fo. 105.
The second head, the name, which is an ill name, to covet house, land, &c. allways taken in the ill part; avaritia, in Latin, aviditas æris, φιλαργυρἱα; not a good name amongst them all.
3. The daughters of covetousnes: 1. Rapina, robbery. 2. φιλαργυρἱα. 3. Oppressio. 4. Furtum. 5. Homicidium. 6. Proditio. 7. Fallacia. 8. Mendacia. 9. Obduratio. Whereof more at this day then the Bishop of Constance burnt poore people in a barne which came for a dole. 10. Usuria. This rangeth abroad over the whole land. 11. Bribery. 12. Symonia, Lady Symonie, a shameles on. 13. Sacrilegium. The end Superbia, which conteines all, and holds all things to base for himselfe.
Fourth head, the effects of covetousnes: 1. Hatred. 2. Misery. 3. Contempt. 4. Forgetfulnes of God. 5. Suffocatio, sorrowe. 6. Danger, death of body and soule; howe many have bin slayne for riches, or dyed in them.
Fifth head, it is the roote of all evill. 1 Tim. vi. 10; it is an euill of generality. Some nations are sicke but of one vice; but he that hath this, hath all; it is hardly cured, it growes by continuance, peccatum clamans, it is maxime inimicum Deo, for hee gave all by creacion to all equally, but this strives to drawe all to it selfe most unequally. Of such a man it is sayd abstulit a pauperibus, congregavit, et manet in æternum ejus infamia.
Sixth head, similitudes, all evill; it is compared to the dropsy, a disquieting kinde of thirst; to leaches, which sucke till they burst.
7. The end, he gathers he knowes not for whom; the reason, mans life consists not in the abundance of riches, 1. Because both when wee came into the world, though wee were naked, yet wee then lived, and fo. 105b.before that too. 2. Wee shall carry nothing away with us when we dye, yet our soules shall live. 3. They cannot deliver us from death.
Riches are incertayne, and therefore Eschines compares them to Euripus, which ebbes and flowes oftentymes in a day. An other says they are winged, because the[y] passe away soe swiftly; and Fortune hir selfe is allways painted upon a wheeling stone, to note the inconstancy of riches; and certaine it is that, at last, yf they part not from us, wee must part from them.
The parable. A riche man, though he be riche, yet he must dye; for he is but a man. God would have some riche, some poore, for distinction sake, and the mutuall exercise of liberality and patience, whereby the opinion of the Anabaptists is easily confuted, whoe would have all things alike common; admirabilis concatenatio in the order of things and states. God made noe miraculous provision for his disciples, therefore there ought to be an ordinary provision for the ministery. As the people love the ministers for their spirituall blessings, soe the ministers love the people for their temporall commodities. The order of professions. 1. Relligion. 2. Husbandry. 3. Merchandise. 4. Souldiery.
Abuse in acquirendo, concupiscendo, consumendo.