A WORTHY MERCHANT.

A worthy merchant is the heir of adventure, whose hopes hang much upon wind.  Upon a wooden horse he rides through the world, and in a merry gale he makes a path through the seas.  He is a discoverer of countries, and a finder out of commodities, resolute in his attempts, and royal in his expenses.  He is the life of traffic and the maintainer of trade, the sailor’s master and the soldier’s friend.  He is the exercise of the exchange, the honour of credit, the observation of time, and the understanding of thrift.  His study is number, his care his accounts, his comfort his conscience, and his wealth his good name.  He fears not Scylla, and sails close by Charybdis, and having beaten out a storm, rides at rest in a harbour.  By his sea-gain he makes his land purchase, and by the knowledge of trade finds the key of treasure.  Out of his travels he makes his discourses, and from his eye observations brings the models of architectures.  He plants the earth with foreign fruits, and knows at home what is good abroad.  He is neat in apparel, modest in demeanour, dainty in diet, and civil in his carriage.  In sum, he is the pillar of a city, the enricher of a country, the furnisher of a court, and the worthy servant of a king.

AN UNWORTHY MERCHANT.

An unworthy merchant is a kind of pedlar, who (with the help of a broker) gets more by his wit than by his honesty.  He doth sometime use to give out money to gamesters, be paid in post, upon a hand at dice.  Sometime he gains more by baubles than better stuffs, and rather than fail will adventure a false oath for a fraudulent gain.  He deals with no wholesale, but all his honesty is at one word; as for wares and weights, he knows how to hold the balance, and for his conscience he is not ignorant what to do with it.  His travel is most by land, for he fears to be too busy with the water, and whatever his ware may be, he will be sure of his money.  The most of his wealth is in a pack of trifles, and for his honesty I dare not pass my word for him.  If he be rich, it is ten to one of his pride; and if he be poor, he breaks without his fast.  In sum, he is the disgrace of a merchant, the dishonour of a city, the discredit of his parish, and the dislike of all.

A GOOD MAN.

A good man is an image of God, lord over all His creatures, and created only for His service.  He is made capable of reason to know the properties of nature, and by the inspiration of grace to know things supernatural.  He hath a face always to look upward, and a soul that gives life to all the senses.  He lives in the world as a stranger, while heaven is the home of his spirit.  His life is but the labour of sense, and his death the way to his rest.  His study is the Word of truth, and his delight is in the law of love.  His provision is but to serve necessity,