ftatute of 23 Eliz. cap. 1. have inflicted the fevereft penalty upon thofe that go about to withdraw perfons to the Romish religion, from the religion established in England, as any man that reads that ftatute may find; yet there are fcattered up and down the world divers factors and agents, that under feveral difguifes and pretences endeavour the perverting of weak and eafy perfons. Take heed of all fuch perfuaders. And that you may know and obferve the better, you fhall ever find these artifices practifed by them:

1. They will ufe all flattering applications and infinuations to be mafter of your humour; and when they have gotten that advantage, they that feemed before to ferve you will then command you.

2. They will ufe all poffible fkill to raise in you jea loufy and diflike towards thofe that may otherwise continue, and keep you in the truth; as to raise diflike in you against your minift; nay, rather than fail, to raise diffention among rns; yea, to caft jealoufies and furmifes among them, if it may be inftrumental to corrupt them.

3. They will endeavour to withdraw people from the public miniftry of God's word, encourage men to flight and neglect it; and when they have once effected this, they have a fair opportunity to infuse their own corrupt principles.

4. They will engage you, by fome means or other, to them, either by fome real, but most ordinarily by fome pretended kindness or familiarity, that, in a little time, you shall not dare to displease them; you mult do and speak what they will have you, because fome way or other you are entangled with them, or engaged to them; and then they become your governors, and you will not dare to contradict or disobey them.

Thefe are fome of thofe artifices whereby crafty and fubtle feducers gain profelytes, and bring men under captivity.

Seventhly. Be very careful to moderate your paf

fions, efpecially of choler and anger; it inflames the blood, diforders the brain, and, for the time, exterminates not only religion, but common reafon; it puts the mind into confufion, and throws wild-fire into the tongue, whereby men give others advantage against them; it renders a man incapable of doing his duty to God, and puts a man upon acts of violence, unrighteousness, and injuftice to men; therefore keep your paffions under difcipline, and under as ftrict a chain as you would keep an unruly curft maftiff. Look to it that you give it not too much line at first; but if it hath gotten any fire within you, quench it presently with confideration, and let it not break out into paffionate or unruly words or actions; but, whatever you do, let it not gangrene into malice, envy, or pite.

Eighthly. Send your children early to learn their Catechifm, that they may take in the true principles of religion betimes, which may grow up with them, and habituate them both to the knowledge and practice of it; that they may escape the danger of corrup tion by error or vice, being antecedently feafoned with better principles.

Ninthly. Receive the bleffings of God with very much thankfulness to him; for he is the root and fountain of all the good you do, or can receive.

Tenthly. Bear all afflictions and croffes patiently, it is your duty, for afflictions come not from the dust. The great God of heaven and earth is he that fends thefe meffengers to you, though poffibly evil occurrences may be the immediate inftruments of them. You owe to Almighty God an infinite fubjection and obedience, and to expoftulate with him is rebellion; and as it is your duty, so it is your wisdom and your prudence; impatience will not discharge your yoke, but it will make it gall the worse, and fit the harder.

Eleventhly. Learn not only patience under your afflictions, but also profitably to improve them to your foul's good; learn by them how vain and unprofitable

things

things the world, and the pleasures thereof, are, that a fharp or a lingering fickness renders utterly tastelefs. Learn how vain and weak a thing human nature is, which is pulled down to the gates of death, and clothed with rottenness and corruption by a little disorder in the blood, in a nerve, in a vein, in an artery. And fince we have fo little hold of a temporal life, which is fhaken and fhattered by any small occurrence, accident, or distemper; learn to lay hold of eternal life, and of that, covenant of peace and falvation which Chrift hath brought for all that believe and obey the Gospel of peace and falvation: there fhall be no death, no ficknefs, no pain, no weakness, but a state of unchangeable and everlasting happiness. And if you thus improve affliction, you are gainers by it; and most certain it is, that there is no more probable way under the heaven to be delivered from affliction (if the wife God fee it fit) than thus to improve it: For affliction is a meffenger, and the rod hath a voice; and that is, to require mankind to be the inore patient, and the more humble, and more to acknowledge Almighty God in all our ways. And if men

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liften to this voice of the rod, and conform to it, the rod hath done his errand; and either will leave a man, or at least give a man, fingular comfort, even under the sharpeft affliction. And this affliction, which is but for a moment, thus improved, will work for uş an exceeding and eternal weight of glory.

Twelfthly. Reverence your minifter; he is a wife and a good man, and one that loves you, and hath a tender care and refpect for you. Do not grieve him, either by neglect or difrefpect. Affure yourselves, if there be any perfon that fets any of you against him, or provokes or encourageth any of you to defpife or neglect him, that perfon, whoever he be, loves not you, nor the office he bears. And therefore as the laws of the land, and the Divine Providence, hath placed him at Alderly to have a care of your fouls, fo I must tell you I do expect you should reverence

and

and honour him for his own, for your, and for his office fake.

And now I have written this long epiftle to you, to perform that office for me that I fhould have done in perfon if I could have taken this journey. The epiftle is long, but it had been longer, if I had had more time. And though, perchance, fome there may be in the world, that when they hear of it will interpret it to be but the excurfions and morofe rules of old age, unneceffary, and fuch as might have been fpared; yet I am perfuaded it will find better acceptation thereof from you that are my children. I am now on the fhady fide of three-fcore years. I write to you what you have often heard me in fubftance fpeak. And poffibly when I fhall leave this world, you will want fuch a remembrancer as I have been to you. The words that I now, and at former times have written to you, are words of truth and fobernefs; and words and advices that proceed from a heart full of love and affection to you all. If I fhould fee you do amifs in any thing, and should not reprove you; or if I fhould find you want counfel and direction, and should not give it, I fhould not perform the truft of a father; and if you should not thankfully receive it, you would be somewhat defective in the duty you owe to God and me, as children. As I have never fpared my purse to fupply you, according to my abilities, and the reafonablenefs of occafions, fo I have never been wanting to you in good and prudent counfels. And the God of heaven give you wifdom, conftancy, and fidelity, in the obfervance of them.

I am your ever loving father,

MATTHEW HALE.

MAY 20.

P 2

LETTER

LETTER III.

CONCERNING THEIR SPEECH.

I

CHILDREN,

THANK God I came well to Farrington this Saturday, about five of the clock, and because I have fome leifure time at my inn, I could not spend that time more to my own contentment, and your benefit, than by my letter to give you all good counsel; the subject whereof, at this time, fhall be concerning Speech, because much of the good or evil that befalls perfons, doth occafionally happen by the well or ill managing of that part of human converfation. I fhall, as I have leifure and opportunity at other times, give you my directions concerning other fubjects.

And herein I fhall advise you, Firft, how you are to entertain the speeches of others, according to the di vers varieties thereof. Secondly, how you are to manage and order your own speech.

I. As concerning the former, obferve thefe directions: 1. Obferve and mark as well as you may, what is the temper and difpofition of those perfons whose speeches you hear, whether they be grave, feb rious, fober, wife, difcreet perfons; if they be fuch, their speeches commonly are like themselves, and will deferve your attention and obfervation; but if they be light, impertinent, vain, paffionate perfons, their fpeech is, for the most part, according; and the best advantage that you will gain by their fpeech, is but thereby to learn their difpofitions, to difcern their failings, and to make yourselves the more cautious both