At the Court at Whitehall.
Dr. Thomson, Deane of Windsor,[182] made a sermon; he hath a sounding laboured artificiall pronounciacion; he regards that soe muche, that his speech hath no more matter then needes in it. His text 2 Psal. 10, 11. "Be wise nowe, O ye Kings; be learned, O ye Judges; serve the Lord with feare, and rejoyce unto him with reverence."
Be learned; scientia conscientiæ rather then scientia experienciæ. Serve the Lord: a straung doctrine that those whom all desyre to be servants unto, should be taught, that themselves must serve an other: yet this the highest point of their honour to serve God: for the excellency of man is in his soule, the glory of his soule in virtue, the height of virtue in relligion, and the ende of relligion to serve God. As strang to teach that they whom others feare, should feare an other.
1603. Mr. Layfeild; his text. "Not preaching ourselves." Noo heretike ever preached himselfe directly, for they never can be heretikes except they professt Christ, and such as preach themselves for saviours deny Christ; but preaching them selves undirectly is when by preaching men stake their owne glory or advauncement, as the cheifest end of their preaching. "Labour not for meat;" that is, make not meate the chiefest end of labour, but the service of God in that vocation, and the benefit of the State; soe labour in all your trades as yf you laboured for God, making not the hyer the maine end, though it be an end alsoe.
Every man spends more then he can gett; untill thirty yeare commonly men doe nothing but spend, and then when they begynn to gaine, yet expenses runne on with their tyme.
Every manuary trade is called a mystery, because it hath some slight or subtlety of gayning that others cannot looke into. Every man cannot be a carpentour of his owne fortune. The faults of preachers in preaching themselves and false doctrine, like a physicion that poisoneth his medicines, or a mintmaister that adulterates the coine; he kils under pretence of safety, and this robbes all under pretext of honest gaine.
Mr. Hill told me that Mr. Layfeild married a rich wife, worth above 1,000l. He speakes against covetousnes, but will exact the most of his dutyes in his parishe.
fo. 126b.
10 Aprill 1603.At Whitehall in the Afternoone in the Chappell.
Dr. Eaton,[183] Bishop of Ely. His text, "Come unto mee all yee that labour, and are heavy laden, and I will refreshe you;" Ego reficiam. "Come unto me;" God thy father hath given all power in heaven and earth unto Christ; therefore in our prayers to obtaine any thing wee must goe unto him, and in him wee may be sure to obteine: for this is hee in whom the father is well pleased. He consider[ed] the subject, "All yee," &c. the invitacion "Come unto me," and the promise, "I will ease you." "All yee" is heere specially limited to those that labour and are laden, which are [have?] greate synnes and feele the waight of them. Noe synn soe dangerous to men, soe odious in the sight of God, as contempt of synn. Amongst manie synns which he mentioned as greivous and haynous offences not one word of sacriledge.
Synne makes a man turne from God like a runagate that having committed some offence for which he feares punishment runnes away from his maister, but there is noe place, noe tyme, can hide him from the presence of God, but onely the wing of Jesus Christ his mercy. Adam was soe foolishe to thinke he might have hidden himselfe, but David sayth "Yf I goe into the wildernes, etc." Qui recedit a facie irati for synn, accedat ad faciem placati in the merit of Christ, in whom onely he is well pleased.
"Which labour, and are laden." All labour under synne, and all are laden with it, but such as have greivous synnes, and are greived for fo. 127.them, and almost pressed downe to despayre, lett them come. Reficiam; he will ease them; not take away the roote but reatum, for the old man will be in us as long as we live, and as fast as we rise by grace the fleshe is ready still to pull us downe againe to synn.
* * * * *
fo. 127b.
10 Aprill 1603.
Jo. Davis[184] reports that he is sworne the Kings Man, that the King shewed him greate favors. Inepte. (He slaunders while he prayses.)
There is a foolishe rime runnes up and downe in the Court of Sir Henry Bromley, Lord Thomas Haward, Lord Cobham, and the Deane of Canterbury, Dr. Nevil, that eache should goe to move the King for what they like.
Nevil for the Protestant, Lord Thomas for the Papist,
Bromley for the Puritan, and Lord Cobham for the Atheist.
(Mr. Ysam nar.)
* * * * *
I heard that the Earl of Southampton and Sir Henry Nevill were sett at large yesterday from the Tower; that Sir Henry Cock the cofferer was sent for by the King, and is gone unto him.
Was with the Lady Barbara.[185] Shee saith the King will not swear, but he will curse and ban at hunting, and wish the diuel goe with them all.
In the Frenche Court, the guard is all of Scottishmen, and to distinguishe betwixt a Frenche and a Scot in admitting anie to a place of present spectacle, the[y] give the word "bread and chese," which the Frenche cannot pronounce; "bret and sheese."
fo. 128.
11.Mr. Thomas Overbury spake much against the Lord Buckhurst as a verry corrupt and unhonest person of body.
12.He spake bitterly against the Bishop of London.[186] That Darling whoe was censured for a slaunderous libellor in the Starre Chamber, and had bin convict for a counterfaitour of passes [?] was a better scholler then the Bishop: that the Bishop was a verry knave. I contradicted.
11.He would not have the bishops to have anie temporalities, or temporall jurisdicion, but live upon tithes, and nothing but preach, &c.
When I was mentioning howe dangerous and difficult a thing it would be to restore appropriacions, he said Fiat justicia et cœlum ruat, which applicacion I termed a doctrine of Jesuits.
12.He said Sir Robert Cecile followed the Earl of Essexes death, not with a good mynde.
This day the two Cheife Judges Sir John Popham and Sir Edmund Anderson, with the rest of the judges, were sworne. I sawe divers writs or commissions sealed by the Lord Keeper, with the old seale of Queene Elizabeth. It is verry like wee shall have a terme.
* * * * * [187]
fo. 133.
13 Aprill 1603.
Dr. Parry was sollicited by the Archebishop to make a kinde of funerall oracion for the Queene, to be published not pronounced, and hath given him instruccion. Mr. Savil[188] or he must doe it. Savil fitter, for better acquaintance with the Queenes private accions and reddier stile in that language; both scarse have leisure. Dr. Parry warned to be provided of a sermon against the Kinges coming. He told that the Bishop of Durrham[189] hath tendered his duty in all humility, craving pardon for his opposicion heretofore, with promise of faythfull service; hath preacht at Berwike before the King, and said grace at his table twise or thrise.
The Queene nominated our King for hir successor: for being demaunded whom shee would haue succede, hir answere was there should noe rascals sitt in hir seate. "Who then?" "A King," said shee. "What King?" "Of Scotts," said shee, "for he hath best right, and in the name of God lett him haue it."
The Papists verry lately put up a supplicacion to the King for a tolleracion; his aunswre was, Yf there were 40,000 of them in armes should present such a petition, himselfe would rather dye in the feild than condiscend to be false to God. Yet seemed he would not use extremity, yf they continued in duty like subjects.
The Queene would sometymes speake freely of our King, but could not endure to heare anie other use such language. The Lord of Kenlosse,[190] a Scott, told our nobles, that they shall receive a verry good, wise, and relligious King, yf wee can keepe him soe; yf wee mar him not.
Lord Henry Howard[191] would come and continue at prayers when the Queene came, but otherwise would not endure them, seeming to performe the duty of a subject in attending on his prince at the one tyme, and at the other using his conscience. He would runne out of the Queenes chamber in hir sicknes when the chaplein went to prayer. Their prayer, for him, like a conjuracion for a spirit.
fo. 133b.
13 Aprill 1603.The Earl of Southampton must present himself with the nobles, and Sir Henry Nevill with the counsellors; like either shall be one of their rankes.
It is a common bruit, yet false, that Sir Walter Rhaly is out of his Captainship of the Guard; facile quod velint credunt, quod credunt loquuntur.
Sir Amias Preston, an auncient knight, sent a challendge a while since to Sir Wa. Ra. which was not aunswered. Sir Ferdinand Gorge is out with him, as some say.[192]
14 Aprill 1603.He hath a good witt but it is carried by a foole, said Cobden of W. Burdett.
Crue invited Cobden to a fyre, and there cald him foole; "It is one comfort," said Cobden, "that I am in a Crue of fooles."
13.Dr. Parry's note saith, the Queene was soe temperat in hir dyet from hir infancy, that hir brother King Edward VI. did usually call hir Dame Temper[ance.][193]
14.
Mr. Hemmings, sometyme of Trinity College in Cambridge, in a sermon at Paul's Crosse, speaking of women, said, Yf a man would marrie, it were 1,000 to one but he should light upon a bad one, there were so many naught; and yf he should chaunce to find a good one, yet he were not suer to hold hir soe: for women are like a coule full of snakes amongst which there is one eele, a thousand to one yf a man happen upon the eele, and yet if he gett it in his hand, all that he hath gotten is but a wett eele by the tayle. (Mr. Osborne.)
'Tis certaine that Tyrone hath submitted absolutely, as to the late Queene, not knowing of hir death; he is nowe at Dublin with the Lord Mountjoy, and Tirrell is come in with him.