01/26/2010

Conscience

Ran across this in some stuff I was reading for my dissertation.

"But the world, the love of money makes all to make shipwreck of a good conscience. The Devil offered Christ all the kingdoms of the world, to worship him: but if he offer us but a groat [English coin worth four pence] or six pence, we are ready to worship him. Money makes all, in church and commonwealths to smother the check of conscience, to nip them in the head, and not to regard them: but though we can put conscience to silence in this life, he will open his mouth against us in the life to come. When we die, as a father observeth, we must leave all books behind us. Saint Augustine's works, Saint Basil's works, the book of the Court, yea and the Bible, the book of books: but the book of our consciences we must carry with us: and that when it is opened, shall either accuse us or excuse us at that day: therefore let us look well to this book here, let us examine it, as the Father willeth us, let us confer it with the book of life, let us put out all the blots that be in it, that it may speak for us, not against us, at the dreadful day of judgement." William Jones, A Commentary Upon the Epistles of Saint Paul to Philemon, and to the Hewbrewes... (London, 1635). I modernized the spelling. He's commenting on Hewbrews 13:17-18 there.