Christian ethics -- Fiction; Christian fiction; Conduct of life -- Fiction
Wise. More! we have yet scarce throughly begun with Any thing that we
have said. All the particulars are in themselves so full of badness,
that we have rather only looked in them, than indeed said any thing to
them: but we will pass them, and proceed. You have heard of the sins
of his Youth, of his Apprentiship, and how he set up, and married, and
what a life he hath led his wife; and now I will tell you some more
{88a} of his pranks. He had the very knack of Knavery; had he, as I
said before, been bound to serve an Apprentiship to all these things,
he could not have been more cunning, he could not have been more
artificial at it.
Atten. Nor perhaps so artificially neither. For as none can teach
Goodness like to God himself, so concerning Sin and Knavery, none can
teach a man it like the Devil, to whom, as I perceive, Mr. Badman went
to School from his Childhood to the end of his life. But pray Sir, make
a beginning.
Wise. Well so I will. You may remember that I told you what a condition
he was in for Money before he did marry, and how he got a rich Wife,
with whose Money he paid his debts: Now when he had paid his debts, he
having some Moneys left, he sets up again {88b} as briskly as ever,
keeps a great Shop, drives a great Trade, and runs again a great way
into debt; but now not into the debt of one or two, but into the debt
of many, so that at last he came to owe some thousands; and thus he
went on a good while. And to pursue his ends the better, he began now
to study to please all men, and to suit himself to any company; he
could now be as they, say as they, that is, if he listed; and then he
would list, when he perceived that by so doing, he might either make
them his Customers or Creditors for his Commodities. If he dealt with
honest men, (as with some honest men he did) then he would be as they;
talk as they, seem to be sober as they, talk of Justice and Religion as
they, and against Debauchery as they; yea, and would too seem to shew a
dislike of them that said, did, or were otherwise than honest.
Again, when he did light among those that were bad, then he would be
as they, but yet more close and cautiously, except he were sure of his
company: Then he would carry it openly, be as they; say, Damn’em and
Sink’em, as they. If they railed on Good men, so could he; {89} if
they railed on Religion, so could he: if they talked beastly, vainly,
idlely, so would he; if they were for drinking, swearing, whoring, or
any the like Villanies, so was he. This was now the path he trod in,
and could do all artificially, as any man alive. And now he thought
himself a perfect man, he thought he was always a Boy till now. What
think you now of Mr. Badman?
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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