5. I suppose thou knowest that God, who gave a being unto all things, is by this title of creation, the absolute Owner or Lord of all: and that he that made the reasonable creatures, with natures to be governed, in order to a further end, is by that title, their supreme Governor; and therefore hath his laws commanding duty, and promising reward, and threatening punishment; and therefore will judge men according to these laws, and will be just in judgment, and in his rewards and punishments. And that he that freely gave the creature its being, and all the good it hath, and must give it all that ever it shall have, is the Father or most bountiful Benefactor to his creatures. Surely I screw thee not too high in supposing thee to know all this; for all this is no more than that there is a God. For he is not God, if he be not the creator, and therefore our owner, our ruler, and benefactor, our absolute Lord, our most righteous governor, and our most loving father, or benefactor.

6. I suppose therefore that thou art convinced, that God must be absolutely submitted to, and obeyed before all others in the world, and loved above all friends, or pleasures, or creatures whatsoever. For to say, 'He is my Owner,' is to say, 'I must yield myself to him as his own:' to say, 'I take him for my supreme Governor,' is to say, that I will absolutely be ruled by him:' and to say, "I take him as my dearest Father or chief Benefactor,' is to say, that 'I am obliged to give him my dearest love, and highest thanks :' otherwise you do but jest, or say you know not what, or contradict yourselves, while you say, He is your God.'

7. I suppose that thou art easily convinced, that in all the world there is no creature that can shew so full a title to thee as God; or that hath so great authority to govern thee, or that can be so good to thee, or do so much for thee, as God can do, or hath done, and will do, if thou do thy part; and therefore that there is nothing to be preferred before him, or compared with him in our obedience or love:

beat notitiam aliquam dei. Cic. Leg. i. 25. Nulla gens tam fera, nemo omnium tara sit immanis, cujus mentem non imbuerit deorum opinio. Cic. Tusc. i. 20. “I had rather believe all the fables in the Legend, and the Talmud, and the Alcoran, than that this universal frame is without a mind." Lord Bacon, Essay 16. “A little philosophy inclineth a man's mind to atheism: but depth in philosophy bringeth men's minds about to religion." Lord Bacon, Essay 16.

nor is there any that can save us from his justice, if we stand out against him.

8. I suppose that as thou knowest God is just, in his laws and judgments, so that he is so faithful that he will not, and so all-sufficient, that he need not deceive mankind, and govern them by mere deceit: this better beseems the devil, than God: and therefore that as he governeth man on earth by the hopes and fears of another life, he doth not delude them into such hopes or fears: and as he doth not procure obedience by any rewards or punishments in this life, as the principal means (the wicked prospering, and the best being persecuted and afflicted here), therefore his rewards or punishments, must needs be principally hereafter in the life to come. For if he have no rewards and punishments, he hath no judgment; and if he have no judgment, he hath no laws (or else no justice); and if he have no laws (or no justice), he is no governor of man (or not a righteous governor); and if he be not our governor (and just), he is not our God; and if he were not our God, we had never been his creatures, nor had a being, or been men f.

9. I suppose thou knowest that if God had not discovered what he would do with us, in the life to come, yet man is highliest bound to obey and love his Maker, because he is our absolute Lord, our highest ruler, and our chief benefactor; and all that we are or have is from him. And that if man be bound to spend his life in the service of his God, it is certain that he shall be no loser by him, no not by the costliest obedience that we can perform; for God cannot appoint us any thing that is vain; nor can he be worse to us than an honest man, that will see that we lose not by his service. Therefore that God for whom we must spend and forsake this life, and all those pleasures which sensualists enjoy, hath certainly some greater thing to give us, in another life.

1 Mundum autem censent regi numine deorum, eumque esse quasi communem urbem, et civitatem hominum, et deorum. Cic. Fin. iii. 64. Impiis apud inferos pœnas esse præparatas. Cic. Inv. i. 46. Vero et Jovem, et dominatorem rerum, et omnia nutu regentem, et, ut idem Ennius,

-patrem divûmque, hominumque,

et præsentem ac præpotentem deum. Quod qui dubitet, haud sane intelligo, cur non idem, sol sit, an ullus sit, dubitare possit. Cic. Nat. D. ii. 4.

10. I may take it for granted at the worst, that neither thyself, nor any infidel in the world, can say that you are sure that there is not another life for man, in which his present obedience shall be rewarded, and disobedience punished. The worst that ever infidel could say was, that' He thinketh that there is no other life.' None of you dare deny the possibility of it, nor can with any reason deny the probability. Well, then, let this be remembered while we proceed a little further with you.

11. I suppose or expect that you have so much use of sense and reason, as to know the brevity and vanity of all the glory and pleasures of the flesh; and that they are all so quickly gone, that were they greater than they are, they can be of no considerable value. Alas, what is time! How quickly gone, and then it is nothing! and all things then are nothing which are passed with it! So that the joys or sorrows of so short a life, are no great matter of gain or loss.

I may therefore suppose that thou canst easily conclude, that the bare probability or possibility of an endless happiness, should be infinitely preferred before such transitory vanity, even the greatest matters that can be expected here; and that the probability or possibility of endless misery in hell, should engage us with far greater care and diligence to avoid it, than is due for the avoiding any thing that you can think to escape by sinning; or any of the sufferings of this momentary life. If you see not this, you have lost your reason; that the mere probability or possibility of a heaven and hell, should much more command our care and diligence, than the fading vanities of this dreaming, transitory life.

12. Well, then; we have got thus far in the clearest light. You see that a religious, holy life, is every man's duty, not only as they owe it to God as their creator, their owner, governor, and benefactor; but also, because as lovers of ourselves, our reason commandeth us to have ten thousandfold more regard of a probable or possible joy and torment which are endless, than of any that is small and of short continuance. And if this be so, that a holy life is every man's duty, with respect to the life that is to come, then it is most evident, that there is such a life to come in

deed, and that it is more than probable or possible, even certain. For if it be but man's duty to manage this life, by the hopes and fears of another life, then it must follow, that either there is such a life to come, or else that God hath made it man's duty to hope, and fear, and care, and labour, and live in vain; and that he himself doth tantalize and cheat his creatures, and rule the world by motives of deceit, and make religion and obedience to our Maker to be a life of folly, delusion, and our loss. And he that believeth this of God, doth scarcely believe him to be God. Though I have mentioned this argument in another treatise, I think it not unmeet here to repeat it for thy benefit.

13. And seeing I suppose thee to be convinced of the life to come, and that man's happiness and misery is there, I must needs suppose that thou dost confess, that all things in this life, whether prosperity or adversity, honour or dishonour, are to be esteemed and used as they refer to the life to come. For nothing is more plain, than that the means are to have all their esteem and use in order to their end. That only is good in this life, which tendeth to the happiness of our endless life; and that is evil indeed in this life, that tendeth to our endless hurt, and to deprive us of the everlasting good. And therefore no price or motive should hire us to sin against God, and to forfeit or hinder our endless happiness.

14. I may suppose, if thou have reason, that thou wilt confess that God cannot be too much loved, nor obeyed too exactly, nor served too diligently (especially by such backward sinners, that have scarce any mind to love or worship him at all); and that no man can make too sure of heaven, or pay too dear for it, or do too much for his salvation, if it be but that which God hath appointed him to do. And that you have nothing else that is so much worth your time, and love, and care, and labour. And therefore though you have need to be stopped in your love, and care, and labour for the world, because for it you may easily pay too ́dear, and do too much; yet there is no need of stopping men in their love, and care, and labour for God and their salvation; which is worth more than ever we can do, and where the best are apt to do too little R.

Non enim temere, nec fortuito sati, et creati sumus, sed profecto fuit quædam

15. I also suppose thee to be one that knowest, that this present life is given us on trial, to prepare for the life that shall come after; and that as men live here, they shall speed for ever; and that time cannot be recalled, when it is gone; and therefore that we should make the best of it while we have it.

16. I suppose thee also to be easily convinced, that seeing man hath his reason and life for matters of everlasting consequence, his thoughts of them should be frequent and very serious, and his reason should be used about these things, by retired, sober deliberation.

17. And I suppose thee to be a man, and therefore so far acquainted with thyself, as that thou mayst know, if thou wilt, whether thy heart and life do answer thy convictions, and whether they are more for heaven or earth; and therefore that thou art capable of self-judging in this case.

Perhaps you will say, that while I am directing you to be holy, I suppose you to be holy first; for all this seemeth to go far towards it. But I must profess that I see not any thing in all these suppositions, but what I may suppose to be in a heathen; and that I think all this, is but supposing thee to have the use of thy reason, in the points in hand. Speak freely: Is there any one of all these points that thou canst or darest deny? I think there is not. And therefore if heathens and wicked men deny them in their practice, that doth but shew that sin doth brutify them, and that, as men asleep, or in a crowd of business, they have not the use of the reason which they possess, in the matters which their minds are turned from.

18. Yea, one thing more I think I may suppose in all or most that will read this book; that you take on you also to believe in Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost the Sanctifier, and that the Scriptures are the Word of God. And if you do so indeed, I may then hope that my work is in a manner done, before I begin it: but if you do it but opinionatively and uneffectually, yet God and man may plead with you the truths which you profess.

Having told you what I presuppose in you, I proceed now to the Directions. But I again entreat and charge thee, vis, quæ generi consuleret humano: nec id gigneret, aut aleret, quod, cum exantJavisset omnes labores, tum incideret in mortis malum sempiternum. Cic. Tusc.i. 118.