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(what it is.

Diligence

SECT. 18.

Health,

how profitable in Wealth and Abundance,
Honour.

JUSTICE to a man's self, is diligence; for he, that travailleth, travailleth for himself: The diligent is he, who all that his hand shall find to do, doth it with all his power. I have seen (indeed) the travail, that God hath given the sons of men, to humble them thereby, that all things are full of labour, man cannot utter it; but what profit hath he that worketh, of the thing wherein he travailleth? Much every way: 1. Health: The sleep of him that travailleth, is sweet, whether he eat little or much. 2. Wealth: Open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread: yea, The hand of the diligent maketh rich, and his soul shall be fat: and not sufficiency only, but in all labour there is abundance, but the talk of the lips bringeth want: yet more, the riches, that the diligent man hath, are precious. Honour: A diligent man shall stand before kings, and not before the base sort; and The hand of the diligent shall bear rule, but the idle shall be under tribute. Pr. xvi. 26. Ec. ix. 10. iii. 20. i. 8. iii. 9. v. 11. Pr. xx. 13. x. 4. xiii. 4. xiv. 23. xii. 27. xxii. 29. xii. 24.

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THE slothful is he, that foldeth his hands, and eateth up his own flesh; That hideth his hand in his bosom, and will not pull it out again to his mouth; That turneth on his bed, as a door turneth on the hinges, and saith, Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep. Every thing that he ought to do, is troublesome: The way of the slothful man is a hedge of thorns, (which he is loth to set foot in) There is a lion without (saith he) I shall be slain in the street: who although herein he be wiser in his own conceit, than seven men that can render a reason: Yet (the truth is) he, that (so much as) follows the idle, is destitute of understanding; he lusteth (indeed) and affecteth great things, but his soul hath nought: so, The very desire of the slothful slayeth him, for his hands refuse to work.

And not only he, that is slothful in his work, is brother to him that is a great waster; but he, that sleepeth (and slothfulness causeth to fall asleep) in harvest, is the son of confusion: and, He, that will not plough because of winter, shall beg in summer, and have nothing: Love not sleep therefore, lest thou come to poverty; for what is it, that hence cometh not to ruin? For the house: By slothfulness the roof of the house goeth to decay; and by idleness of the hands, the house droppeth through. For the land: I passed by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man destitute of understanding: and, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face of it, and the stone wall thereof was broken down. Then I beheld and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction: so in every respect the slothful hand maketh poor. Go to the pismire therefore, thou sluggard, and behold her ways and be wise: For she, having no guide, governor, nor ruler, prepareth her meat in summer, and gathereth her food in harvest. How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep, yet a little slumber, yet a little folding of the hands to sleep: Therefore thy poverty cometh as a speedy traveller, and thy necessity as an armed man. Ec. iv. 5. Pr. xix. 24. xxvi. 24. vi. 10. xv. 19. xxii. 13. xxvi. 13. xxvi. 16. xii. 11. xiii. 4. xxi. 25. xviii. 9. x. 5. xix. 15. xx. 4. xx. 13. Ec. x. 18. Pr. xxiv. 30. xxiv. 31. xxiv. 32. x. 4. vi. 6. vi. 7. vi. 8. vi. 9. xxiv. 33. vi. 11.

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THE temperate in diet, is he, that refraineth his appetite, that looks not on the wine when it is red, that puts his knife to his throat when he sits with a ruler; that when he finds honey, eats but that which is sufficient for him, lest he should be overfull. It is true, that a man eateth and drinketh, and seeth the commodity of all his labour; this is the gift of God: yea, this I have seen good, that it is comely to eat and to drink, and to take pleasure in all his labour wherein he travailleth under the sun, the whole number of the days of his life which God giveth him, for this is his portion: God allows us to eat our bread with joy, and drink our wine with a cheerful heart, and there is nothing better than this; yea, there is no profit but this: But not that a man should be given to his appetite, that he should seek in his heart to draw his flesh to wine: or that whatsoever his eyes desire, he should not withhold it from them: Such a

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man when he is full, despiseth a honey-comb: whereas to the hungry, every bitter thing is sweet: and in his excess is outrageous: One of the three things, yea four, for which the earth is moved and cannot sustain itself, is a fool when he is filled with meat. Neither doth this prosper with himself. For his body: The satiety of the rich will not suffer him to sleep. To whom is woe? to whom is sorrow? to whom is murmuring? to whom are wounds without cause? and to whom is the redness of the eyes? even to them, that tarry long at the wine to them, that go and seek mixed wine. For his soul: Look not on the wine when it is red, and sheweth his colour in the cup, or goeth down pleasantly. In the end thereof, it will bite like a serpent, and hurt like a cockatrice: Thine eyes shall look upon the strange woman, and thy lips shall speak lewd things, and thou shalt be as one that sleepeth in the midst of the sea, and as he that sleepeth in the top of the mast: they have stricken me (shalt thou say) but I was not sick; they have beaten me, but I knew not when I awoke, therefore will I seek it yet still. For his estate: He is like a city which is broken down, and without walls: Keep not company therefore with drunkards, nor with glutions: for the glutton and drunkard shall be poor, and the sleeper shall be clothed with rags; and, in all these, wine is a mocker, and strong drink is raging, and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise. Pr. xxv. 28. xxiii. 31. xxiii. 2. xxiii. 1. xxv. 16. Ec. iii. 13. v. 17. ix. 7. iii. 22. ii. 24. Pr. xxi. 2. Ec. ii. 3. ii. 10. Prov. xxvii. 7. xxx. 21. xxx. 22. Ec. v. 11. Pr. xxiii. 29. xxiii. 30. xxiii. 31. xxiii. 32. xxiii. 33. xxiii. 34. xxiii. 35. xxv. 28. xxiii. 20. xx. 1.

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THE modest (for words) is a man of a precious spirit, that refraineth his lips, and spareth his words. The words of a modest man are like deep waters, and the well-spring of wisdom like a flowing river: but when he doth speak, it is to purpose: for The mouth of the just shall be fruitful in wisdom; and the

lips of the righteous do feed many, yea himself: A man shall be satiate with good things by the fruit of his mouth; and with the fruit of a man's mouth his belly shall be satisfied: but still he speaketh sparingly: A wise man concealeth knowledge, and a man of understanding will keep silence, which as it argues him wise, (for even a fool, when he holdeth his peace is counted wise; and he, that stoppeth his lips, as prudent) so it gives him much safety: He, that keepeth his mouth and his tongue, keepeth his soul from affliction; yea, he keepeth his life: where, contrarily, the mouth of the fool is in the multitude of words: it babbleth out foolishness; as it is fed with it: neither hath he any delight in understanding, but that which his heart discovereth; and while he bewrayeth it, the heart of fools publisheth his foolishness: And as he multiplyeth words, so in many words there cannot want iniquity: his mouth (still) babbleth evil things, for either he speaketh froward things, or how to lie in wait for blood, or in the mouth of the foolish is the rod of pride; and what is the issue of it? He, that openeth his mouth, destruction shall be to him. And he, that hath a naughty tongue, shall fall into evil; for, both it shall be cut out, and the frowardness of it is the breaking of the heart. Lastly, a fool's mouth is his own destruction, and his lips are a snare for his soul. Pr. xvii. 27. x. 19. xvii. 27. xviii. 4. x. 31. x. 21. xii. 14. xiii. 2. xviii. 20. xii. 23. xi. 12. x. 19. xvii. 28. xxi. 23. xiii. 3. Ec. v. 2. Pr. xv. 2. xv. 14. xviii. 2. Ec. x. 14. Pr. x. 19. xi. 28. xv. 32. xii. 6. xxvii. 20. x. 31. xv. 4. xviii. 7. For actions: The modest shall have honour: And though we need not say, Of laughter, thou art mad; and of joy, what is this thou doest: yet Anger is better than laughter: for by a sad look the heart is made better. The heart of the wise therefore is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. Rejoice then, O young man in thy youth, and let thine heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes; but know, that for all these things God will bring thee to judgment. Pr. xi. 16. Ec. ii. 2. vii. 5. vii. 6. xi. 9.

xiv. 3.

xii. 23.

xiii. 3.

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NEXT to the modest, is the humble in spirit: He saith, Surely, I am more foolish than a man, and have not the under

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