away;' a wary sowing not a heedless scattering; and a sowing xeipì, ov Oúλakı, 'by handfulls, not by basket fulls,' as the heathen man well said. Neither waste in giving; not making xápiras, πópvas, the 3. Graces, which be virgins, not prostituting them and making them common, but as the Apostle's rule is, κaðóti av tIs Xpeíav Acts 2. 45. eixe, "as need shall require." So that to all, to needless laying είχε, 36. Gen. 33. 1. out, to superfluous expense, to unnecessary largess, ut quid perditio? may be said. The reason whereof is well set down; that, if we waste it in needless expenses, we shall not have enough for necessary charges; if we lavish out in wasting, we shall leave but little for well-doing. Whereof our times do yield plenteous testimony, in which Nabal's waste, which being a subject makes a feast like a king; the Assyrian's waste, every 1 Sam. 25. mean person in apparel like a young prince; Esau's waste, in carrying a retinue of four hundred at his heels; Shallum's waste, in enclosing ourselves in cedar, and lifting up our gate Jer. 22. 15. on high once for all, I protest, and desire it may be graciously received, I do not so much as in thought once aim at the estate of the highest, whose glory I wish to match, yea to surpass, "Solomon in all his royalty;" but this riotous misspending, where no need is, hath eaten up our Christian bestowing where need is. Less waste we must have, if we will have more good works. It is truly called perditio; it is the loss and destruction of all our good deeds, and I pray God it be not also of our reward for them. Ut quid perditio is a fault, but ut quid perditio hæc is a greater. For hæc wanteth not his emphasis, but is as if he should say, If the sum had been little, or the value small, it might have been borne; if twenty or thirty pence, it might have been winked at; but if it come once into the hundreds, so great a sum, so much-verily it may not, it ought not to be suffered. Thus much for perditio, "the idle waste," the abuse. Now followeth Judas' plot, the use he wisheth it put to. For first he maketh a perfect valuation and estimate of what it would rise to, and it may seem strange how he should be so skilful an auditor of the price of rich ointments, but he hit it well, for so saith Pliny, the best nardus was so worth; and that is [Vid. Plin. a material point. For the greater the sum, the more colour of complaint: ut quid perditio ulla, but specially ut quid per N. H. 12. 12 26; 13. 2.] Then from his SERM. ditio hæc unguenti, "of so rich an ointment ?" II. audit he cometh to his motion, potuit vendi, &c. Sale to be made, the money to be divided, and the poor to be relieved. This is his supplication, and this second is better than the former. Indeed, ut quid perditio may be the speech of a niggard; but this second that followeth, cannot but proceed from a liberal mind;-potuit vendi, &c. In that he speaketh not to have it spared, but to have it converted to better uses. And this is a blessed conjunction, when honest sparing and charitable relieving, when frugality and liberality go together. Such is this motion, whereto no man can take exception. Naturally our bowels yearn, and we have an inward compassion at the misery of our brethren; and God's law willeth not to hide ourselves from our own flesh, but when we have served our need, to give to the poor. 2. The per sons that The motion then is both frugal and charitable; and besides, if we look more narrowly into it, there appeareth great zeal in it. All waste things he wisheth the poor had. Yea, it seemeth he reckoneth it waste that the poor is not the better for; that to be misspent that might be better spent, and is not. And very exactly driveth to this point; that our goods may go, not to some end, nor to some good end, but to the very best end of all, the relief of the poor. Sure, when I consider the sobriety, bounty, zeal of the speech, I think many wise heads could not in so few words have contrived a better or more pithy motion; that that which is otherwise lavished upon one may be employed to the benefit of many; that these so many hundreds may be bestowed rather in 'nourishment, than in ointment; rather on necessary relief, than upon needless delight; rather on a continual good, than on a transitory smell; rather that many hungry bellies filled, than that one head anointed. Sure, howsoever it was meant or applied, the speech, in itself considered, is to very good purpose; even Judas' speech, without Judas' application. We be now to enquire of the person by whom, and after, of the intent wherewith it was spoken. speak. We are naturally carried of a good speech to enquire the them. author: partly, in an honest inclination, as Solomon saith, Prov.24.26. “to kiss the lips of him that answereth upright words;" partly, "Seme" of because it is a matter of importance, not only to weigh quid dicatur, but quis dicat. Τρόπος ἔσται ὁ πείθων τοῦ λέγοντος où λoyos, Many times we be more persuaded with the mind of the speaker, than with the body of the speech;' and their positions move not so much, as do their dispositions. It is very material in all, and so in this, to ask, Quis hic loquitur? For who can choose but speak all good of the speech? Surely if we had not been told otherwise, Zelota vocem, 'we must needs have thought it to have been Simon Zelotes.' Zelota vocem putas, Iscariotæ est; ‘one would imagine it was Simon the Zealous; it is not so, it was Judas the Covetous.' "Some of them," saith St. Mark. "Of His Disciples," saith St. Mat- Mat. 26. 8. thew. And namely Judas, saith St. John, who first stood up, Joh. 12. 4. and took this exception; and, after him, some others. that it was Judas, and by his persuasion some besides; for if he had not stirred, they would have taken it well enough: such is the danger of sinister speeches. Let us begin with Judas. So At And here first, we begin somewhat to suspect, that it cometh from Judas. Judas, it was well known what he was. that very instant that this very ut quid was in his mouth, his fingers were in Christ's coffers, and one might have said it to him, Ut quid, &c. And for all he spake against waste, he wasted and made havoc of his Master's goods; and a little after he might have been charged with a worse matter, and yet he prefers motions. Christ telleth us what He was, filius perditionis; and this term marreth all, that "the child of perdition" should find fault with perdition. The case is like, when they that have wasted many pounds complain of that penny waste which is done on Christ's body, the Church. Or, when they that in all their whole dealings, all the world sees, are unreformed, seriously consult how to reform the Church. When they that do no good with their own, devise what good may be done with Mary Magdalene's; they that have spent and sold and consumed themselves, and never in their whole lives shewed any regard of the poor; when they talk of charitable uses—O dolor! saith Augustine: Quis tulerit? saith [Juvenal, Sat. 2. 24.] the Poet. Ut quid perditio? doth but evil fit their mouths. God help us, when Judas must reform Mary Magdalene! This is a grief; would this alone! But a greater grief it is to see how he is matched in this complaint; that in this mur 66 SERM. muring some other, divers well-disposed and of the better III. sort of Christ's Disciples join with him, and take part against Mary Magdalene. Who, rather carried with the speech than heeding the speaker, were drawn into the society of the same repining. And this sure is scandalum magnum, when evil counsel meeteth with easy belief, and subtilty findeth credulity. When the Pharisees can persuade John's disciples Mark 2. 18. to muster with them and say, Why do we and John's disciples fast?" whom you cannot but say are good men, whatsoever you think of us. When Judas can say, Why do I, and Christ's own Disciples reprove this? So it is with us;—not to see homines perditos queri de perditione, 'them speak of waste that have wasted themselves,' for that might be digested; but to see grave and good men err the same error, and draw in the same line with them. But no doubt that which carried these here leadeth them too,-Pretences; that which was able to deceive Christ's Disciples, deceiveth them too. And this is the difference; that the Disciples in a good meaning went with him, because they saw he said well; but Judas, upon a greedy covetous mind, to have his own turn served. For, cui bono? if it had come to the poor, who should have had the distribution? It was his office; so that it may be he spake for himself. Which did plainly appear by the issue. For upon better information given by Christ, the Disciples were answered and remained content. But Judas grew enraged and fell from evil to worse, from covetise to malice, from sacrilege to treason; even to this dangerous resolution, vendere nardum, or, if not, vendere Christum, and to subvert Him That he might not spoil. For all the world, as some in our time that sought help of authority, while they had hope that way to prevail; but when that came not, since begin to hold they will and may do it without stay for authority, and seek to subvert the state they cannot form to their fancy. My hope is and so is my prayer, that those which have hitherto been carried with their plots and pretences, now they be informed and see what the truth is, may do as the Disciples, leave Judas in his murmuring, and let Mary Magdalene be quiet. That which we learn of this part is; 1. From Judas, that a good speech may drop out of an evil mouth. As sure, setting aside that the hands be Esau's, the voice might become Jacob Gen.27.22. well enough. This instruction we have from Judas; it was God's will, that even he should preach and we learn some good lessons by him. And this we may learn: that no waste is to be made; and if we learn it, even he shall cooperate to our good. And as from him we have this speech for our economy, so from Caiaphas, as bad as he, we have another full Joh. 11.50. as good for our policy. That speech, which St. Bernard can never enough commend, melius est ut pereat unus quam unitas. Both evil meant I grant, but both well spoken where their place is. So it pleaseth God that we should hear His "wisdom justified," not only out of the mouth "of her own Mat.11.19. children," but even out of the mouths of the children of folly. That He might condemn evil things even by evil men; and evil men, non ex ore Suo, not from His own, but from their own mouths, and so their condemnation be just. From the Disciple's too easy belief we learn credit omni Pro.14.15. verbo, not to trust phrases and oiled speeches too fast; never by the list to conclude of the cloth. Seeing not only vasa But if we hear much electionis, but filii perditionis, say well. ado about ut quid perditio, to stay and think, May not this be Judas that speaketh now as once it was? And if it be, to suspect when he speaks well. Of this assuring ourselves, what St. Paul telleth us of sadly, that not only Mary Magdalene shall be reformed, and her ointment maligned, and the poor opposed, but even Christ Himself preached, obtentu, Phil. 1. 16. "under pretence." Therefore it standeth us in hand to look to the disposition as well as the position; and not to run headlong to say straight ut quid as fast as they. So much for the speaker. 3. The af With the person by whom we propound the affection wherewith it is spoken. For as the person is a presumption; fection so if this can be had, it maketh a full evidence. And that is wherewith in these words ἀγανάκτησις ἐν ἑαυτῷ, that “ he thought much spoken. with himself." The speech for the poor, if it be kindly, doth naturally come from the compassion of charity, and not from the grudging of a greedy desire, as this is said to do; and so should we have conceived of this, that from the care of the poor, no doubt, but that the Spirit of God maketh a window it was Indigne ferentes, et intra se di centes. |