tions. While
every man hath this opinion of himself, all is done in strife, no
condescendence, no submission one to another, Phil. ii. 3. While all make
themselves the centre, it cannot otherwise happen, but designs, courses,
thoughts, and ways, must interfere and jar among themselves. Self-seeking
puts all by the ears, as you see children among themselves, if an apple be
cast to them. Any bait or advantage of the times yokes them in that
childish contention, who shall have it? All come, strive, and fight about
it, and it is but a few can have it, and these that get it cannot keep it
long. Others will catch it from them. Now what vain things are these,
which can neither be gotten, nor kept, but by strife? Oh that we could
seek better things, which may be both sought and kept, without emulation
or strife!

Now the other thing is, that the misapprehension of that wherein true
excellence consists is the ground of many evils. "Who is a wise man?" &c.
You all affect the title, and ye seek the thing, as ye suppose. But alas!
ye mistake that wherein it consists. Truly there is in all men (ever since
we tasted of the tree of knowledge of good and evil) a strange innate
desire of knowledge, and affectation of wisdom, and desire of excellence.
But since the first endeavour in paradise succeeded ill, there hath
nothing gone well since. We weary ourselves to catch vanities, shadows,
and lies. "How long, O ye sons of men, will ye love vanity, and follow
after lies?" That divinely taught prophet could not but pity the children
of men. And as Paul speaks to the Athenians of another purpose, "Him whom
ye ignorantly worship, we show unto you," so he declares unto men that
which they ignorantly and vainly seek elsewhere. This I assure you
consists in this, that ye show out of a good conversation your works with
meekness and wisdom.

All our mischief proceeds from this, that we misapprehend and mistake that
which we would gladly have. And so once being in the wrong way, that
cannot lead to our purposed end, the faster we run, the farther we go from
it. The more we move in affection and diligence, the less we indeed
promove in reality to the attaining what we seek. How greatly have we
fallen! I might instance this in many things, but I shall be content with
these two. There is a desire in all men after happiness, but there is a
fundamental error in the imagination supposing it to consist in the
enjoyment of temporal pleasure, honour, adva