are welcome," quoth the keeper; "there are those who will take care of you. And who are you?" "A silenced minister." "You are welcome too; I shall fare the better for you. And who are you?" "A minister of the church of England." "O God help me," quoth the keeper, "I shall get nothing by you; I am sure you may lie, and starve, and rot, before any body will look after you."

12. Methinks 't is an ignorant thing for a churchman to call himself the minister of Christ, because St. Paul or the apostles called themselves so. If one of them had a voice from heaven, as St. Paul had, I will grant he is a minister of Christ; I will call him so too. Must they take upon them as the apostles did? Can they do as the apostles could? The apostles had a mark to be known by, spake tongues, cured diseases, trod upon serpents, &c. Can they do this? If a gentleman tells me he will send his man to me, and I did not know his man, but he gave me this mark to know him by, he should bring in his hand a rich jewel; if a fellow came to me with a pebble-stone, had I any reason to believe he was the gentleman's man?

MONEY.

1. MONEY makes a man laugh. A blind fiddler, playing to a company, and playing but scurvily, the company laughed at him his boy that led him, perceiving it, cried, "Father, let us be gone, they do nothing but laugh at you.” Hold thy peace, boy," said the fiddler; we shall have their money presently, and then we will laugh at them."

2. Euclid was beaten in Boccaline, for teaching his scholars a mathematical figure in his school, whereby he showed that all the lives both of princes and private men tended to one centre, "con gentilezza," handsomely to get money out of other men's pockets, and put it into their own.

3. The pope used heretofore to send the princes of Christendom to fight against the Turk; but prince and pope finely juggled together; the moneys were raised, and some men went out to the holy war; but commonly after they had got the money, the Turk was pretty quiet, and the prince and the pope shared it between them.

4. In all times the princes in England have done something illegal to get money but then came a parliament, and all was well; the people and the prince kissed and were friends,

After

and so things were quiet for a while. wards there was another trick found out to get money, and after they had got it, another parliament was called to set all fight, &c. But now

they have so outrun the constable .

MORAL HONESTY.

THEY that cry down moral honesty, cry down that which is a great part of religion, my duty towards God, and my duty towards man. What care I to see a man run after a sermon, if he cozens and cheats as soon as he comes home? On the other side, morality must not be without religion; for if so, it may change as I see convenience. Religion must govern it. He that has not religion to govern his morality, is not a dram better than my mastiffdog; so long as you stroke him, and please him, and do not pinch him, he will play with you as finely as may be, he is a very good moral mastiff; but if you hurt him, he will fly in your face, and tear out your throat.

MORTGAGE.

In case I receive a thousand pounds, and mortgage as much land as is worth two thou

sand to you, if I do not pay the money at such a day, I fail. Whether you may take my land and keep it in point of conscience? Answer. If you had my land as security only for your money, then you are not to keep it; but if we bargained so that if I did not repay your £1000, my land should go for it, be it what it will, no doubt you may with a safe conscience keep it; for in these things all the obligation is servare fidem."

NUMBER.

ALL those mysterious things they observe in numbers, come to nothing upon this very ground, because number in itself is nothing, has nothing to do with nature, but is merely of human imposition, a mere sound. For example, when I cry one o'clock, two o'clock, three o'clock, that is but man's division of time; the time itself goes on, and it had been all one in nature, if those hours had been called nine,

ten, and eleven.

So when they say the seventh son is fortunate, it means nothing; for if you count from the seventh backwards, then the first is the seventh; why is not he likewise fortunate ?

OATHS.

1. SWEARING was another thing with the Jews than with us, because they might not pronounce the name of the Lord Jehovah.

2. There is no oath scarcely but we swear to things we are ignorant of: for example, the oath of supremacy; how many know how the king is king; what are his right and prerogative ? So how many know what are the privileges of the parliament, and the liberty of the subject, when they take the protestation? But the meaning is, they will defend them when they know them. As if I should swear I would take part with all that wear red ribbons in their hats, it may be I do not know which color is red; but when I do know, and see a red ribbon in a man's hat, then will I take his part.

3. I cannot conceive how an oath is imposed where there is a parity, viz. in the house of commons; they are all "pares inter se," only one brings a paper, and shows it the rest, they look upon it, and in their own sense take it. Now they are but " pares" to me, who am none of the house, for I do not acknowledge myself their subject; if I did, then no question I was bound by an oath of their imposing. "T is to me but reading a paper in their own

sense.