From “The Country Parson”
“The country parson on weekday afternoons takes occasion sometimes to visit in person, now one quarter of his parish, now another. For there he shall find his flock most naturally as they are, wallowing in the midst of their affairs: whereas on Sundays it is easy for them to compose themselves to order, which they put on as their holy-day clothes, and come to church in the right frame of mind, but commonly the next day put off both.
When he comes to any house, first he blesses it and then as he finds the persons of the house employed so he forms his discourse. Those that he finds religiously employed, he both commends them much and encourages them to continue their employment when he is gone; if he finds them reading, he furnishes them with good books; if curing poor people, he supplies them with receipts, and instructs them further in that skill, showing them how acceptable such works are to God, and wishing them ever to do the cures with their own hands and not to put them over to servants. Those that he finds busy in the works of their calling, he commends them also: for it is a good and just thing for everyone to do their own business. But then he admonishes them of two things; first, that they dive not too deep into worldly affairs, plunging themselves over head and ears into carking (causing distress or worry) and caring; but that they so labour, as neither to labour anxiously, nor distrustfully, nor profanely. Then they labour anxiously, when they overdo it, to the loss of their quiet, and health: then distrustfully, when they doubt God’s providence, thinking that their own labour is the cause of their thriving, as if it were in their own hands to thrive, or not to thrive. Then they labour profanely, when they set themselves to work like brute beasts, never raising their thoughts to God, nor sanctifying their labour with daily prayer; when on the Lord’s day they do unnecessary servile work, or in time of divine service on other holy days, except in the cases of extreme poverty, and in the seasons of seed-time, and harvest. Secondly, he advises them so to labour for wealth and maintenance, as that they make not that the end of their labour, but that they may have the wherewithal to serve God the better, and to do good deeds.”
~George Herbert
When he comes to any house, first he blesses it and then as he finds the persons of the house employed so he forms his discourse. Those that he finds religiously employed, he both commends them much and encourages them to continue their employment when he is gone; if he finds them reading, he furnishes them with good books; if curing poor people, he supplies them with receipts, and instructs them further in that skill, showing them how acceptable such works are to God, and wishing them ever to do the cures with their own hands and not to put them over to servants. Those that he finds busy in the works of their calling, he commends them also: for it is a good and just thing for everyone to do their own business. But then he admonishes them of two things; first, that they dive not too deep into worldly affairs, plunging themselves over head and ears into carking (causing distress or worry) and caring; but that they so labour, as neither to labour anxiously, nor distrustfully, nor profanely. Then they labour anxiously, when they overdo it, to the loss of their quiet, and health: then distrustfully, when they doubt God’s providence, thinking that their own labour is the cause of their thriving, as if it were in their own hands to thrive, or not to thrive. Then they labour profanely, when they set themselves to work like brute beasts, never raising their thoughts to God, nor sanctifying their labour with daily prayer; when on the Lord’s day they do unnecessary servile work, or in time of divine service on other holy days, except in the cases of extreme poverty, and in the seasons of seed-time, and harvest. Secondly, he advises them so to labour for wealth and maintenance, as that they make not that the end of their labour, but that they may have the wherewithal to serve God the better, and to do good deeds.”
~George Herbert
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