He is desirous of our salvation, Nostræ salutis avidus, saith Lemnius, and for that cause puls us by the eare many times, to put us in minde of our duties: That they which erred might have understanding, (as Isay speakes 29.21.) and so to be reformed. I am afflicted, and at the point of death, so David confesseth of himself, Psal. 88.15. v.9. Mine eyes are sorrowfull through mine affliction: And that made him turne unto God.

Great Alexander in the midst of all his prosperity, by a company of parasites deified, and now made a God, when he saw one of his wounds bleed, remembred that he was but a man, and remitted of his pride. In morbo recolligit se animus, as Pliny well perceived, In sicknesse the minde reflects upon it selfe, with judgement survayes it selfe, and abhorres its former courses; insomuch that he concludes to his friend Marius, that it were the period of all philosophy, if we could so continue sound, or perform but a part of that which we promised to doe, being sick.

Who so is wise then, will consider these things, as David did (Psal. 144. verse last) And whatsoever fortune befall him, make use of it. If he be in sorrow, need, sicknesse, or any other adversity, seriously to recount with himself, why this or that malady, misery, this or that incurable disease is inflicted upon him; it may be for his good, sic expedit, as Peter said of his daughters ague. Bodily sicknesse is for his soules health, periisset nisi periisset, had he not been visited, he had utterly perished; for the Lord correcteth him whom he loveth, even as a father doth his childe in whom he delighteth.

If he be safe and sound on the other side, and free from all manner of infirmity; & cui

Gratia, forma, valetudo contingat abunde Et mundus victus, non deficiente crumena.

And that he have grace, beauty, favour, health, A cleanly diet, and abound in wealth.

Yet in the midst of his prosperity, let him remember that caveat of Moses, Beware that he do not forget the Lord his God; that he be not puffed up, but acknowledge them to be his good gifts and benefits, and the more he hath, to be more thankful, (as Agapetianus adviseth) and use them aright,

Now the instrumental causes of these our infirmities, are as diverse, as the infirmities themselves; Starrs, heavens, elements, &c. And all those creatures which God hath made, are armed against sinners. They were indeed once good in themselves, & that they are now many of them pernicious unto us, is not in their nature, but our corruption, which hath caused it. For from the fall of our first parent Adam, they have been changed, the earth accursed, the influence of Stars altered, the four Elements, Beasts, Birds, Plants, are now ready to offend us.

The principall things for the use of man, are Water, Fire, Iron, Salt, Meale, Wheat, Hony, Milk, Oile, Wine, Clothing, good to the godly, to the sinners turned to evil, Ecclus. 39.26. Fire, and Haile, and Famine, and Dearth, all these are created for vengeance, Ecclus. 39.29. The Heavens threaten us with their Comets, Stars, Planets, with their great conjunctions, Eclipses, Oppositions, Quartiles, and such unfriendly Aspects.

The Air with his Meteors, Thunder and Lightning, intemperate heat & cold, mighty windes, tempests, unseasonable weather; from which proceed dearth, famine, plague, and all sorts of Epidemical diseases, consuming infinite myriads of men. At Cayro in Egypt, every third year, (as it is related by Boterus, and others) 300000. dye of the plague; and 200000. in Constantinople, every fift or seventh at the utmost.

How doth the Earth terrifie and oppresse us with terrible Earthquakes, which are most frequent in China, Japan, and those Easterne Climes, swallowing up sometimes six Cities at once? How doth the water rage with his inundations, irruptions, flinging down Townes, Cities, Villages, Bridges, &c. besides shipwracks; whole Ilands are sometimes suddenly over-whelmed with all their inhabitants in Zeland, Holland, and many parts of the Continent drowned, as the Lake Erno in Ireland? Nihilque præter arcium cadavera Patenti cernimus freto.

In the Fennes of Freesland 1230. by reason of tempests, the Sea drowned multa hominum millia, & jumenta sine numero, all the countrey almost, men and cattle in it. How doth the Fire rage, that mercilesse Element, consuming in an instant whole Cities? What towne of any antiquity or note, hath not been once, again and again, by the fury of this mercilesse element, defaced, ruinated, and left desolate? In a word,

Ignis pepercit, unda mergit, aëris Vis pestilentis æquori ereptum necat, Bello superstes, tabidus morbo perit.

Whom Fire spares, Sea doth drowne; whom Sea, Pestilent Ayre doth send to clay, Whom War scapes, sicknesse takes away.

To descend to more particulars, how many creatures are at deadly feud with men? Lions, Wolves, Beares, &c. Some with hoofes, hornes, tuskes, teeth, nailes: How many noxious Serpents and venemous creatures, ready to offend us with stings, breath, sight, or quite kill us? How many pernicious fishes, plants, gummes, fruits, seeds, flowers, &c. could I reckon up on a sudden, which by their very smell many of them, touch, taste, cause some grievous malady, if not death it self? Some make mention of a thousand several poysons: but these are but trifles in respect.

The greatest enemy to man, is man, who by the Devils instigation, is still ready to do mischief, his own executioner, a Wolfe, a Devil to himself, and others. We are all brethren in Christ, or at least should be, members of one body, servants of one Lord, and yet no fiend can so torment, insult over, tyrannize, vex, as one man doth another. Let me not fall therefore, (saith David, when wars, plague, famine were offered) into the hands of men, mercilesse, and wicked men:

——Vix sunt homines hoc nomine digni, Quamque lupi, sævæ plus feritatis habent.

We can most part foresee these Epidemicall diseases, and likely avoid them; Dearths, tempests, plagues, our Astrologers foretel us; Earth-quakes, inundations, ruines of houses, consuming fires, come by little and little, or make some noise before-hand; but the knaveries, impostures, injuries and villanies of men no art can avoid. We can keep our professed enemies from our cities, by gates, walls and towers, defend our selves from theeves and robbers by watchfulnesse and weapons; but this malice of men, and their pernicious endeavours, no caution can divert, no vigilancy foresee. We have so many secret plots and devices to mischief one another.

Sometimes by the Devils help, as Magicians, Witches: sometimes by impostures, mixtures, poysons, stratagems, single combats, wars, we hack and hew, as if we were ad internecionem nati, like Cadmus souldiers borne to consume one another. ’Tis an ordinary thing to read of a hundred and two hundred thousand men slaine in a battle. Besides all manner of tortures, brasen bulls, rackes, wheeles, strappadoes, gunnes, engines, &c. Ad unum corpus humanum supplicia plura, quam membra: We have invented more torturing instruments, then there be severall members in a mans body, as Cyprian well observes.

To come nearer yet, our own parents by their offences, indiscretion and intemperance, are our mortall enemies. The Fathers have eaten sowre grapes, and the childrens teeth are set on edge. They cause our griefe many times, and put upon us hereditary diseases, inevitable infirmities: They torment us, and we are ready to injure our posterity; ——mox daturi progeniem vitiosiorem, and the latter end of the world, as Paul foretold, is still like to be worst. We are thus bad by nature, bad by kinde, but farre worse by art, every man the greatest enemy unto himself.

We study many times to undo our selves, abusing those good gifts which God hath bestowed upon us, Health, Wealth, Strength, Wit, Learning, Art, Memory to our own destruction, Perditio tua ex te. As Iudas Maccabeus killed Apollonius with his owne weapons, we arme our selves to our own overthrows; and use Reason, Art, Judgement, all that should help us, as so many instruments to undo us.

Hector gave Ajax a sword, which so long as he fought against enemies, served for his help and defence; but after he began to hurt harmlesse creatures with it, turned to his own hurtlesse bowels. Those excellent meanes, God hath bestowed on us, well imployed, cannot but much availe us; but if otherwise perverted, they ruine & confound us: and so by reason of our indiscretion and weaknesse, they commonly do: we have too many instances.

This S. Austin acknowledged of himself in his humble confessions, promptnesse of Wit, Memory, Eloquence, they were Gods good gifts, but he did not use them to his glory. If you will particularly know how, and by what meanes, consult Physicians, & they will tell you, that it is in offending in some of those six non-natural things, of which I shall after dilate more at large; they are the causes of our infirmities, our surfetting, and drunkennesse, our immoderate insatiable lust, and prodigious riot.