his master in the ground, lest ye be cast into the outer darkness, where weeping and gnashing of teeth shall be; but apply the talent that ye have received, unto the glory of God and the profit of your neighbour. Be not barren and unfruitful as the fig-tree was, lest ye also be cursed. Be not like the five foolish virgins, who had lamps and no oil in them, and therefore they could not enter into the marriage feast with the bridegroom, but were barred out. Be not like the gross and unthankful Jews, who, when they were delivered out of Egypt, the house of bondage, desired to be there again among the greasy flesh pots. Be not like to Lot's wife who looked back unto the filthy people of Sodom. But be like unto Christ, and so many as are followers of him; as St. Paul saith, Be ye the followers of me, as I am of Christ. (1 Cor. xi.) Be earnest followers of good works. Walk worthy the gospel of Christ, and so show yourselves faithful in all things, that ye may garnish the doctrine of God our Saviour. What should I say more unto you? Be faithful unto the death, that the crown of life may be given unto you. For he that continueth unto the end, he shall be safe.

And here also I make an end, desiring you, by the tender mercies of God, and by the precious blood of Jesus Christ our Saviour, that ye receive not the grace of God in vain, but so behave yourselves in all things, as it becometh the servants of God. So may ye be sure to receive the crown of life which the Lord hath promised to so many as love him. Amen.

Now, neighbours, here have ye your New Year's Gift, although homely, yet godly. If it had lain in my power to have given you better, better you should have had. But I pray you accept my good will for this time. If God at another time give me better, be ye sure that you shall not want your part of it.

Eu. Neighbour Philemon, we thank you right heartily; and we again unto the utmost of our power, give both ourselves and all that ever we have unto you, not only to desire, but also to your commandment.

Ph. I know the good hearts of you all toward me. I pray you vouchsafe to come with me into my hall, and we will be joyful together in God, as the time of the year and common custom require.

Th. We follow you gladly. Blessed be God for our NEW YEAR'S GIFT.

BECON.

Give the glory to God alone.

11

The following is a brief account of Becon's tracts, entitled "The Christmas Banquet," and "The Pleasant Nosegay," which contain much that is excellent, although intermixed with many of the quaint peculiarities of the times in which they were written.

THE CHRISTMAS BANQUET,

Garnished with many and dainty dishes.

This is a dialogue between Philemon and his neighbours, in which he sets before them" a Christmas Banquet to sustain and feed their hungry souls with the word of God." The first dish is, (Gen. iii. 17, 18,) Cursed is the earth in thy work. It shall bring forth unto thee thorns and brambles. From hence Becon shows that the sin of Adam is the cause of man's condemnation, which he proves by many passages of scripture. The second dish is, (Gen. iii. 15,) I will set enmity between thee and the woman, between thy seed and her seed, and that same seed shall tread down thy head. This shows God's free mercy towards man, and how all good things are given to us for Christ's sake, who is the beginning and ending of all our salvation. The third dish is, (Mark i. 15,) Repent and believe the gospel. Becon here shows what is repentance, what it worketh in man-that repentance and faith must be joined together-and that faith in Christ alone saveth. The fourth dish is, (Ephesians ii. 10,) We are the workmanship of God created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath prepared that we should walk in them. Here is shown, what is the duty of the faithful-that good works are commanded by God, and that true faith in Christ is the mother of all good works.

THE PLEASANT NEW NOSEGAY,

Full of many godly and sweet flowers, lately gathered.

This tract also is a dialogue between Philemon and his friends, in which he presents them with " a nosegay full of most redolent and odoriferous flowers, which may expel all pernicious and hurtful savours, and conserve and keep health both of body and mind." The first flower is

called UNFEIGNED HUMILITY, (1 Peter v. 5,) Have humility and lowliness of mind engrafted in you. For God resisteth the proud, but to the humble he giveth grace. Hence is shown that pride is the headspring of evil. The second is PURE INNOCENCY, (Gen. xvii. 1, 2,) I am the almighty God. Walk before me and be perfect; and I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee beyond all measure. From this is shown the duty of man towards God. The third flower is FAITHFUL OBEDIENCE, (Rom. xiii. 1,) Let every soul be subject to the powers that bear rule, &c. Thence is enforced obedience to the lawful authorities. The fourth flower is called READY ASSISTANCE, (Phil. ii. 4,) Let every man look not for his own profit, but for the profit of others. Thence is shown our duty towards our neighbour. The fifth is CHRISTIAN CHARITY, (1 John iii. 18,) Let us not love in word or tongue, but in work and truth. From thence Becon shows the effects of love to God and to our neighbour.

These tracts contain many excellent and pithy observations, and especially show that Becon was a man "mighty in the scriptures."

AN INVECTIVE

AGAINST

THE MOST WICKED AND DETESTABLE VICE

OF

SWEARING.

Extract from the Preface.

I EXHORT all men charitably to admonish one another, when they see any offend, and to rebuke him by the Scriptures, that we may shine in the midst of a froward and crooked nation, as great lights in the world, pure, faultless, and such as no man can complain of, holding fast the word of life. (Phil. ii.) Let us suffer no sin to reign in this our mortal body, (Rom. vi.) but mortify all things that strive against the Spirit. Let us hate, detest, and abhor sin as the most grievous pestilence and pestiferous poison that can befall us. But above all things, LET US NOT SWEAR at all, neither by heaven, nor by earth, nor yet by anything that is contained in them. (Matt. v. James v.) If any of us at any time shall hear another swear, and pollute the name of our Lord God by vain, idle, and unlawful oaths, let us charitably admonish the offender, exhort him to cease from his swearing, and move him unto the praise of God, and of his most holy and blessed name. For surely if there were no more sins committed in England, than the blaspheming of God and his creatures by vain swearing, it were enough to bring final destruction unto this realm; from the which I beseech God long to preserve it, and to give the inhabitants thereof grace to correct and amend their sinful manners. And to the intent that men may know how great an offence it is before God, vainly to swear, I have made this Invective against swearing, wherein as in a clear mirror they shall unfeignedly perceive and see, what great damnation hangeth over the heads of all swearers, and that it is not possible for them to escape the vengeance of God, except with all haste they repent, forsake their detestable manner of swearing, and earnestly fall into the hearty praises of God.

THE

INVECTIVE AGAINST SWEARING.

A man that useth much swearing shall be filled with wickedness, and the plague, that is to say, the vengeance of God, shall not go away from his house.-Eccl. xxiii.

WHENCE shall I take my beginning, while I lament the corrupt manners of this most wretched world, more aptly and fitter for the purpose than from the prophet Jeremiah, and with weeping tears and sorrowful heart cry out with him, Oh! who shall give my head water enough and a well of tears for mine eyes, that I may weep night and day for the slaughter of my people. (Jer. ix.) The prophet doth not here bewail them that have their bodies slain with the sword, or with any other kind of violence; but he lamenteth the wretched and damnable state of such as are slain in their souls, by the multitude of sins. For whatsoever the sword is to the body, even the very same is sin to the soul, as manifestly appears by his words that follow. For he calleth them adulterers, and a company of wicked transgressors. They bend their tongues like bows, saith he, to shoot out lies. As for the truth they cannot endure it. For they go from one wickedness unto another, and hold nothing of God. They are so false and crafty, that every one had need to keep himself from another. No man may safely trust his own brother, for one brother undermines another, and one neighbour beguiles another, yea, one dissembles with another, and they deal with no truth. They have practised their tongues to speak lies, and have taken great pains to do mischief. They have set their stool in the midst of deceit, and for very dissembling falsehood they will not know the Lord. Their tongues are like sharp arrows to speak deceit, with their mouth they speak peaceably to their neighbours, but privily they lay wait for him.

These words of the prophet declare evidently that he bewailed them that are slain in their souls by reason of the manifold wickedness wherewith they are wounded inwardly and slain, that is to say, cast away from the favour

of God, and condemned unto perpetual death, except they repent, believe, and amend. So likewise I, at this time using the words of the prophet, do not lament such as have tasted the death of the body, and are gone; but them that are yet alive in this world as concerning their bodies, but dead through sin as touching their souls. These Í I lament, these I bewail, these I sorrow and sigh for, both day and night. These make me to lay aside all mirth and joy, and to walk as one desolate and comfortless. These cause me to wish that I, being only one, and a private person, might be banished, yea, cursed from Christ, so that so great a multitude might be saved. My faith is that I am written in the book of life, and numbered among the vessels of mercy; yet notwithstanding, would God I might be wiped out, so that these who are slain in the soul through sin, might be saved. (Rom. ix.) What one man having but a kernel of Christian salt in his breast wishes not so? Who desires not rather, being one person, to be damned, than so great a number should perish? What need I rehearse here the tender affection of Moses, Christ, and Paul, which they bare towards the salvation of others, whom we all ought to follow. (Exod. xxxii. Phil. ii. Rom. ix.) Moses when the Israelites had offended God for worshipping of the golden calf, prayed for them on this manner, Forgive them, O Lord, this fault, or else wipe me out of the book wherein thou hast written me. Christ, by the prophet, saith, Judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. What more could have been done for it, that I have not done? (Isa. v.) St. Paul wished himself to be banished from Christ, for his brethren and kinsfolk according to the flesh, which are the Israelites. (Rom. ix.) Certainly he is no Christian man, that provideth for his own salvation, and cares not for the health of others. God, saith Chrysostom, (Hom. vii. in Genesi.) will not that a Christian should be contented with himself alone, but that he also edify others, not by teaching only, but by living and conversation also. Charity, saith Paul, seeketh not her own. (1 Cor. xiii.) Again, Let no man seek his own, but the profit of others. (Phil. ii.) This made all the holy fathers in times past to be so desirous of the health of others, that they wished, even with the loss of their own health, the salvation of their Christian brothers. Who, being of their mind, and godly inspired, wishes not the same at this time? For even as the prophet Jeremiah lamented the wickedness of the peo