irits, "to [6712]require charity," as Brentius
observes, "of others, bounty, meekness, love, patience, when they
themselves breathe nought but lust, envy, covetousness." They teach others
to fast, give alms, do penance, and crucify their mind with superstitious
observations, bread and water, hair clothes, whips, and the like, when they
themselves have all the dainties the world can afford, lie on a down-bed
with a courtesan in their arms: _Heu quantum patimur pro Christo_, as
[6713]he said, what a cruel tyranny is this, so to insult over and terrify
men's souls! Our indiscreet pastors many of them come not far behind,
whilst in their ordinary sermons they speak so much of election,
predestination, reprobation, _ab aeterno_, subtraction of grace,
preterition, voluntary permission, &c., by what signs and tokens they shall
discern and try themselves, whether they be God's true children elect, _an
sint reprobi, praedestinati_, &c., with such scrupulous points, they still
aggravate sin, thunder out God's judgments without respect, intempestively
rail at and pronounce them damned in all auditories, for giving so much to
sports and honest recreations, making every small fault and thing
indifferent an irremissible offence, they so rent, tear and wound men's
consciences, that they are almost mad, and at their wits' end.

"These bitter potions" (saith [6714]Erasmus) "are still in their mouths,
nothing but gall and horror, and a mad noise, they make all their auditors
desperate:" many are wounded by this means, and they commonly that are most
devout and precise, have been formerly presumptuous, and certain of their
salvation; they that have tender consciences, that follow sermons, frequent
lectures, that have indeed least cause, they are most apt to mistake, and
fall into these miseries. I have heard some complain of Parson's
Resolution, and other books of like nature (good otherwise), they are too
tragical, too much dejecting men, aggravating offences: great care and
choice, much discretion is required in this kind.

The last and greatest cause of this malady, is our own conscience, sense of
our sins, and God's anger justly deserved, a guilty conscience for some
foul offence formerly committed,--[6715]O _miser Oreste, quid morbi te
perdit_? Or: _Conscientia, Sum enim mihi conscius de malis
perpetratis_.[6716] "A good conscience is a continual feast," but a galled
conscience is as great a torment as can possibly happen, a still bak