115 THE COMPLETE ANGLER. PART I. 



changers. And, secondly, He found that the hearts of 

 such men, by nature, were fitted for contemplation and 

 quietness ; men of mild, and sweet, and peaceable spi- 

 rits, as indeed most Anglers are: yet these men our 

 blessed Saviour, who is observed to love to plant grace 

 in good natures, though indeed nothing be too hard for 

 him ; yet these men he chose to call from their irreprove- 

 abie employment of fishing, and gave them grace to be 

 his disciples, and to follow him, and do wonders ; I 

 say four of twelve. 



And it is observable, -that it was our Saviour's will 

 that these, our four fishermen, should have a priority of 

 nomination in the catalogue of his twelve Apostles ; 

 (Matt. 10.) as namely, first, St. Peter, St. Andrew, St. 

 James, and St. John ; arid, then, the rest in their order. 



And it is yet more observable, that when our blessed 

 Saviour went up into the mount, when he left the rest 

 of his disciples, and chose only three to bear him com- 

 pany at his transfiguration, that those three were all 

 fishermen. And it is to be believed, that all the other 

 Apostles, after they betook themselves to follow Christ, 

 betook themselves to be fishermen too ; for it is certain, 

 that the greater number of them were found together, 

 fishing, by Jesus after his resurrection, as it is recorded 

 in the 21st chapter of St. John's gospel. 



And, since I have your promise to hear me with pa- 

 tience, I will take a liberty to look back upon an ob- 

 servation that hath been made by an ingenious and 

 learned man ; who observes, that God hath been pleased 

 to allow those, whom he himself hath appointed to 

 write his holy will in holy writ, yet to express his 

 will in such metaphors as their former affections or 

 practice had inclined them to. And he brings Solo- 

 mon for an example, who, before his conversion, was 

 remarkably carnally amorous ; and after, by God's 

 appointment, wrote that Spiritual dialogue, or holy 

 amorous love-song the Canticles, betwixt God and his 

 church : In which he says, ' his beloved had eyes 

 like the fish -pools of Heshbon.' 



And if this hold in reason, as I see none to the 

 contrary ; then it may be probably concluded, that 



