Chiysologus noteth of the rich glutton, who would have Lazarus to be Bent to him, that being still cruel and envious towards Lazarus, he would have him to be sent Ad infer mini de f/remio, de solio subU/lM ad profundi «« 1 mum, chaos, ad formcidorirm .shidorem, de sancta quieU beatorum, to hell from the bosom of Abraham, to the bottomless gulf iron) the highest throne of glory, to the gnashing and grinding of tor- ments bom the holy rest of the blessed. The truth is, envy sticks so close to the heart of wicked men, that courtesies provoke it;1 offices of lave and respect swell it, and an eminency in gifts and graces enrages it ; no man of worth hath ever escaped it. Neither mine accusers, nor my crimes, saith Socrates, can kill me, but envy only, which hath, and doth, and will destroy the worthiest that ever were ; and therefore, the same person wishes that envious men had more eyes and more ears than others, that so they might be tormented more than others, by be- holding others' happiness. Well ! sinners, if, notwithstanding all that hath been said, you will still be envious against those gracious souls that have but little in hand, though they have much in hope ; if you will be envious against those who stand between you and wrath, between you and hell; if you will be envious against those to whom, as instru- ments, you are beholding for all the mercies, comforts, and contents, that you enjoy in this world, then know, that your envy will torture you,2 your envy will slay you, your envy will prepare the hottest, darkest, and lowest place in hell for you. But,
(10.) Tenthly, If the best things are reserved for believers till they come to heaven, then let not any outward losses trouble you, nor deject you. What is thy loss of a house made with hands to one eternal in the heavens ? what is thy loss of rags to the royal robes above? what is thy loss of earth to the gain of heaven ? what is thy loss of husband, wife, child, friends, to the enjoyment of God, Christ, angels, and the spirits of just men made perfect? 2 Cor. v. 1 ; Rev. vi. 11, vii. 9, 13, 14.
When Paulinus Nolanus his city was taken from him by the bar- barians, he prayed thus to God : Lord ! let ine not be troubled at the loss of my gold, silver, honour, &c; for thou art all, and much more than all, these unto me.3
When Demetrius asked Stilpo4 what loss he had sustained when his wife, his children, and country were all burned, he answered, that he had lost nothing, counting that only his own which none could take from him, to wit, his virtues. What an unlovely, what an uncomely, thing would it be to see a rich heir, upon the loss of a ribbon out of his hat, or upon the loss of a glove from his hand, &c, to stand sighing and grieving, vexing and lamenting; or to see a prince, upon the burning up of his stables and outhouses, to stand wringing his hands and beat- in.; Ids breasts, and to cry out, Undone, undone ! when his royal palace is safe, his crown safe, his treasures safe ! As unlovely, yea, a more un- lovely and uncomely, thing it is to see a saint upon the account of losing
1 Envy is like certain flies called cantharides, who light specially upon the fairest wheat, and most blown roses. > I'rov. xiv. 30; Job v. 2 ; Mat. xxiii. 13-15. 8 Cf. ante.— G.
* A philosopher of Megara.
1 Peter 1. 4.] a string of pearls. 449
wife, child, friend, &c, to cry out, Undone, undone ! no sorrow to my sorrow ! no loss to ray loss ! when his great all is safe ; when his crown, his heaven, his happiness, his blessedness, is safe. Basil, bringing in Job comforting his wife under all their sad losses and calamities, makes him speak thus:1 Semper prospere agere solius est Dei; bibisti liquidum vitce laticem et turbidum jam toleranter bibe, it belongeth to God only always to enjoy contentment. Thou hast drunk of the clear waters of this life ; now drink of them patiently when they are troubled. But,
(11.) Eleventhly, If the best things are reserved for believers till they come to heaven, then let believers live cheerfully and walk comfortably up and down in this world.2 Ah ! how cheerfully and merrily do many great heirs live ! Though for the present things goes hard with them, the hopes of a good inheritance makes them sing care and sorrow away. It is not for the honour of Christ, nor for the glory of the gospel, to see the heirs of heaven look so sadly and walk so mournfully and dejectedly, as if there were no heaven, or as if there was nothing laid up for them in heaven. It becomes not the sons of glory, with Rachel, to give so much way to weeping as to refuse to be comforted, Neh. viii. 10. Dost thou not remember, O Christian, that the joy of the Lord is thy strength, thy doing strength, thy bearing strength, thy prevailing strength. What! hast thou forgotten that ' the joy of the Lord is thy strength' to live, and thy strength to die ? If not, why with Cain dost thou walk up and down with a dejected countenance, with a cast-down countenance \ A beau- tiful face is at all times pleasing to the eye, but then especially when there is joy manifested in the countenance. Joy in the face puts a new beauty upon a person, and makes that which before was beautiful to be exceedingly beautiful ; it puts a new lustre upon beauty ; so doth joy put a lustre and a beauty upon a Christian; and upon all his words, his ways, his works. It was this that made the faces of several martyrs to shine as if they had been the faces of angels. One observes3 of Chispina, that she was cheerful when she was apprehended, and joy- ful when she was led to the judge, and merry when she was sent into prison; so when she was bound, when she was brought forth, when she was lifted up in a cage, when she was heard, when she was condemned. In all these things she rejoiced ; so that they who were miserable thought her to be miserable, who indeed was happy under a spirit of joy. When Ca?sar was sad, he used to say to himself, Gogita te Ccesarem esse, think thou art Caesar. Ah, Christians ! when you are sad and dejected, think of your dignity and glory ; think of all those pre- cious and glorious things that are reserved in heaven for you.
It becomes not Christians, who have so much in reversion, to be like Angelastus, grandfather to Crassus, who never laughed in all his life save once, and that was when he saw a mare eating of thistles; nor like Anaxagoras [of] Clazomense, who was never seen to laugh or smile from the day of his birth to the day of his death. Christians, I desire to leave that serious and sad word upon your hearts : Deut. xxviii. 47, 48, ' Because thou servest not the Lord thy God with joyfulness and with
1 Basil, Homil. xxiii.
2 Ps. xxxiii. 1, lxxix. 12 ; Isa. xli. 16 ; Joel ii. 23 ; Zech. x. 7 ; Philip, iii. 1, iv. 4.
3 Augustine in Ps. cxxxvii.
450 A STRING OF PEARLS. [1 PETER I. 4.