one _Lot_ or two, or three,
reforme a court of _Sodome_. And as concerning the wisest, who
no lesse carefull for their soules, then bodies, seeke to bring
them into a sound and wholesome ayre, farre from the infection
of wickednes: and who led by the hande of some Angell of God,
retire themselues in season, as _Lot_ into some little village
of _Segor_, out of the corruption of the world, into some
countrie place from the infected townes, there quietlie
employing the tyme in some knowledge and serious contemplation:
I willinglie yeeld they are in a place of lesse daunger, yet
because they carie the danger, in themselues, not absolutelie
exempt from danger. They flie the court, and a court folowes
them on all sides: they endeuoure to escape the world, and the
world pursues them to death. Hardly in this world can they finde
a place where the world findes them not: so gredelie it seekes
to murther them. And if by some speciall grace of God they seeme
for a while free from these daungers, they haue some pouertie
that troubles them, some domesticall debate that torments them,
or some familiar spirit that tempts them: brieflie the world
dayly in some sorte or other makes it selfe felt of them. But
the worst is, when we are out of these externall warres and
troubles, we finde greater ciuill warre within our selues: the
flesh against the spirite, passion against reason, earth against
heauen, the worlde within vs fighting for the world, euermore so
lodged in the botome of our owne hearts, that on no side we can
flie from it. I will say more: he makes profession to flie the
worlde, who seekes thereby the praise of the worlde: hee faineth
to runne away, who according to the prouerbe, By drawing backe
sets himselfe forward: he refuseth honors, that would thereby be
prayed to take them: and hides him from men to the ende they
shoulde come to seeke him. So the world often harbours in
disguised attire among them that flie the world. This is an
abuse. But follow wee the company of men, the worlde hath his
court among them: seeke we the Deserts, it hath there his dennes
and places of resorte, and in the Desert it selfe tempteth
Christ Iesus. Retire wee our selues into our selues, we find it
there as vncleane as any where. Wee can not make the worlde die
in vs, but by dieng our selues. We are in the world, and the
worlde in vs, and to seperate vs from the worlde, wee must
seperate vs from our selues. Nowe this seperation is called
Deat