THE ARGVMENT Iob wisheth his past happinesse Shewes his state present Doth confesse That God's the Authour of his griefe Relates the purenesse of his life Sect. 15. OH that I were as happy as I was When heauens bright fauours shone vpon my face And prospred my affaires inrich't my ioyes When all my sonnes could answere to my voyce Then did my store and thriuing flockes encrease Offended Iustice sought my hands for peace Old men did honour and the young did feare me Princes kept silence when I spake to heare me I heard the poore relieu'd the widdowes cry Orphans I succour'd was the blind mans eye The Cripples foot my helplesse brothers drudge The poore mans Father and th'oppressours Iudge I then supposed that my dayes long Lease Would passe in Plenty and expire in Peace My Roots were fixed and my Branches sprung My Glory blaz'd my Pow'r grew daily strong I speaking men stood mute my speeches moou'd All hearts to Ioy by all men were approou'd My kindly words were welcome as a latter Rayne and were Oracles in a doubtfull matter O sudden change I 'm turn'd a laughing-stock To boyes those that su'd to tend my Flock And such whose hungry wants haue taught their hands To scrape the earth and dig the barren lands For hidden roots wherewith they might appease Their Tyran'-stomakes these euen very these Flout at my sorrowes and disdaining me Poynt with their fingers and cry This is He My honour 's foyld my troubled spirit lyes Wide open to the worst of iniuries Where-e're I turne my sorrow new appeares I 'm vex't abroad with slouts at home with feares My soule is faint and nights that should giue ease To tyred spirits make my griefes encrease I loathe my Carkas for my rip'ned sores Haue chang'd my garments colour with their cores But what is worst of worsts Lord often I Haue cry'd to Thee a stranger to my cry Though perfect Clemency thy nature be Though kind to all thou art vnkind to me I ne'r waxt pale to see another thriue Nor e're did let my ' afflicted brother striue With teares alone but I poore I tormented Expect for succour and am vnlamented I mourne in silence languish all alone As in a Desart am relieu'd by none My sores haue dyed my skin with filth still turning My Ioyes to Griefe and all my Mirth to Mourning My Heart hath past Indentures with mine Eye Not to behold a Maide for what should I Expect from Heauen but a deseru'd reward Earnd by so foule a sinne for death 's prepar'd And flames of wrath are blowne for such Doth He Not know my Actions that so well knowes me If I haue lent my hand to slie deceit Or if my steps haue not been purely strait What I haue sowne then let a Stranger eate And roote my Plants vntimely from their seate If I with Lust haue e're distain'd my life Or been defiled with anothers Wife In equall Iustice let my Wife be knowne Of all and let me reape as I haue sowne For Lust that burneth in a sinfull brest Till it hath burnt him too shall neuer rest If e're my haste did treate my Seruant ill Without desert making my Pow'r my Will Then how should I before Gods Iudgement stand Since we were both created by one Hand If e're my power wrong'd the Poore mans Cause Or to the Widdow length'ned out the Lawes If e're alone my lips did taste my bread Or shut my churlish doores the poore vnfed Or bent my hand to doe the Orphane wrong Or saw him naked vnapparell'd long In heapes of Gold if e're I tooke delight Or gaue Heauens worship to the heauenly Light Or e're was flattred by my secret Will Or ioyed in my Aduersaries Ill Let God accurse me from his glorious Seate And make my Plagues if possible more great Oh! That some equall hearer now were by To iudge my righteous Cause Full sure am I I shall be quitted by th' Almighties hand What therefore if censorious tongues withstand The Iudgement of my sober Conscience Compose they Ballads on me yet from thence My simple Innocence shall gaine renowne And on my head I 'le weare them as my Crowne To the Almighties Eare will I reueale My secret Wayes to Him alone appeale If to conclude the Earth could find a tongue T' impeach my guiltlesse hands of doing wrong If hidden Wages earn'd with sweat doe lye Rak't in her furrowes let her Wombe denie To blesse my Haruest let her better Seeds Be turn'd to Thistles and the rest to Weedes Meditatio quintadecima THe man whose soule is vndistain'd with Ill Pure from the check of a distemp'red Will Stands onely free from the distracts of Care And flies a pitch aboue the reach of Feare His bosome dares the threatning Bow-mans arme His Wisdome sees his Courage feares no harme His brest lyes open to the reeking Sword The Darts of swarthy Maurus can afford Lesse dread then danger to his well prepar'd And settled mind which standing on her Guard Bids Mischiefe doe the worst she can or will For he that doth no Ill deserues no Ill. Would any striue with Samson for renowne Whose brawny Arme can strike most pillers downe Or try a fall with Angels and preuaile Or with a Hymne vnhinge the strongest Iayle Would any from a Pris'ner prooue a Prince Or with slow speech best Orators conuince Preserue he then vnstained in his brest A milke-white Conscience let his soule be blest With simple Innocence This seuenfold shield No dart shall pierce no sword shall make it yeeld The sinowy Bow and deadly-headed Launce Shall breake in shiuers and the splinters glaunce Aside returning backe from whence they came And wound their hearts with an eternall shame The Iust and Constant mind that perseueres Vnblemisht with false pleasures neuer feares The bended threatnings of a Tyrants brow Death neither can disturbe nor change his Vow VVell guarded with Himselfe he walkes along VVhen most alone his stand's a thousand strong Liues he in VVeale and full Prosperitie His wisdome tells him that he liues to die Is he afflicted Sharpe Afflictions giue Him hopes of Change and that that he dyes to liue Is he reuil'd and scorn'd He sits and smiles Knowing him Happie whom the World reuiles If Rich he giues the poore and if he liue In poore estate he finds rich friends to giue He liues an Angell in a mortall forme And hauing past the brunt of many a Storme At last arriueth at the Hauen of Rest Where that Iust Iudge that rambles in his brest Ioyning with Angels with an Angels voyce Chaunts forth sweet Requiems of Eternall Ioyes THE ARGVMENT Elihu Iob reprooues reprooues His Friends alike he pleades the case With Iob in Gods behalfe and mooues Him to recant and call for Grace Sect. 16. THus Iob his ill-defended Cause adiournes And silence lends free libertie of turnes To his vniust Accusers whose bad cause Hath left them grounded in too large a pause Whereat Elihu a young Stander-by Whose modest eares vpon their long reply Did waite his angry silence did awake And crauing pardon for his Youth bespake
IOB MILITANT WITH MEDITATIONS DIVINE AND MORALL Horat. car lib. 1. ode 17. Dijs pietas mea Et Musa cordiest By FRA. QVARLES SAPIENTIA PACEM PAX OPVLENTIAM F K LONDON Printed by Felix Kyngston for George Winder and are to bee sold at his Shop in Saint Dunstons Churchyard in Fleetstreet 1624. TO THE HIGH AND THRICE ILLVSTRIOVS Prince CHARLES Prince of Wales Duke of Cornwall and Yorke Albany and Rothsay Marquesse of Ormont Earle of Rosse and Baron of Armanoch High Seneschall of Scotland Lord of the Iles and Knight of the most Noble Order of the Garter THrice-hopefull Earnest of a Royall Race Whom Art and Nature to returne Compleate Haue pray'd the Aide of a Diuiner Grace Whereby thou art a Prince as Good as Great Nature and Art haue both been proud e're since In their Composure of so Rare a Prince Rare Prince Oh! let the Influence of thy quickning Ray Affect these faint and indisposed Lines That they may flourish as the Child of May And clime like fresh Aurora's Eglentines That by the smell the World may know this Flowre Hath had th' aspect of such a Sunne as You are Before the Luster of so pure a Light My prostrate heart swolne big with Loyaltic Presents this Legend of a sad Delight Which if made Glorious with thy pleased Eyc My Workes are crowned with like Honour done By Princely Caesar and his Princely Sonne Your Highnesses in Choyce Affection and Chaste Loyaltie Francis Quarles A PREFACE TO THE READER I Present thee with a new worke a work difficult and intricate wherein I confesse I had suffered shipwracke on the first shore had I not been steared by the better Pilots by whose compasse I haue securely sayled and weather-beaten I salute thee serious Reader I commend to thee heere the Historie of Iob in part Periphrased in part Abridged It is not of the nature of a Parable whereon Historicall Faith depends not no feigned thing or counterfeite Sceane as many rash heads would but a true and faithfull record of reall passages as appeares by the holy Scriptures where the Spirit of God pleaseth to mention the name of this our Iob. And Saint Chrysostome in some of his writings saith That his Sepulcher in his dayes was to be seene in Arabia Foelix Who this Iob was and from what stock descended it shall appeare by the consent of the most famous and ancient Writers who absolutely deriue him from the Loynes of Esau Of which opinion is Origen in Epist ad Iulium Affricanum Saint Augustine18 de Ciuit. Dei 47. Saint Chrysostome Concione 2. de Lazaro Saint Gregorie in praefat and many more besides the Septuagints who in these words Post Balac autem Iobab qui vocatur Iob conclude that Iob is but the contraction of Iobab which Iobab is of the Lineage of Esau as appeares in his Genealogie But the aduersaries to this opinion who deriue him from Abraham by Keturah obiect that Esau and his Seede were accursed by God therefore Iob could not being so vpright a man spring from so tainted a Generation To which I answere that though Esau bee said to bee expulsus à primogenitura yet wee reade not that hee is exclusus à foedere And when God in Iustice curses a Generation in generall yet his mercie neuerthelesse which is endlesse hee may extend to some in that Off-spring in particular Touching the time when these things were done it is thought that it was before Moses penned the Law and much about the dayes when the Children of Israel were captiu'd by Pharaoh Who the Pen-man was is not directly concluded and to small purpose to bee enquired Gregorius Romanus saith That it is in vaine to enquire the Writer where it is certaine the holy Spirit is the Author yet by some it is nor without some ground imagined that it was done by the penne of Moses when hee fled into Midian after hee slew the Egyptian in Hexameter Verses from the third Chapter to the fifth verse of the last To conclude Reader I commit this my booke to thy fairer disposition As for Censures I am so ouer-bold that I feare none and I should be ouer-wise if I deserued none An si quis atro dente me petiuerit Inultus vt flebo puer Farewell THE PROPOSITION OF THE WORKE WOuld'st thou discouer in a curious Map That Iland which fond worldlings cal Mishap Surrounded with a Sea of brinie Teares The rocky dangers and the boggie Feares The stormes of Trouble the afflicted Nation The heauy soyle the lowly situation On wretched Iob then spend thy weeping eye And see the colours painted curiously Would'st thou behold a Tragick Sceane of sorrow Whose wofull Plot the Author did not borrow From sad Inuention The sable Stage The liuely Actors with their Equipage The Musick made of Sighes the Songs of Cryes The sad Spectators with their watry Eyes Behold all this comprized here in One Expect the Plaudit when the Play is done Or would'st thou see a well-built Pinnace tost Vpon the swelling Ocean split almost Now on a churlish Rocke now fiercely striuing With labouring Winds now desperately driuing Vpon the boyling Sands her storme-rent Flags Her Maine-mast broke her Canuas torne to Rags Her Treasure lost her Men with Lightning slaine And left a Wreck to the relentlesse Maine This this and more vnto your moystned Eyes Our patient Iob shall liuely moralize Would'st thou behold vnparalell'd Distresse Which minds cannot out-thinke nor tongues expresse Full to the life The Anuill whereupon Mischiefe doth worke her Master-piece for none To imitate The dire Anatomie Of curiously dissected Miserie The face of Sorrow in her stearnest lookes The rufull Arg'ment of all Tragick bookes In briefe Would tender eyes endure to see Summ'd vp the greatest sorrowes that can be Behold they then poore Iob afflicted here And each Beholder spend at least his Teare THE GENERALL ARGVMENT OF THE HISTORIE IOB tryed of God by the losse of his Children Goods and Health is tempted by his Friends to despaire and by his Wife to blasphemie neuerthelesse continues patient for a while but at last yeelds to Passion curses his birth-day and wishes death His Wife and three Friends condemne him of Hypocrisie Iob defends his speeches Gods Iustice and his owne Integritie blaming his Friends for handling Gods cause to an ill end and for accusing him without a cause At length Elihu makes a modest agreement betweene them reprooues them al him for not handling a good cause well and them for handling a bad cause though well Hee teaches Iob Gods greatnesse by his works and that man ought not to pleade with his Maker In fine God himselfe out of a Cloud confirmes Elihu's words by example from his workes puts Iob to silence to confession and repentance rebukes his three Friends commands reconciliation restores Iob his Health doubles his former Wealth and giues him a second Issue of his body TO THE GREAT TETRAGRAMATON LORD PARAMOVNT OF HEAVEN AND EARTH
Young Standers-by doe oftentimes see more Then elder Gamesters Y' are too blame all foure T'ones cause is Bad but with good proofes befriēded The others Iust and Good but ill defended Though reason makes the man Heauen makes him wise Wisdome in greatest Clerks not alway lyes Then let your silence giue me leaue to spend My Iudgement whil'st your heedfull Eares attend I haue not heard alone but still expected To heare what more your spleenes might haue obiected Against your wofull Friend but I haue found Your reasons built vpon a sandy ground Flourish no Flags of Conquest Vnderstand That hee 's afflicted by th' Almighties hand He hath not fayld to crosse your accusations Yet I though not with your foule exprobations Will crosse him too I 'me full and I must speake Or like vnuented vessels I must breake And with my tongue my heart will be relieu'd That swells with what my patience hath conceiu'd Be none offended for my lips shall tread That ground without respect as Truth shall leade God hates a flattring language then how can I Vnliable to danger flatter any Now Iob to thee I speake O let my Errant Be welcome to thine eares fortruth's my warrant They are no slender Trifles that I treate But things digested with the sacred heate Of an inspired knowledge 'T is no rash Discharge of wrath nor wits conceited flash I 'le speake and heare thee speake as free for I Will take no vantage of thy Miserie Thy tongue did challenge to maintaine thy case With God if he would vayle his glorious Face Be I the man though clad with clay and dust And mortall like thy selfe that takes the trust To represent his Person Thou dost terme Thy selfe most Iust and boldly dost affirme That Heauen afflicts thy soule without a reason Ah Iob these very words alone are Treason Against th'Almighti's will Thou oughtest rather Submit thy passion to him as thy Father Then pleade with him as with thy Peere Is he Bound to reueale his secret VVill to thee God speaketh oft to man not vnderstood Sometimes in Dreames at other times thinks good To thunder Iudgement in his drowzy eare Sometimes with hard afflictions scourge doth teare His wounded soule which may at length giue ease Like sharper Physicke to his foule Disease But if like pleasing Iulips he afford The meeke Expounders of his sacred VVord VVith sweete perswasions to recure his griefe How can his sorrowes wish more faire Reliefe Ah then his body shall waxe young and bright Heauens-face that scortcht before shall now delight His tongue with Triumph shall confesse to men I was a Leper but am cleare agen Thus thus that Spring of Mercy oftentimes Doth speake to man that man may speake his crimes Consider Iob My words with Iudgement weigh VVhich done if thou hast ought then boldly say If otherwise shame not to hold thy peace And let thy VVisdome with my words encrease And you you VVisemen that are silent here Vouchsafe to lend my lips your rip'ned care Let 's call a parlie and the cause decide For Iob pleades guiltlesse and would faine be tride Yet hath his boldnesse term'd himselfe Vpright And taxt th'Almightie for not doing right His Innocence with Heauen doth he pleade And that vniustly he was punished O Puritie by Impudence suborn'd He scorn'd his Maker and is iustly scorn'd Farre be it from the heart of man that He VVho is all Iustice yet vniust should be Each one shall reape the Haruest he hath sowne His meede shall measure what his hands haue done VVho is 't can claime the Worlds great Soueraignty VVho rays'd the Rafters of the Heauens but He If God should breathe on man or take away The breath he gaue him what were man but Clay O let thy heart th'vnbridled tongue conuince Say Dare thy lips defame an earthly Prince How darst thou then maligne the King of Kings To whom great Princes are but poorest things He kicks down kingdoms spurns th' Emperial crown And with his blast puffes mighty Monarchs downe 'T is vaine to striue with Him and if He strike Our part 's to beare not fondly to mislike Misconstruing the nature of his drift But husband his Corrections to our thrift If he afflict our best is to implore His Blessing with his Rod and sinne no more What if our torments passe the bounds of measure It vnbesits our wills to stint his pleasure Iudge then and let th' impartiall world aduise How farre poore Iob thy Iudgement is from wise Nor are these speeches kindled with the fire Of a distempred spleene but with desire T' inrich thy wisdome lest thy furie tie Presumption to thy rash infirmitie Meditatio sextadecima FOr mortals to be borne waxe old and die Lyes not in Will but bare Necessitie Common to beasts which in the selfe-degree Hold by the selfe-same Patent euen as wee But to be Wise is a diuiner action Of the discursiue Soule a pure abstraction Of all her powers vnited in the will Ayming at Good reiecting what is Ill It is an Influence of inspired Breath Vnpurchased by birth vnlost by death Entayl'd to no man no nor free to all Yet gently answers to the eager call Of those that with inflam'd affections seeke Respecting tender Youth and Age alike In depth of dayes her spirit not alway lyes Yeeres make man Old but Heauen returnes him Wise Youths Innocence nor riper Ages strength Can challenge her as due Desired length Of dayes produced to decrepit yeeres Fild with experience and grizly haires Can claime no right Th' Almighty ne'r engages His gifts to times nor is He bound to Ages His quickning Spirit to sucklings oft reueales What to their doting Grandsires he conceales The vertue of his breath can vnbenumme The frozen lips and strike the speaker dumme Who put that mouing power into his tongue Whose lips did right the chaste Susanna's wrong Vpon her wanton false Accusers death What secret fire inflam'd that fainting breath That blasted Pharo Or those ruder tongues That school'd the faithlesse Prophet for the wrongs He did to sacred Iustice Matters not How slight the meanes be in it selfe or what In our esteemes so wisedome be the message Embassadours are worthyed in th' Embassage God sowes his Haruest to his best encrease And glorifies himselfe how-e're he please Lord if thou wilt for what is hard to thee I may a Factor for thy glory be Then grant that like a faithfull seruant I May render back thy stock with Vsury THE ARGVMENT God reapes no gaine by mans best deeds Man's misery from himselfe proceeds Gods Mercy and Iustice are vnbounded In workes of Nature man is grounded Sect. 17. ELihu thus his pausing lips againe Disclos'd said Rash Iob dost thou maintain A rightfull Cause which in