No cross, no crown : $b a discourse shewing the nature and discipline of the holy cross of ChristPenn, William
Religion
No cross, no crown : $b a discourse shewing the nature and discipline of the holy cross of Christ
Penn, William
Christian life; Christian life -- Quaker authors; Self-denial -- Early works to 1800
XXIV. Next to them I will add hypocrisy, and revenge too. For
how little do many care for each other! Nay, what spite, envy,
animosity, secret backbiting, and plotting one against another,
under the use of these idle respects; till passion, too strong for
cunning, breaks through hypocrisy into open affront and revenge!
It cannot be so with the Scripture honour: to obey, or prefer a
man, out of spite, is not usually done: and to love, help, serve,
and countenance a person, in order to deceive and be revenged of
him, is a thing never heard of: these admit of no hypocrisy nor
revenge. Men do not these things to palliate ill-will, which are
the testimonies of quite the contrary. It is absurd to imagine it,
because impossible to be done.
XXV. Our sixth reason is, that honour was from the beginning: but
hat-respects and most titles are of late: therefore there was true
honour before hats or titles; and consequently true honour stands
not in them. And that which ever was the way to express true honour
is the best way still; and this the Scripture teaches better than
dancing-masters can do.
XXVI. Seventhly, if honour consists in such-like ceremonies, then
will it follow, that they are most capable of showing honour who
perform it most exactly, according to the mode or fashion of the
times; consequently, that man hath not the measure of true honour,
from a just and reasonable principle in himself, but by the means
and skill of the fantastic dancing-masters of the times: and for
this cause it is we see that many give much money to have their
children learn their honours, falsely so called. And what doth
this but totally exclude the poor country people; who, though they
plough, till, sow, reap, go to market, and in all things obey
their justices, landlords, fathers, and masters, with sincerity
and sobriety, rarely use those ceremonies; but if they do it is so
awkwardly and meanly, that they are esteemed by a court critic so
ill favoured as only fit to make a jest of and be laughed at: but
what sober man will not deem their obedience beyond the others'
vanity and hypocrisy? This base notion of honour turns out of
doors the true, and sets the false in its place. Let it be further
considered, that the way or fashion of doing it is much more in
the design of its performers, as well as view of its spectators,
than the respect itself. Whence it is commonly said, He is a man of
good mien; or, She is a woman of exact behaviour. And what is this
behaviour but fantastic, cramped postures and cringings, unnatural
to their shape; and, if it were not fashionable, ridiculous to the
view of all people; and is therefore to the Eastern countries a
proverb.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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