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with divine beauty— oh, do nothing unworthy of your souls, do not abuse them !
There are divers sorts of persons that abuse their souls. You degrade your souls
pant after tlie dust of the earth '— as if a
that set the world above your souls, who '
man's house were on fire, and he should take care to preserve the lumber, but let his
child be burnt in the fire. They degrade and abuse their souls that make their souls
lackeys to their bodies ; the body is but the brutish part, the soul is the angelical;
the soul is the queen-regent who is adorned with the jewels of knowledge, and sways
the scepter of liberty ; oh, what a p'ity is it that this excellent soul should be made a
vassal, and be put to grind in the mill, when the body in the mean time sits in a chair
of state! Solomon complains of an evil under the sun— Eccl. x : 7, 'I have seen
servants vipon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth '— is it not an
evil under the sun to see the body riding in pomp and triumph, and the soul of man,
a royal and heaven-born thing, as a lackey walking on foot .? Persons abuse their
souls that sell their souls; the covetous person sells his soul for money ;
as it is said
of the lawyer, he hath a tongue that will be sold for a fee, so the covetous man hath
a soul that is to be set for sale for money :
gold ;
Judas
did sell his soul for silver. . . . The
Achan
did sell his soul for a wedge of
ambitious person sells his soul
for honors, as Alexander the 6"' did sell his soul to the devil for a popedom ;
and
what is honour but a torch lighted by the breath of people, with the last puff of cen-
sure blown out? how many souls have been blown to hell by the wind of popular
applause! The voluptuous person sells his soul for pleasure ; one
drowned himself
in sweet water, so many drown their souls in the sweet, perfumed waters of pleasure.
Plato called pleasure the bait that catcheth souls. .
. . They
abuse their souls
that poison their souls ; error is a sweet poison, it is the invention of the devil ; you
may as well damn your souls by error as vice, and may as soon go to hell for a
drunken opinion as for a drunken life. You abuse your souls that starve your souls;
these are they that say they are above ordinances, but sure you shall not be above
ordinances till you are above sin. . . .
"And now, my brethren, who would serve so unprofitable a master as sin is?
. . . let me expostulate the case with the ambitious man, who aspires unto great
dignities, honours and promotions in this world ;
what
are all these in comparison of
his soul ? many have great titles, honourable names in this world, who shall be
degraded of all in the world to come! what is honour? it is but momentary; what
would rich coats of arms, great dignities, preferments, honours, popular observance
many wise men after the
advantage your precious soul ? The apostle tells, ' Not
flesh, not many mighty, not many noble [are] called, but God hath chosen the foolish
things of the world :' he doth not say ' ' not any ;
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some are ennobled by a spiritual as