Hugh Latimer · 18 of 26

LAST SERMON PREACHED BEFORE KING EDWARD THE SIXTH · Part 4

But hereby this ye may perceive, that it is not the abundance of riches that maketh a man to live quietly and blissfully. But the quiet life is in a mediocrity. Mediocres optime vivunt: “They that are in a mean do live best.” And there is a proverb which I read many years ago, Dimidium plus toto; “The half sometimes more than the whole.” The mean life is the best life and the most quiet life of all. If a man should fill himself up to the throat, he should not find ease in it, but displeasure; and with the one half he might satisfy his greedy appetite. So this great riches never maketh a man’s life quiet, but rather troublous. I remember here a saying of Salomon, and his example: Conservavi mihi argentum et aurum, “I gathered silver and gold together,” saith he; “I provided me singers, and women which could play on instruments, to make men mirth and pastime; I gat me psalteries and songs of music, &c., and thus my heart rejoiced in all that I did.” But what was the end of all this? Cum convertissem me ad omnia &c., “When I considered,” saith Salomon, “all the works that my hands had wrought, &c., lo! all was but vanity and vexation of mind; and nothing of any value under the sun.” Therefore leave covetousness; for, believe me, if I had an enemy, the first thing that I would wish to him should be, that he might have abundance of riches; for so I am sure he should never be in quiet. But think ye there be not many that would be so hurt? But in this place of the gospel Christ spake and declared this unquietness and uncertainty of great riches by a similitude and parable of a great rich man, who had much land, that brought forth all fruits plentifully; and he being in a pride of the matter, and much unquiet by reason that he had so much, said to himself, “What shall I do, because I have not room enough wherein to bestow my fruits, that have grown unto me of my lands? I will thus do,” saith he; “I will pull down my barns, and build greater barns; and I will say to my soul, My soul, thou hast much goods laid up in store for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.” But God said to him, Stulte, hac nocte animam tuam repetunt abs te: “Thou fool! thou fool! this night will they take thy soul from thee again, and then whose shall those things be which thou hast provided? Even so it is with him,” saith Christ, “that gathereth riches unto himself, and is not rich toward God,” &c. But yet the covetous man can never be content. I walked one day with a gentleman in a park, and the man regarded not my talk, but cast his head and eye this and that way, so that I perceived he gave no great ear to me; which when I saw, I held my peace. At last, “Oh,” quoth the gentleman, “if this park were mine, I would never desire more while I lived.” I answered and said, “Sir, and what if ye had this park too?” For there was another park even hard by. This gentleman laughed at the matter. And truly I think he was diseased with the dropsy: the more he had, the more covetous he was to have still more and more. This was a farmer that had a farm hard by it; and if he might have had this park to it, he would never have desired more. This was a farmer, not altogether so covetous a man as there be many nowadays, as for one gentleman to rake up all the farms in the country together into his hands all at once.

And here one suit more to your highness: there lacketh one thing in this realm, that it hath need of; for God’s sake make some promoters. There lack promoters, such as were in king Henry the Seventh’s days, your grandfather. There lack men to promote the king’s officers when they do amiss, and to promote all offenders. I think there is great need of such men of godly discretion, wisdom, and conscience, to promote transgressors, as rent-raisers, oppressors of the poor, extortioners, bribers, usurers. I hear there be usurers in England, that will take forty in the hundred; but I hear of no promoters to put them up. We read not, this covetous farmer or landed man of the gospel bought corn in the markets to lay it up in store, and then sell it again. But, and if it please your highness, I hear say that in England we have landlords, nay, step-lords I might say, that are become graziers; and burgesses are become regraters; and some farmers will regrate and buy up all the corn that cometh to the markets, and lay it up in store, and sell it again at a higher price, when they see their time. I heard a merchantman say, that he had travailed all the days of his life in the trade of merchandise, and had gotten three or four thousand pounds by buying and selling; but in case he might be licensed or suffered so to do, he would get a thousand pound a year by only buying and selling of grain here within this realm. Yea, and (as I hear say) aldermen nowadays are become colliers: they be both woodmongers and makers of coals. I would wish he might eat nothing but coals for awhile, till he had amended it. There cannot a poor body buy a sack of coals, but it must come through their hands. But this rich man that the gospel speaketh of was a covetous man: God had given him plenty, but that made him not a good man: it is another thing that maketh a good man. God saith, Si non audieris votem meam, “If thou obey not my voice,” &c. And therefore worldly riches do not declare the favour or disfavour of God. The scripture saith, Nemo scit an sit amore dignus an odio. God hath ordained all things to be good; and the devil laboureth to turn all things to man’s evil. God giveth men plenty of riches to exercise their faith and charity, to confirm them that be good, to draw them that be naught, and to bring them to repentance; and the devil worketh altogether to the contrary. And it is an old proverb, “the more wicked, the more fortunate.” But the unquietness of this covetous rich man declareth the unquietness of the mind, that riches bringeth with it. First, they are all in care how to get riches; and then are they in more care how to keep it still. Therefore the Apostle saith, Qui volunt ditescere incidunt in tentationes varias; “They that study to get great riches do fall into many divers temptations.” But the root of all evil is covetousness. “What shall I do?” saith this rich man. He asked his own brainless head what he should do: he did not ask of the scripture; for if he had asked of the scripture, it would have told him; it would have said unto him, Frange esurienti panem tuum, &c.; “Break thy bread unto the hungry.” All the affection of men nowadays is in building gay and sumptuous houses; it is in setting up and pulling down, and never have they done building. But the end of all such great riches and covetousness is this: “This night, thou fool, thy soul shall be taken from thee.” It is to be understood of all that rise up from little to much, as this rich man that the gospel spake of. I do not despise riches, but I wish that men should have riches as Abraham had, and as Joseph had. A man to have riches to help his neighbour, is godly riches. The worldly riches is to put all his trust and confidence in his worldly riches; that he may by them live here gallantly, pleasantly, and voluptuously. Is this godly riches? No, no, this is not godly riches. It is a common saying nowadays among many, “Oh he is a rich man: he is well worth five hundred pounds.” He is well worth five hundred pounds, that hath given five hundred pounds to the poor; otherwise it is none of his. Yea, but who shall have this five hundred pounds? For whom hast thou gotten this five hundred pounds? What saith Salomon? Ecclesiastes v. Est alia infirmitas pessima quam vidi sub sole, divitiae conservatae in malum domini sui: “Another evil (saith he) and another very naughty imperfection, riches hoarded up and kept together to the owner’s own harm”: for many times such riches do perish and consume away miserably. “Such a one shall sometime have a son,” said he, “that shall be a very beggar, and live all in extreme penury.” O goodly riches, that one man shall get it, and another come to devour it! Therefore, Videte et cavete ab avaritia; “See and beware of covetousness.” Believe God’s words, for they will not deceive you nor lie. “Heaven and earth shall perish, but Verbum Domini manet in aternum; the word of the Lord abideth, and endureth for ever.” O this leavened faith, this unseasoned faith! Beware of this unseasoned faith. A certain man asked me this question, “Didst thou ever see a man live long that had great riches?” Therefore saith the wise man, “If God send thee riches, use them.” If God send thee abundance, use it according to the rule of God’s word; and study to be rich in our Saviour Jesus Christ: to whom, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, be all honour, glory, and praise, for ever and ever. Amen.