An unnoble man is the grief of reason, when the title of honour is put upon the subject of disgrace; when either the imperfection of wit or the folly of will shows an unfitness in nature for the virtue of advancement.  He is the eye of baseness and spirit of grossness, and in the demean of rudeness the scorn of nobleness.  He is a suspicion of a right generation in the nature of his disposition, and a miserable plague to a feminine patience.  Wisdom knows him not, learning bred him not, virtue loves him not, and honour fits him not.  Prodigality or avarice are the notes of his inclination, and folly or mischief are the fruits of his invention.  In sum, he is the shame of his name, the disgrace of his place, the blot of his title, and the ruin of his house.

A WORTHY BISHOP.

A worthy bishop is an ambassador from God unto man, in the midst of war to make a treaty of peace; who with a general pardon upon confession of sin, upon the fruit of repentance gives assurance of comfort.  He brings tidings from heaven of happiness to the world, where the patience of mercy calls nature to grace.  He is the silver trumpet in the music of love, where faith hath a life that never fails the beloved.  He is the director of life in the laws of God, and the chirurgeon of the soul in lancing the sores of sin; the terror of the reprobate in pronouncing their damnation, and the joy of the faithful in the assurance of their salvation.  In sum, he is in the nature of grace, worthy of honour; and in the message of life, worthy of love; a continual agent betwixt God and man, in the preaching of His Word and prayer for His people.

AN UNWORTHY BISHOP.

An unworthy bishop is the disgrace of learning, when the want of reading or the abuse of understanding, in the speech of error may beget idolatry.  He is God’s enemy, in the hurt of His people, and his own woe in abuse of the Word of God.  He is the shadow of a candle that gives no light, or, if it be any, it is but to lead into darkness.  The sheep are unhappy that live in his fold, when they shall either starve or feed on ill ground.  He breeds a war in the wits of his audience when his life is contrary to the nature of his instruction.  He lives in a room where he troubles a world, and in the shadow of a saint is little better than a devil.  He makes religion a cloak of sin, and with counterfeit humility covereth incomparable pride.  He robs the rich to relieve the poor, and makes fools of the wise with the imagination of his worth.  He is all for the Church but nothing for God, and for the ease of nature loseth the joy of reason.  In sum, he is the picture of hypocrisy, the spirit of heresy, a wound in the Church, and a woe in the world.

A WORTHY JUDGE.