ftraining laws of vertuous education, religious and civill nurture, which Plato there mentions, as the bonds and ligaments of the Commonwealth, the pillars and the sustainers of every writt'n Statute; these they be which will bear chief fway in fuch matters as these, when all licencing will be eafily eluded. Impu nity and remiffenes, for certain are the bane of a Commonwealth, but here the great art lyes to difcern in what the law is to bid reftraint and punishment, and in what things perfwafion only is to work. If every action which is good, or evill in man at ripe years, were to be under pittance and prescription, and compulfion, what were vertue but a name, what praise could be then due to well-doing, what

gram

grammercy to be sober, juft or continent? many there be that complain of divin Providence for fuffering Adam to transgreffe, foolish tongues! when God gave him reason, he gave him freedom to choose, for reafon is but choofing; he had bin else a meer artificiall Adam, fuch an Adam as he is in the motions. We our felves esteem not of that obedience, or love, or gift, which is of force; GOD therefore left him free, fet before him a provoking object, ever almoft in his eyes herein confifted his merit, herein, the right of his reward, the praise of his abftinence. Wherefore did he creat paffions within us, pleasures round about us, but that these rightly temper'd are the very ingredients of vertu? They

are

are not skilfull confiderers of human things, who imagin to remove fin by removing the matter of fin; for, befides that it is a huge heap increafing under the very act of diminishing, though some part of it may for a time be withdrawn from fome perfons, it cannot from all, in fuch a univerfall thing as books are; and when this is done, yet the fin remains entire. Though ye take from a covetous man all his treasure, he has yet one jewell left, ye cannot bereave him of his covetoufneffe. Banifh all objects' of luft, fhut up all youth into the fevereft discipline that can be exercis'd in any hermitage, ye cannot make them chaste, that came not thither fo fuch great care and wisdom is requir'd to the right

ma

managing of this point.

Suppofe we

could expell fin by this means: look how much we thus expell of fin, so much we expell of vertue: for the matter of them both is the fame; remove that, and ye remove them both alike. This juftifies the high providence of GOD, who though he command us temperance, justice, continence, yet powrs out before us ev'n to a profufenes all defirable things, and gives us minds that can wander beyond all limit and fatiety. Why fhould we then affect a rigor .contrary to the manner of GOD and of nature, by abridging or scanting thofe means, which books freely permitted are, both to the triall of vertue, and the exercise of truth. It would be better done to learn that the

law

law muft needs be frivolous which goes to reftrain things, uncertainly and yet equally working to good, and to evill. And were I the choofer, a dram of well-doing fhould be preferr'd before many times as much the forcible hindrance of evill-doing. For God sure efteems the growth and compleating of one vertuous perfon, more then the reftraint of ten vitious. And albeit what ever thing we hear or fee, fitting, walking, travelling, or converfing, may be fitly call'd our book, and is of the fame effect that writings are, yet grant the thing to be prohibited were only books,

it

appears that this order hitherto is far infufficient to the end which it intends.

Do we not fee, not once or oftner, but

weekly