alike, all are one to a fool. His exercises
are commonly divided into four parts, eating and drinking, sleeping and
laughing; four things are his chief loves, a bauble and a bell, a
coxcomb and a pied-coat. He was begotten in unhappiness, born to no
goodness, lives but in beastliness, and dies but in forgetfulness. In
sum, he is the shame of nature, the trouble of wit, the charge of
charity, and the loss of liberality.

AN HONEST MAN.

An honest man is like a plain coat, which, without welt or guard,
keepeth the body from wind and weather, and being well made, fits him
best that wears it; and where the stuff is more regarded than the
fashion, there is not much ado in the putting of it on. So the mind of
an honest man, without trick or compliments, keeps the credit of a good
conscience from the scandal of the world and the worm of iniquity,
which, being wrought by the workman of heaven, fits him best that wears
it to his service; and where virtue is more esteemed than vanity, it is
put on and worn with that ease that shows the excellency of the workman.
His study is virtue, his word truth, his life the passage of patience,
and his death the rest of his spirit. His travail is a pilgrimage, his
way is plainness, his pleasure peace, and his delight is love. His care
is his conscience, his wealth is his credit, his charge is his chanty,
and his content is his kingdom. In sum, he is a diamond among jewels, a
phrenix among birds, an unicorn among beasts, and a saint among men.

A KNAVE.

A knave is the scum of wit and the scorn of reason, the hate of wisdom
and the dishonour of humanity. He is the danger of society and the hurt
of amity, the infection of youth and the corruption of age. He is a
traitor to affiance and abuse to employment, and a rule of villainy in a
plot of mischief. He hath a cat's eye and a bear's paw, a siren's tongue
and a serpent's sting. His words are lies, his oaths perjuries, his
studies subtilties, and his practices villainies; his wealth is his wit,
his honour is his wealth, his glory is his gain, and his god is his
gold. He is no man's friend and his own enemy; cursed on earth and
banished from heaven. He was begotten ungraciously, born untimely, lives
dishonestly, and dies shamefully. His heart is a puddle of poison, his
tongue a sting of iniquity, his brain a distiller of deceit, and his
conscience a compass of hell. In sum, he is a dog in disposition, a fox
in wit, a wolf in his prey