor brother; yet is there none end of his travail, neither can his eyes be satisfied with riches, neither doth he think, For whom do I travail, and defraud my soul of pleasures? This man is unsatiable, like to

the horse-leech's two daughters, which cry still, Give, Give: especially in his desires; The grave and destruction can never be full; so the eyes of a man can never be satisfied: All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the soul is not filled: yea, this is the curse that God hath set upon him, He, that loveth silver, shall not be satisfied with silver: and he, that loveth riches, shall be without the fruit thereof; and whereas the rich man's riches are his strong city, he that trusteth in riches shall fall, and by his sparing cometh surely to poverty. All this while he sets his eyes on that which is nothing, and doth but gather for him that will be merciful to the poor: wherefore, Better is a little with right, than great revenues without equity. Give me not poverty, nor riches: feed me with food convenient for me, lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the Lord? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of God in vain. Pr. i. 19. xxiii. 6. xxi. 26. xxiii. 4. xi. 24. xxviii. 8. Ec. iv. 8. Pr. xxx. 15. xxvii. 20. Ec. vi. 7. v. 9. Pr. xviii. 11. xi. 28. xxviii. 8. xvi. 8. xxx. 8. xxx. 9.

xi. 24. xxiii. 5.

THE prodigal is the man that boasteth of false liberality, that loveth pastime, and wine, and oil, that feedeth gluttons, and followeth the idle: The unthrifty man, and the wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth: Lewd things are in his heart, he imagineth evil at all times; Therefore shall his destruction come speedily, and he shall be destroyed suddenly without recovery; and, in the mean time, The riches of vanity shall diminish; so that he shall be a man of want; yea filled with poverty, and a shame to his father. Of this kind also is he, that is otherwise careless of his estate: Be not thou of them that touch the hand, nor among them that are surety for debts: If thou hast nothing to pay, why causest thou that he should take thy bed from under thee? Pr. xii. 9. xxi. 17. xxviii. 7. xviii. 19. Ec. vi. 12. vi. 14. Pr. vi. 15. xiii. 11. xxi. 17. xxviii. 19. xxviii. 7. xxii. 26. xxii. 27. See more of this rule in the last page of Politic, following.

what it is.

Diligence

SECT. 18.

Health,

how profitable in Wealth and Abundance, Honour.

JUSTICE to a man's self, is diligence; for he, that travailleth, travailleth for himself: The diligent is he, who all that his hand shall find to do, doth it with all his power. I have seen (indeed) the travail, that God hath given the sons of men, to humble them thereby, that all things are full of labour, man cannot utter it; but what profit hath he that worketh, of the thing wherein he travailleth? Much every way: 1. Health: The sleep of him that travailleth, is sweet, whether he eat little or much. 2. Wealth: Open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread: yea, The hand of the diligent maketh rich, and his soul shall be fat: and not sufficiency only, but in all labour there is abundance, but the talk of the lips bringeth want: yet more, the riches, that the diligent man hath, are precious. 3. Honour: A diligent man shall stand before kings, and not before the base sort; and The hand of the diligent shall bear rule, but the idle shall be under tribute. Pr. xvi. 26. Ec. ix. 10. iii. 20. i. 8. iii. 9. v. 11. Pr. xx. 13. x. 4. xiii. 4. xiv. 23. xii. 27. xxii. 29. xii. 24.

THE slothful is he, that foldeth his hands, and eateth up his own flesh; That hideth his hand in his bosom, and will not pull it out again to his mouth; That turneth on his bed, as a door turneth on the hinges, and saith, Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep. Every thing that he ought to do, is troublesome: The way of the slothful man is a hedge of thorns, (which he is loth to set foot in) There is a lion without (saith he) I shall be slain in the street: who although herein he be wiser in his own conceit, than seven men that can render a reason: Yet (the truth is) he, that (so much as) follows the idle, is destitute of understanding; he lusteth (indeed) and affecteth great things, but his soul hath nought: so, The very desire of the slothful slayeth him, for his hands refuse to work.

And not only he, that is slothful in his work, is brother to him that is a great waster; but he, that sleepeth (and slothfulness causeth to fall asleep) in harvest, is the son of confusion: and, He, that will not plough because of winter, shall beg in summer, and have nothing: Love not sleep therefore, lest thou come to poverty; for what is it, that hence cometh not to ruin? For the house: By slothfulness the roof of the house goeth to decay; and by idleness of the hands, the house droppeth through. For the land: I passed by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man destitute of understanding: and, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face of it, and the stone wall thereof was broken down. Then I beheld and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction: so in every respect the slothful hand maketh poor. Go to the pismire therefore, thou sluggard, and behold her ways and be wise: For she, having no guide, governor, nor ruler, prepareth her meat in summer, and gathereth her food in harvest. How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep, yet a little slumber, yet a little folding of the hands to sleep: Therefore thy poverty cometh as a speedy traveller, and thy necessity as an armed man. Ec. iv. 5. Pr. xix. 24. xxvi. 24. vi. 10. xv. 19. xxii. 13. xxvi. 13. xxvi. 16. xii, 11. xiii. 4. xxi. 25. xviii. 9. x. 5. xix. 15. xx. 4. xx. 13. Ec. x. 18. Pr. xxiv. 30. xxiv. 31. xxiv. 32. x. 4. vi. 6. vi. 7. vi. 8. vi. 9. xxiv. 33. vi. 11.

THE temperate in diet, is he, that refraineth his appetite, that looks not on the wine when it is red, that puts his knife to his throat when he sits with a ruler; that when he finds honey, eats but that which is sufficient for him, lest he should be overfull. It is true, that a man eateth and drinketh, and seeth the commodity of all his labour; this is the gift of God: yea, this I have seen good, that it is comely to eat and to drink, and to take pleasure in all his labour wherein he travailleth under the sun, the whole number of the days of his life which God giveth him, for this is his portion: God allows us to eat our bread with joy, and drink our wine with a cheerful heart, and there is nothing better than this; yea, there is no profit but this: But not that a man should be given to his appetite, that he should seek in his heart to draw his flesh to wine: or that whatsoever his eyes desire, he should not withhold it from them: Such a