It remains now that I should prescribe you some few Recipe's and Antidotes;
which if you'l make use of, I'le warrant to cure you of the Fever of Lust, into which the Strange Woman will endeavour to cast you: And my first is this.
First then, Let every one make a Covenant with his eyes, never to look upon any object with a lustfull and impure inclination. Job 31. 1. I have made a Covenant with my eyes, why then should I look upon a maid? Shut your Eyes, those Windows of your Soul, through which you receive the Species from all sinful Objects; for, through those windows a little sin (like a little Boy) may creep in, and open the Door of your Heart to the rest. An eminent Historian of our own Nation tells us, That whilest the Earl of Salisbury was at the Battel of Orleance, opening a little window of the Castle, where he was to view the Enemy, a little Lad killed him with a Cannon planted and discharg'd against the Windows. So, it may be, whilest thou openest thy Souls windows, thy Eyes, to look upon a beautiful Object, a small Lust may chance to shoot thee with a temptation, and leave thee dead in sin for ever. Scipio and Alexander both of them are
reported to have taken fair Captives: Scipio would not suffer his to come into his sight, lest he himself might be captivated by their beauty; but Alexander gave his Captives admittance into his presence: And though Alexanders was the greater continency, yet Scipio took the wisest course; for, [[17]]'Tis dangerous to look upon that by which we may at length be ensnared; the exposing of Beauty to be seen, and the loss of Modesty and Chastity follow one another. Let us therefore attend to our blessed Saviours words, who tells us, [[18]]That whosoever looks upon a woman with an intention to lust after her, hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. When we come into the presence of moving Beauties, we must do as men usually do when the Summer Sun grows potent and vehement; though we admire their Beauties greatness, yet we must shun it's heat; each place can afford us a shadow to hide us from it. The Poets tell us, that when some young men had beheld the three equal beauty'd Gorgones, they were thereby deprived and divested of their human shape, and metamorphosed into stones:
So, if we be not cautious how we too lasciviously gaze upon powerful Beauties, who knows how soon we may be so callous and obdurate, and our hearts be rendred so stony, that without the least regret or remorse we may first fall into the profound Abyss of Adultery, and thence to that bottomless one of Hell. We must not do by a beautiful Object as by the Crocodile, but quite contrary; for we must be sure not to look first upon it, and then we shall remain secure from its killing glances: for, he who is still looking, and always gazing, acts like him who drinks Wine in the very heighth of a Fever. But if still men will look upon fair Objects, let the same use be made of them which the wiser sort of Catholicks do of Pictures; let their beautiful features serve to raise our Devotion to God, and make us admire his curious workmanship. And since Women are of late grown so proud and licentious as to expose and prostitute themselves to the eyes of men in unseemly and immodest gestures, and they onely shew themselves true Britains in this, that, like the ancient Britains, they delight to paint
their bodies, and (like the Rain-bow) display their transient and fading colours; let us, when we see such as these, call to mind these Considerations to allay those inordinacies which may otherwise arise in our thoughts from the contemplation of so vicious objects. Let us consider, That they are but vain Dames, to bestow such curious cost on so woful and sordid a piece of dirt, which (it may be) would otherwise resemble the clay Prometheus us'd before it was inform'd and animated; That 'tis their folly to guild a clay Wall, and enamel a Bubble, when they can give no other then a Womans Reason for it. Let us consider, That Women have no beauty but what we are pleased to give them; and that if we call them fair, 'tis but in the way of Poetry or Complement: And that these dim Cynthia's would be very obscure, if they borrowed not that light they have from the Sun of mens favour. Or suppose we are so candid and ingenuous as to grant them beautiful, yet we may see by experience, that their Beauty is like a sweet and much coveted Banquet, which is no sooner tasted but its delicious Luxury is
swallowed up by Oblivion. Let us think with our selves, That there's no conformation of lineaments, no composition of features, no symmetry of parts so exactly combin'd and compacted in one person, but a critical eye may discover some imperfection: fairest Cynthia is not without her spots, nor beautiful Venus without her moles.
2. If you would be cured of the Fever of Lust, into which the Strange Woman will endeavour to cast you, use a moderate, slender and ascetick Diet. Be content with that with which Nature her self wil be contented, and then [[19]]a little will suffice you; and if you do this, [[20]]you will act according to the Rules of Discretion and Prudence. Use Fasting and severe Abstinence, which are the proper Abscissions of the instruments and temptations of lust. And to this is reducible a restraint from all morose delectation, and looser banquetting: You must not desire to be fed at Vitellius his board; you must not desire Nero's effeminate baths, nor Tiberius his naked Pictures to incite your lust; you must not hunt all grounds, draw all seas, search every
brook and bush, or dispeople the four Elements to please your wanton lusts, and try experiments upon your judicious palates; but as you must abstain from [[21]]things unlawful, so also from lawful too: You must not onely take care you transcend not the Bounds of Temperance and Moderation, but you must sometimes abridge your selves of your necessary repast; assuring your selves, That the more [[22]]you deny your selves, the more you shall receive from God. 'Tis storied of Richard Nevil Earl of Warwick, (stiled also Make-King,) that in the great Battel at Ferrybrigg between Henry the Sixth and Edward the Fourth, when he perceived his side almost worsted by Henry the Sixth, he slew his Horse with his own Sword, and then uttered these Heroick expressions, Let all that will fight stay with me; and then (according to the Ceremony of those times) kissing the Cross upon his Sword, he fought with singular courage and prowess: So in the conflict between our Lusts and us, let us kill and mortifie our Bodies, which (in the language of Socrates) are our Soul's Horses, and then excite every Faculty
of our Souls with these words, Let all that will fight stay with me; and when we have done thus, let us kiss and take up our Cross, and fight stoutly under Christ the Captain of our Salvation against our Lusts; it being impossible to keep the Spirit pure, whilest 'tis overburdened with too much Flesh, and exposed to all entertainments of Enemies by fomentations and pamperings; remembring the divine counsel of the [[23]]Philosopher, That we must not take care for the Body simply as the Body, but as subservient to the Soul. And that you may be the better induced to do this, remember (as the fore-cited Author [[24]]has well said), That your Soul is your self, but your Body yours; for 'tis the Soul which uses, but that which is used by it is the Body: And by this separation of the Soul from the Body, you will preserve your nature from confusion, nor think that things τὰ εντὸς which are without concern you, nor contend for those as for your self, and so consequently avoid too much care of your body; not resembling those, that, so that Sumpter-horse the Body be hung with gaudy Trappings, and pamper'd,