lasse of innouation will bee better esteemed of
than the ancient gold of the gospell. The fault of faults is this, that
your dead borne faith is begotten by to too infant fathers. _Cato_ one
of the wisest men Roman histories canonized, was not borne till his
father was foure score yeeres olde, none can be a perfect father
of faith and beget men aright vnto God, but those that are aged in
experience, haue many yeres imprinted in their milde conuersation, and
haue with Zaclteus sold all their possessions of vanities, to inioy the
sweet fellowshippe, not of the humane but spirituall messias. Ministers
and pastors sell awaie your sects and schismes to the decrepite Churches
in contention beyond sea, they haue bene so long inured to warre both
about matters of religion and regiment, that now they haue no peace of
minde, but in troubling all other mens peace. Because the pouertie of
their prouinces will allow them no proportionable maintenance for higher
callings of ecclesiasticall magistrates, they would reduce vs to the
president of their rebellious persecuted beggerie: much like the sect
of philosophers called cinikes, who when they saw they were borne to
no lands or possessions, nor had anie possible meanes to support their
desperate estates, but they must liue despised and in miserie doe what
they could, they plotted and consulted with themselues howe to make
theyr pouertie better esteemed of than rich dominion and soueraigntie.
The vpshot of their plotting and consultation was this, that they would
liue to themselues, scorning the verie breath or conipanie of all men,
they profest (according to y rate of their lands) voluntarie pouerty,
thin fare and lying hard, contemning and inueighing against al those
as brute beasts whatsoeuer whom the world had giuen anie reputation for
riches or prosperitie. _Diogenes_ was one of the first and fonnost of
the ringleaders of this rustie morositie, and he for all his nice
dogged disposition, and blunt deriding of worldly drosse, and the grosse
felycitie of fooles, was taken notwithstanding a little after verie
fairely coining monie in his cell: so fares it vp and down with our
cinicall reformed forraine Churches, they will disgest no grapes of great
Bishoprikes forsooth, because they cannot tell how to come by them, they
must shape their cotes good men according to their cloth, and doe as
they may, not as they woulde, yet they must giue vs leaue heere in
England that are their honest n