even fo, let us do all things, that we may have the fellowship of our wives, which is the factor of all our doings at home, in great quiet and reft. And by these means all things fhall profper quietly, and fo fhall we pafs through the dangers of the troublous fea of this world. For this ftate of life will be more honourable and comfortable than our houfes, than fervants, than money, than lands and poffeffions, than all things that can be told. As all thefe, with fedition and difcord, can never work us any comfort; fo fhall all things turn to our commodity and pleasure, if we draw this yoke in one concord of heart and mind. Whereupon do your best endeavour, that after this fort ye ufe your matrimony, and fo fhall ye be armed on every fide. Ye have escaped the fnares of the Devil, and the unlawful lufts of the flesh; ye have the quietnefs of confcience by this inftitution of matrimony ordained by God: therefore use oft prayer to him, that he would be prefent by you, that he would continue concord and charity betwixt you. Do the beft ye can of your parts, to cuftom yourselves to foftnefs and meeknefs, and bear well in worth fuch overfights as chance; and thus fhall your converfation be moft pleasant and comfortable. And although (which can no otherwife be) fome adverfities fhall follow, and otherwhiles now one difcommodity, now another fhall appear; yet in this common trouble and adverfity, lift up both your hands unto heaven, call upon the help and af fiftance of God, the Author of your marriage, and furely the promise of relief is at hand. For Chrift affirmeth in his Gofpel, Where tavo or three be gathered together in my name, and be agreed, what matter foever they pray for, it shall be granted them of my heavenly Father. Why therefore fhouldeft thou be afraid of the danger, where thou haft fo ready a promife, and fo nigh an help? Furthermore, you must understand how neceffary it is for Chriftian folk to bear Chrift's crofs: for else we fhall never feel how comfortable God's help is unto us. Therefore give thanks to God for his great benefit, in that ye have taken upon you this ftate of wedlock; and pray you inftantly, that Almighty God may luckily defend and maintain you therein, that neither ye be overcome with any temptations, nor with any adverfity. But, before all things, take good heed that ye give no occafion to the Devil to let and hinder your prayers by difcord and diffenfion for there is no ftronger defence and ftay : in all our life, than is prayer; in the which we may call for the help of God, and obtain it; whereby we may win his bleffing, his grace, his defence, and protection, so to continue therein to a better life to come: which grant us, he that died for us all, to whom be all honour and praife for ever and ever. Amen. AN HOMILY AGAINST IDLENESS. ORASMUCII as man, being not born to ease and reft, but to labour and travail, is by corruption of nature through fin fo far degenerated and grown out of kind, that he taketh idlenefs to be no evil at all, but rather a commendable thing, feemly for thofe that be wealthy; and therefore is greedily embraced of moft part of men, as agreeable to their fenfual affection, and all labour and travail is diligently avoided, as a thing painful and repugnant to the pleafure of the flesh; it is neceffary to be declared unto you, that by the ordinance of God, which he hath fet in the nature of man, every one ought, in his lawful vocation and calling, to give himself to labour; and that idlenefs, being repugnant to the fame ordinance, is a grievous fin, and alfo, for the great inconveniences and mifchiefs which fpring thereof, an intolerable evil to the intent that, when ye understand the fame, ye may diligently flee from it, and on the other part earnestly apply yourfelves, every man in his vocation, to honest labour and bufinefs, which as it is enjoined unto man by God's appointment, fo it wanteth not his manifold bleffings and fundry benefits. Almighty God, after that he had created man, put him into Paradife, that he might drefs and keep it: but when he had tranfgreffed God's commandment, eating the fruit of the tree which was forbidden him, Almighty God Genefis ii. forthwith did caft him out of Paradife into this woful vale of mifery, enjoining him to labour the ground that he was taken out of, and to eat his bread in the fweat of his face all the days of his life. It is the appointment and will of God, that every man, during the time of this mortal and tranfitory life, fhould give himfelf to fuch honeft honest and godly exercife and labour, and every one follow his own butinefs, and to walk uprightly in his own calling. Man, faith Job, is born to labour. And we are com- Job v. manded by Jefus Sirach, not to hate painful works, neither Ecclef. vij husbandry, or other fuch myfteries of travail, which the Highest hath created. The Wife Man also exhorteth us to Prov. v. drink the waters of our own ciftern, and of the rivers that run out of the midst of our own well; meaning thereby that we fhould live of our own labours, and not devour the la bours of other. St. Paul hearing that among the Theffa- 2 Theff. iii. lonians there were certain that lived diffolutely and out of order, that is to fay, which did not work, but were bufybodies; not getting their own living with their own travail, but eating other men's bread of free coft; did command the faid Theffalonians, not only to withdraw themfelves, and abftain from the familiar company of fuch inordinate perfons, but also that, if there were any fuch among them that would not labour, the fame should not eat, nor have any living at other men's hands. Which doctrine of St. Paul, no doubt, is grounded upon the general ordinance of God, which is, that every man should labour; and therefore it is to be obeyed of all men, and no man can juftly exempt himself from the fame. But when it is faid, all men fhould labour, it is not fo ftraitly meant, that all men fhould use handy labour: but as there be divers forts of labours, fome of the mind, and fome of the body, and fome of both; fo every one (except by reafon of age, debility of body, or want of health, he be unapt to labour at all) ought both for the getting of his own living honeftly, and for to profit others, in fome kind of labour to exercife himself, according as the vocation, whereunto God hath called him, fhall require. So that whofoever doth good to the commonweal and fociety of men with his induftry and labour, whether it be by governing the commonweal publicly, or by bearing_public office or miniftry, or by doing any common neceffary affairs of his country, or by giving counfel, or by teaching and inftructing others, or by what other means foever he be occupied, fo that a profit and benefit redound thereof unto others, the fame perfon is not to be accounted idle, though he work no bodily labour; nor is to be denied his living, if he attended his vocation, though he work not with his hands. Bodily labour is not required of them, which by reafon of their vocation and office are occupied in the labour of the mind, to the fuccour and help of others. St. Paul exhorteth Timothy Ff4 1 Tim. v. Timothy to efchew and refuse idle widows, which go about from boufe to boufe, because they are not only idle, but prattlers alfo, and bufy-bodies, Speaking things which are not comely. The prophet Ezekiel, declaring what the fins of the city of Sodom were, reckoneth idlenels to be one of the principal. Ezek. xvi. The fins, faith he, of Sodom were thefe; pride, fulness of meat, abundance, and idleness: these things had Sodom and her daughters, meaning the cities fubject to her. The horrible and strange kind of deftruction of that city, and all the country about the fame, which was fire and brimfione raining from heaven, moft manifeftly declareth what a grievous fin idlenefs is, and ought to admonifh us to flee from the fame, and embrace honeft and godly labour. But if we give ourselves to idleness and floth, to lurking and loitering, to wilful wandering, and wasteful spending, never fettling ourselves to honeft labour, but living like drone bees by the labours of other men, then do we break the Lord's commandment, we go aftray from our vocation, and incur the danger of God's wrath and heavy difpleafure, to our endlefs deftruction, except by repentance we turn again unfeignedly unto God. The inconveniences and mifchiefs that come of idleness, as well to man's body as to his foul, are more than can in fhort time be well rehearfed. Some we fhall declare and open unto you, that by confidering them ye may the better with yourselves gather the reft. An idle band, faith Solomon, maketh poor, but a quick labouring band maketh rich. Again, He that tilleth his land fhall have plenteousness of bread; but be that floweth in idleness is a very fool, and ball bave poverty enough. Again, A flothful body will not go to plough for cold of the winter; therefore shall be go a go a begging in fummer, and bave nothing. Prov. x. Prov. xi. Xxxviii. Prov. x. But what fhall we need to ftand much about the proving of this, that poverty followeth idlenefs? We have too much experience thereof (the thing is the more to be lamented) in this realm. For a great part of the beggary that is among the poor can be imputed to nothing fo much as to idlenefs, and to the negligence of parents, which do not bring up their children either in good learning, honeft labour, or fonie commendable occupation or trade, whereby, when they come to age, they might get their living. Daily experience alfo teacheth, that nothing is more an enemy or pernicious to the health of man's body, than is idlenefs, too much eafe and fleep, and want of exercife. But thefe and fuch-like incommodities, albeit they be great and noifome, yet becaufe they concern chiefly |