Seat not yourself voluntarily at the top; but if the place properly belongs to you, or the master of the house so wills, do not offer so much resistance to its acceptance as to annoy the company.
107th. If others talk at Table be attentive but talk not with Meat in your Mouth
Chapter viii. 49. Si on lit ou deuise en table, soyez attentif, & s"il faut parler, ne parlez point auec le morceau en la bouche.
If there be reading or chat at table, be attentive, and if you have to speak, do not speak with your mouth full.
108th. When you Speak of G.o.d or his Attributes, let it be Seriously & [with words of] Reverence. Honour & obey your Natural Parents altho they be Poor
Hawkins vii. 43. Let thy speeches be seriously reverent when thou speakest of G.o.d or his Attributes, for to jest or utter thy selfe lightly in matters divine, is an unhappy impiety, provoking heaven to justice, and urging all men to suspect thy beliefe.--vii.
_(unnumbered)_ Honour and obey thy natural parents although they be poor; for if thy earthly Parents cannot give thee riches and honour, yet thy heavenly Father hath promised thee length of days.
_(There is nothing in the French Maxims corresponding to the second sentence of Rule 108. The Maxim nearest to the first sentence is the 9th of Chapter i.:--"Il se faut bien garder de p.r.o.noncer aucuns nouueaux mots, quand l"on parle de Dieu ou des Saincts, & d"en faire de sots contes, soit tout bon, ou par raillerie." "Avoid irreverent words in speaking of G.o.d, or of the Saints, and of telling foolish stories about them, either in jest or earnest."
Compare also the last sentence of Maxim vii, 11, ante, under Rule 72.)_
109th. Let your Recreations be Manfull not Sinfull.
Hawkins vii. _(unnumbered)._ Let thy recreations be manful not sinful; there is a great vanity in the baiting of Beasts, the Bears and Bulls lived quietly enough before the fall; it was our sin that set them together by the ears, rejoyce not therefore to see them fight, for that would be to glory in thy shame.
110th. Labour to keep alive in your Breast that Little Spark of Celestial fire called Conscience.
Hawkins vii. _(unnumbered)._ Labour to keep alive in thy breast, that little sparke of Celestial fire called Conscience, for Conscience to an evil man is a never dying worm, but unto a good man its a perpetual feast.