All this amounts to no less than that all mortal men are fools, even the righteous and godly as well as sinners; nay, in some sense our blessed Lord himself, who, although he was the _wisdom of the Father_, yet to repair the infirmities of fallen man, he became in some measure a partaker of human Folly, when he _took our nature upon him, and was found in fashion as a man_; or when _God made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him_. Nor would he heal those breaches our sins had made by any other method than by the _foolishness of the cross_, published by the ignorant and unlearned apostles, to whom he frequently recommends the excellence of Folly, cautioning them against the infectiousness of wisdom, by the several examples he proposes them to imitate, such as children, lilies, sparrows, mustard, and such like beings, which are either wholly inanimate, or at least devoid of reason and ingenuity, guided by no other conduct than that of instinct, without care, trouble, or contrivance. To the same intent the disciples were warned by their lord and master, that when they should be _brought unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates and powers_, they shall _take no thought how, or what thing they should answer, nor what they should say_: they were again strictly forbid to _enquire into the times and seasons_, or to place any confidence in their own abilities, but to depend wholly upon divine assistance. [Illustration: 378] At the first peopling of paradise the Almighty had never laid so strict a charge on our father Adam to refrain from _eating of the tree of knowledge_ except he had thereby forewarned that the taste of knowledge would be the bane of all happiness. St. Paul says expressly, that _knowledge puffeth up, i.e._, it is fatal and poisonous. In pursuance whereunto St. Bernard interprets that _exceeding high mountain_ whereon the devil had erected his seat to have been the mountain of knowledge. And perhaps this may be another argument which ought not to be omitted, namely, that Folly is acceptable, at least excusable, with the gods, inasmuch, as they easily pass by the heedless failures of fools, while the miscarriages of such as are known to have more wit shall very hardly obtain a pardon; nay, when a wise man comes to sue for an acquitment from any guilt, he must shroud himself under the patronage and pretext of Folly. For thus in the twelfth of Numbers Aaron entreats Moses to stay the leprosy of his sister Miriam, saying, _alas, my Lord, I beseech thee lay not the sin upon us wherein we have done foolishly_. Thus, when David spared Saul's life, when he found him sleeping in a tent of Hachilah, not willing to _stretch forth his hand against the Lord's anointed, Saul excuses his former severity by confessing, _Behold, I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly_. David also himself in much the same form begs the remission of his sin from God Almighty with