passion tree Come blessed Virgin and receive thy Crowne Of full Renowne Where Death and Time have laid their Scepters downe There sing with us how three doe sit upon The glorious Throne One of which three is two yet all but one THus holy Virgin have I shadow'd o're Thy Picture in a rude unpollisht score That wish'd t' have limm'd it with as lively grace As ever Painter drew the sweetest face Yet would I not idolatrize thy worth Like some whose superstition sets thee forth In costly ornaments in cloaths so gay So rich as never in the Stable lay These make thy Statues now as famous be For pride as thou wert for Humility I cannot thinke thy Virgin bashfulnesse Would weare the Lady of Lorettos dresse Though farre more glorious robes to thee were given Meekenesse and Zeale on Earth Glory in Heauen Take then the honour thou hast justly wonne Praise above Angels but below thy Sonne Faults escaped in Printing PAge 74. line 4. reade glorious 101. in the margin reade not onely many Moderne 128. 14. for it reade is 161. 16. for penurious reade poore 182. 19. Lambertus 194. 14. in stead of for reade from 205. 6. Jdelphonsus 213. 17. for consent reade concent 246. for Christs r. Christ 247. for brought r. broughtst 248. 11. for silent r. a silent 248. 13. dele but. THE FEMALL GLORY OR The life of the Virgin MARY HIstory offers to our view Myriads of holy Virgins in Beauty and vertue equally attractive whose due praise the Catholike Church doth at this day solemnely sing but with a more elevated voyce as duty on our part and merit on hers commands the laud of that most excellent Princesse the Virgin Mother of God There be who affirme that what ever the Creator saw beautifull in heaven or earth he bestowed in the limming of this rare Piece not that she might be stiled the most faire amongst the daughters of women but by a heavenly prerogative the alone Faire the alone Lovely Looke how many parts so many arts you might discerne of the Celestiall Limmer And this is no way repugnant to reason it selfe for if Christ was faire above the sonnes of men should not she be so above their Daughters since from her alone he received his flesh Gregory Nazianzen proclaimes that she surpass'd all women in lovelinesse Andraeas sayes that she was a Statue carved by Gods own hand Others of those first and purer times not without admiration observe that God was almost fifty Ages in the meditation of the structure of this stately Pallace And truely our beliefe may easily digest this that his omnipotency would make her fit to be the Mother of his Son Empresse of this lower world and the blessed Conduit through which should passe the mystery of mans Redemption Yet finde I a ridiculous description of her in Epiphanius a Priest of Constantinople who affirmes that her Face was of the colour of Wheate her visage long and her nose sutable her haire yellow and her eye-browes blacke But what authority he hath for this neither I nor I thinke he himselfe can well tell for surely simple Antiquity was not either curious or skilfull to deliver it by tradition or picture to posterity I verily beleeve he had it from his owne dreames or rather fancy Mopsa is as much beholding to our incomparable and inimitable Sydney for a delineation as is my divine subject to this curious Impertinent Whether her beauty chiefly consisted in colour in Symmetry of parts or both I know not sure I am the streame of other more judicious pious Authors carries me not into an opinion but a strong beleefe of her heavenly forme Cardinall Cajetan and Galatinus with what truth I cannot say certainely with more probability then he maintaine that her excellent temperature her conformity of members her firme and constant Complexion free'd her from all contagion and diseases And Dyonisius goes further affirming that she was no other then a walking Spring Such variety of sweet odours her very pores breath'd out on all that came neare her as we reade of Alexanders living body and the Aegyptian Carkasses which by a thin spare dyet observed in life even after death sent forth a most sweet perfume Sylvanus Razzius recounts a pleasing story of a certaine Clerke who by many prayers implor'd and obtain'd the blessing of her sight but with this condition that he should see her but with one eye and that one he should lose He willingly embrac't it but when she appear'd drest in all her Beames not being able with one eye to take a full view of her he opened the other also chusing rather to forfeit his sight for ever then to loose one minute of the inconceiveable content he enjoyed in the sight of so glorious a spectacle Were this true it would make a brave example of a devout soule ravisht with the view of a divine object If the Inne was so splendent so sumptuous what may we thinke of the amiable guest that lodg'd in it her minde beset with thoughts cleare and radiant as her owne eyes He that dares attempt the expression of these her internall gifts is ignorant of her sublimity he who dares not knows not her humanity her sweetnesse As no stile can ascend so high as her exalted worth so on the other side none can descend so low as her Humility Encourag'd therfore by her meeknesse not my owne sufficiencie I shall endeavour to limme her soule in little since in great neither my time nor ability will let me which will appeare an enterprise as hardy and vaine as his who should strive to limmit the light or circumscribe the Ayre Know then modest Reader and receive this knowledge with the same extasie and zeale I write it that her internall luster was farre greater then her externall like in this unto the Tents of Kedar as soone cover'd with dust and almost burned up with the heat of the Sunne as soone beaten and shaken with tempestuous weather but in the meane time inwardly all glittering with glory and magnificence O ye Angels to you it is onely given not to sinne but on her is conferr'd what you cannot merit to beare and the reparation of mans ruine The Apostles those holy Tapours of the primitive Church sometimes burnt dimme and were obscur'd with the fogge of sinne but her brightnesse nothing vitious could lessen much lesse utterly extinguish She was indeed vertues prime and great example and all the accomplisht women of the Ages past present or to come have grace and happinesse to the full in being called her imperfect Coppies Here my Invention treads a Maze and my heart is divided betweene an earnest desire to praise her to the height and a holy feare lest in that praise I should trench on Gods own peculiar Attributes That she was no way inferiour to her Sonne according to the flesh I dare not with some avouch who magnifie her in a phrase that violates her modesty and makes
in Pauls Church-yard at the signe of the Crowne 1635. Plinius secundus in Epist * Austin Baronius and others hold that she was descended from the Tribe of Levi which the now Bishop of Chichester opposeth * The opinion of Mantuan how true I know not Her externall Beauty Galatinus Her internall Beauty Her Birth That Ioacimus and Anna were her parents is an undoubted truth receiv'd by the Church as wee find both in Baronius and Bishop Montacute in his Booke called Apparatus c. Her infancy * Sabellicus sets downe how shee dispos'd of every particular hour * Ancient and eminent Authors affirme her to have beene learned in the Hebrew tongue all which you shall finde quoted in Cedrenus Her betrothing The saltuation * That the Angell appeared to her in the form or shape of a man is the opinion of S. Hierome in Epist ad Eustoch de cust Virgin and of S. Ambrose lib. 1. offic cap. 18. And that which Damascen hath lib. 2. de fide orthod All the learned approve of to wit that the Angels are transform'd and appear to men according to the pleasure of the Lord and reveale his divine Mysteries And that Angels appear'd in the old Testament in the shape of men is certaine and for many reasons it is very probable that Gabriel assumed the form of a man when he came to the blessed Virgin Chrysologus serm 140. is of opinion that the Angel appeard in a shape and habit most pleasing and gentle and that the Virgin was not troubled at his person but his speech in that it is said shee marvelled what sayings those should be Many ancient Writers bold that she had the gift of prophecie Hom. 34 in lect Evang. Serm de Virginis assump In 1 cap. Luc. In parvis-serm Gen. 24. Hom. de incomprehensibili Dei natura Serm. 142. Serm. 1. de nat Virgin Her prudency The common sort when the Moone was eclipsed thought her to be enchanted and with basons and other things made a hideous noyse to barre her from hearing the charmers voyce Her opportune silence and caution of speech Her Faith Lib de sanct Virg cap. 3. Lib. 16. de civit cap. 24. Her obedience Her humility Natural humility Sensuall humility Hypocriticall humility Philosophicall humility Mosaicall or Iudaicall Humility The true Christian Humility Hieron in Epist ad Celant Her humility Her conception * This point is much coÌ„troverted and I leave it to the discreete Reader what to beleeve Lib. 18. Moral ca. 27. De Symbol ad Catechum Serm. 2. infesto Annun Domin This conception was predestinated before Time from all eternity Eras in Annotat Lei in Appendice ad Antapologiam Sutoris Serm. 11. in natal Domini Lib. 1. de operib spiritus sancti cap. 9. Her visitation In concione de visitat Moriâ—e * From Nazareth to Ierusalem where that Elizabeth dwelt not many moderne Divines but S. Austin and Beda affirme Her Charity S. Bernard saies that if an Infant was so over-joyd at the sound of her voyce what will the joy of the Celestiall inhabitants be when they shall see and heare her Serm. 1. de assump Mariae Ioh. 14. Gen. 18. Gen. 19. Gen. 30. 4. Kin. 4. Sess 43. Concil Basileen Her delivery Ps 118. 22. * The Iews when ever it lighteneth set open their windowes for they hold their Saviour shall come in lightening On this reade Buxdorfius Her Purification In serm de Purif B. Mâ—ar Virg. Iohn 12. Acts 2. 8 Her Humility Her charity * This is the observation of Dammianus Dammascen many more Timoth. presb â—ierosol in orat de Propheta Simeone Luke 2. Her charity Her motherly care together with her coniugal Faith and obedience Her demeanour at her Sonnes death * Vernulaeus saies that those who flye from danger travaile most by night and therefore it is likely our blessed Lady did so Psal 33. Ps 105. Gen. 37. In exposit Evang Lucae cap. 2. Her passive Fortitude and Patience at the Death of her Sonne Melan. in cap. 27. Matth. Melan. in loco praedic * Sophronius ser de Assump Beatae Virg. maintains that she suffered more than all the Martyrs in that the passion of the minde is greater than that of the body and shee in soule felt most because her love to him was above all others Her Lamentation is also expressed by S. Bernard Serm. qui incipit Signum magnum * S. Bernard cals this Hebdomadam poenosam the weeke of pennance and the high Dutch Die Martyr Wocken the Martyrs weeke * Epiphanius contra haeres libel Aetij * S. Bernhard In serm de verb. Apocalyp Signum magnuÌ„ Serm. 5. de Assump Virg. Damascen ser de dormit Virg. Serm de dormit Virg. Her assumption Lib. de origine erroris cap. 16. Homil. 1. in Die Assump Virgin See Athanasius on this very point a Father of great repute both with the Latines and the Greekes in his serm in Evang. de sanctissima Deipara And Iohannes Rivius in his Booke de abusibus Ecclesiae though hee dares not maintaine her corporal Assumption yet hee will not deny it as being a thing probable enough Ps 131. * J have both heard these irreverent speeches and read them censurd in a Manuscript of a most learned Doctour of the English Church And this is very credible to al such as heare and peruse their illiterate Sermons full of invectives against the antient Saints and Fathers of the Church and abounding with predications of their owne ignorant Brethren S. Austin lib. de nat grat cap. 36. * Thogh Erasmus was not a Reformer of our Church yet he is much suspected by the Romish Church and most serviceable to the Protestant in the setting out of the Fathers 1 Priviledge 2 Priviledge 3 Priviledge Apostrophe Authoris
These I may more properly averre to be learning not learned They may with as much justice deprive the Rose of her blush the Lilly of her white the Violet of her purple and the Christall of its clearnesse as her of this pretious ornament which she obtein'd by a studious pious imitation and preserv'd with a holy care But my wonder is the lesse when I contemplate the continuall Antipathy betweene Impudency and Innocencie Whosoever shall settle his meditation on her discourse with the Angell her pilgrimage to her cousens house and her divine Hymne there though he have sworn himselfe the slave of prejudice he will breake his chaine and reassume so much freedome as to declare her truly humble Sure I am if they would have her halfe a degree humbler they make her wholly abject To my thinking these sixe words alone Behold the handmaid of the Lord are able to convince of errour six thousand such shallow Authors To those who are plac'd in an extreame height all things below seeme farre smaller then indeed they are but to themselues they appeare the same but here it fals out otherwise where the introducer of one pregnant blessing that contein'd all other into the world and therefore worthily placed above it thinks all things under her farre greater then her selfe and above her in value Certainly all the ancient Fathers with one consent affirme that she deserv'd to be Empresse of all others who humbled her selfe below them all For my owne part I am so transported with the meditation of her meeknesse that me thinks I heare her thus expressing the humility of her sanctified heart to the heavenly Nuntio Is this a delightfull dreame or a pleasing vision that thus ravisheth my soule What a lovely prospect is this What do mine eyes behold Cedars stooping to shrubs Mountains to vallies The Ocean courting a Riveret I discover more then all this I see Heaven descending to Earth the supreame Majesty to humane misery a blessed Angell to a wretched mortall True it is I am the structure of Gods owne hands but an edifice not cleare not faire enough for the habitation of his onely Sonne Alas alas I am a vessel too uncleane to enclose a Deity Is this flesh of mine pure enough to clothe purity it selfe I am not worthy to be reputed his childe much lesse his parent Oh lend me thy harmonious voyce thy heavenly Rhetoricke thou celestiall Oratour that I may render him thanks and praise though not equall yet nearer to the grace I have received I deny not but wee see his Name written in every thing here below but in obscure Characters like the discovery of the Sunne in a puddle Thou art nearer him in essence in presence in goodnes in knowledge and canst finde out words more suteable to his worth Wherefore I earnestly beseech thee in thy best phrase to present the unfained gratitude of his most humble Hand-maid who esteems her selfe unworthy to touch much more to conceive him Neither shalt thou thy selfe depart without most humble thanks for the eternall honour thou hast done me by this visit It is probable enough she said much to this purpose this forme of speech being agreeable to her disposition and demeanour To conclude this point six cleare demonstrations of her Humility eminent above the rest the holy Writ offers to our serious and reverend consideration The first in this submissive conference with the Angel The second in the house of Zachary where the more her vertue is predicated by her cousen the more she humbles her selfe The third in her delivery where she meekly submitted her selfe to all wants and inconveniences The fourth in her Purification when she observ'd the custome of other uncleane sinfull women and rankt her selfe with them The fifth in betrothing her selfe to a Carpenter and in paying as great an obedience to him as ever woman did to husband and in joyning with him in labour to get a poore living to maintaine themselues and their Sonne The sixth in having a care of the poore and in associating them at all times But of all these I shall treate more at large in the course of this divine story whose order now brings me to the mysticall conception of her blessed Sonne our onely Lord and Saviour Iesus Christ The heavenly Ambassadour having executed his great Masters command departs leaves God and Man in the wombe and the Sonne of Righteousnesse is now risen in the virginall orbe For this is the tenent of the true and ancient Catholicke Church that she conceiv'd immediately after the Angels speech whom I had rather follow then accompany many of these later times who oppose it I will onely produce a few testimonies and that of Gregory the great shall be the Leader The Angell saith he declaring and the Spirit approaching instantly the Word is in the wombe and presently in the wombe the Word is made flesh the incommutable essence coeternall to him with the Father and the holy Ghost still remaining Him secondeth Saint Austin of all the Fathers the most subtle and sollid These ensuing are his owne words When the Angell saluted the Virgin then did the holy Ghost make her fruitfull then did that woman conceive a man without a man then was shee replenisht with grace then shee receiv'd the Lord that hee might be in her who made her And in another place he writeth thus Make no delay O Virgin say but the word speedily to the Messenger and receive thy Sonne give thy Faith and feele the vertue of it Behold saith she the Handmaid of the Lord be it to me according to thy word Here was no delay at all the divine Agent returneth and Christ enters the Virginall wombe The mother of God is suddenly made fruitfull and is predicated happy throughout all ages She presently conceived the Divinity of the Word without the fellowship of a man In this celebration of the Nuptials betweene God and nature while my affection advanceth one steppe my reverence retires another Here Reason is transformed into Admiration Eloquence into silence Some are rather solicitous to search into the profundity of the Mystery than humbly to acknowledge it and by Reason seeke to pry into that which excludes all reason What was before time it selfe is believed not comprehended by man for that transcends the understanding of man which was before his nature No eyes but those of Faith can penetrate this Wonder All things in God are above reason nothing above Faith Here a Virgin conceives without the losse of Chastity a Maide remaines an immaculate Mother Eternity is here encompass'd by time glory masked in misery A thing finite containes Infinity a mortall encloseth eternity Here the Sonne is as antient as his Father elder than his Mother and is made of her whom he made Here is a concurrence or a congregation of Miracles It is a miracle that in the forming of such and so great an issue the aide of man should be
and accomplishment of our Salvation did so familiarly communicate their joyes and wherein the most excellent Virgin Mary of the House of David and Elizabeth the most venerable amongst the Daughters of Aaron discours'd together The first of these had inclosed in her wombe the Creatour and Redeemer of us all the latter his Forerunner These Saints being made Mothers by a Miracle conferr'd together of the Divine benefits they had received The meeting of this worthy paire was most happie and illustrated with great and glorious testimonies of the divine Grace The one conceived by the cooperation of the holy Spirit the other by Myracle in her old Age and both their issues foretold by the celestiall Angell Iohn as yet imprisoned in his Mothers wombe doth worship his Lord borne to him in Maries Belly and Elizabeth fill'd with the Holy Ghost doth congratulate the Conception of the Sonne of God and the Saviour of Mankinde and prophecying declares her Cousen blessed in beleeving and contemplating the mysteries revealed to her On the other side Mary full of unutterable joy layed up all these sayings in her heart which before she had heard from the Angel and now from Elizabeth and breaks out into a Song of Thanksgiving to the Lord. Who can sufficiently praise so great Mysteries Who can declare those joyes to the full Iohn not yet borne rejoyceth Elizabeth is delighted with the arrivall of the Virgin Mary is extreamely pleased in the Mysteries the Saviour of the world is acknowledged by his Fore-runner not onely the Angels but Heaven and Earth resent the pleasure and the whole Trinitie is glorified with new praises Wherefore the greatnesse of these joyes is to be extolled with especiall commendations and with singular solemnities to be celebrated and the Lord in the wombe the Virgin that beares him the barren that conceives and the Fore-runner that it sanctified ought to be presented with all imaginable praises and honours With this pious and gratefull ordinance of the Church I conclude the visitation of our incomparable Lady and now proceed to her Deliverie We reade in holy Writ of three supernaturall Productions the one of Adam the other of Eve the last of Christ which as most miraculous we are now to treat of Here in his Nativitie as before in his Conception let us turne Inquisition into thanksgiving and with one spirit and voyce sing aloud The stone which the Builders refused is the head of the corner This was the Lords doing and it is marvellous in our eyes This is the day which the Lord hath made let us rejoyce and be glad in it This is our wedding-day wherein by the Sonne we are joyned to the Father This is the day of the new union wherein he who is God remaineth the same that he was yet for our sakes is borne and made what he was not wherein he that was every where without a Body is made present to us by a Body that what God hath by Nature men might receive by Grace This is a great a joyfull a fortunate a desired day the end of the Law the end of the Prophets the beginning of the Gospell nay the Gospell it selfe This is a day of State usher'd by the Angels follow'd by the Apostles Let our Mindes remove the distance of Time and place and dwell a while with our all-holy-Lord and blessed Lady lest we loose the pleasure of this day the least Accident whereof is Mysterious What a brave assembly of Visitants of all Conditions resorted this day to this place which then might rightly be called the Randevous of the Saints Would you see those who are above men but below him who is borne Behold the Angels singing his birth Do you desire to behold the married Here you have Zachary and Elizabeth The unmarried Here you have Symeon Widdows Here you have Anna. Priests Here againe you have Zachary Wise men Here you have them from the East Ideots You have here the Shepheards But here is to be noted that these keepers of Beasts heare the voyce of the Angels before any of the other first receive the Gospell and first divulge it And in this they were more happie then Augustus himselfe who though he had made a firme Peace by Sea and Land and had now the third time shut up the Temple of Ianus yet was he ignorant of the blessed Peace concluded on betwixt God and Man O how much sometimes Ignorance avails in Divine matters Kings Potentates the Rulers of the Earth and the wise of this world are asleepe while Christ is borne These most simple of Mortals and innocent as the creatures they tend watch all night and therefore are first made partakers of these joyfull news As their owne wooll not yet dipt in any dye readily drinks in any colour they please of bestow on it So their minds voyd of all humane wisedome greedily suckt in the Divine Faith is the Compendium of Salvation and humane knowledge of times the obstacle of Faith Aristotle having confined to Heaven the Maker and Moover of it would never have beleeved his birth here below Plato would have derided this miraculous relation who the more he attributed to God the lesse would he have expected his so humble comming into the world Neither would the Stoicks who held God to be a fire nor Hipocrates who thought him to be a warm'th ever have look't for him clad in flesh and bloud Wherefore they are here elected witnesses of this strange truth whose Science was of ability strongly to beleeve not wittily to dispute O what proficients in Faith did these rusticall Swaines prove in a moment What a profound secret is imparted to them Let us examine the verity of this by that infallible Touch-stone the text And there were in the same Country Shepheards abiding in the field keeping watch by night because of their flocke and loe the Angell of the Lord came upon them and the glory of the Lord shone about them and they were sore afraid Then the Angell said unto them Be not afraid for behold I bring you tidings of great joy that shall be to all the people That is that unto you is borne this day a Saviour which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a signe unto you you shall finde the Childe swadled and layed in a Cratch And straight way there was with the Angell a multitude of heavenly Souldiers praysing God and saying Glory be to God in the high Heaven and Peace on Earth and towards men good will And it came to passe that when the Angels were gone away from thence into Heaven that the Shepheards said one to another Let us goe then unto Bethlem and see this thing that is come to passe which the Lord hath shewed unto us so they came with haste and found both Mary and Ioseph with the Babe layd in the Cratch And when they had seene it they publisht abroad the thing that was told them of that Childe Here three things
make thee famous above the women of all Ages and againe Mary by behaving her selfe wisely is guilty neither of Malice nor any wickednesse which caused us to breath our soule into her Lastly that Many men have beene perfect but no woman was ever found perfect but Mary the Mother of Iesus But though truth is to be imbrac't where ever we finde it yet it will appeare more gracefull in the mouthes of Christians whose most learned most eloquent and most judicious Doctour we will produce giving this Testimony of this our dearest Lady Except saith he the holy Virgin Mary whom for the honour I owe my Lord and Master I will not name when sinne is my subject whom to have had grace infus'd into her wholly to subdue sinne wee know by this that shee was thought worthy to conceive and bring forth him who assuredly was without sinne This Virgin I say excepted if we could Recall and Assemble together all the Saints departed and should aske them if they were without sinne they would unanimously thus answere If we should say we have no sinne we deceive our selves and there is no truth in us But because the Fathers are no way suspected of neglect towards her we will spare their verdicts and chiefly insert their Commendations of her who were the first Reformers of our Church Luther shall be their Leader who saith That none but the Virgin Mary either was or ever shall be so holy That the fruit of her wombe shall be blessed since no other conceives without pleasure and sinne and againe In this is Mary blessed That so great gifts are given to her as surpasse humane understanding For hence all honour and beatitude proceeds that in the Vniversall humane race one person should be superiour to the rest to whom none should be equall because one and the same Sonne is common to her with the heavenly Father This he applyes to that saying of Mary Hee that is mighty hath magnified mee c. The same Author in another place sayes Mary is our Mother Christ our Brother and God our Father and that all this is true the Faithfull by effect doe finde Calvin cals her his Mistresse Wee willingly saith he take Mary for our Mistresse to whose doctrine and precepts we are obedient Erasmus stiles her his Savioresse Oecolampadius thus delivers his approbation of her I trust in God it shall never be said of me that I did oppose the dignity of Mary towards whom to be never so little ill affected I hold to be a most certaine signe of a Reprobate minde She who is above all Queene of all whom God above all hath honoured should not she be esteemed amongst all the most eminent Bucerus protesteth That a godly minde will not judge but charitably and piously of her who brought forth Christ our Lord Bullingerus concludes If Mary be blessed amongst all women and to bee pronounced blessed by all Nations most cursed are the Iewes who never cease to revile and slander her and most unhappy are those Counterfeit Christians who being little better than Iewes robbe her of the praise due to her Needs must shee be indued with a singular most select and perpetuall Virginity and purity who is especially chosen by God to be the Temple of his Sonne and the Mother of the most holy Now if any of these contradict themselves by pulling downe in other places those Trophies of her praise which here they haue erected they are to be answered as the Satyre did the Man with whom he said he would no longer converse because he saw hot and cold breath to issue from the same Mouth But to leave them All parts of the world have produced Admirers of her worth Syria hath brought forth Ephraim Antiochia Saint Chrysostome Capadocia Saint Basill and Saint Nazianzen Constantinople Germanus and Proclus Dalmatia Saint Hierome Germany Rupertus Albertus and Agrippa England Baeda France Bernhard Spaine Alphonsus Italy Aquinas and Bonauenture Affrick Saint Cyprian and Saint Austin Greece Dionysius Areopagita c. To these succeed famous Christian Poets antient and Moderne who have written Pannegyricks upon her as Baeda Gregorius Nazianzenus Innocentius Pontifex Actius Sanazarius Adam de Sancto victore Alcimus Avitus Antonius Muretus Aurelius Prudentius Baptista Mantuanus Claudianus Franciscus Petrarcha Godfridus Viterbiensis Hieronymus Vida Paulinus D. Philippus Menzelius Rudolphus Agricola Sedulius Venantius Fortunatus To these I adde many Emperours Princes and Princesses and a world of devout great ones who have beene her professed admirers as Constantine the great Charles the great Pulcheria Augusta Henry the second Emperour Alphonsus the chaste in Spaine Edovardus in Hungarie Bolislaus in Polonia Venceslaus in Bohemia All which are Canonized for Saints and have erected and dedicated Temples to her Memory Neither have the Princes of this our Ile beene defective in doing her all possible honour and in Consecrating Chappels and Temples to her Memory Fredericke the third Emperour made the Contemplation of her almost his onely food Stephanus King of Hungarie called his kingdome the Marian Family In this glorious Family whole kingdomes and Common-wealths have enrolled themselves My Arithmeticke will not serve mee to number all those who have Registred their names in the Sodalitie of the Rosary of this our blessed Lady the originall of which is derived from the battaile of Naupactun gain'd by Iohn of Austria and the Christians which victory was attributed to her intercession with her Sonne The Colonian Sodallity first instituted had out of Lovaine 4000. out of Brabant 30000. out of Gueldria 4000. out of Holland and Zeland 7000. c. Many holy Orders also are of this Sodality as the Benedictines the Cistertians the Franciscans the Carthusians and many others If all these Testimonies and Examples of great worthy and pious people will not move us to honour her we shall be judg'd both unworthy of this life and ignorant of that better to come For shame let not us alone deny her that honour and praise which all the world allowes her After these impartiall witnesses of her worth we will place those divine priviledges imparted to her by the Almighty for which we have if that alone were sufficient the Authority of many pious learned men First they affirme That her Chaste eyes sent forth such divine beames that though her Lovelinesse moved not onely all mindes to honour her and all Eyes to gaze on hers yet they never kindled an unholy fire in the most Adulterate bosome A sacred priviledge peculiar to this Saint alone for it was the will of her omnipotent Sonne that neither Sathan nor his Ministers should conspire the overthrow of that chiefe Temple of his Spirit which his flesh had inhabited so long nor any impure thought ayme at the mudding of this purest Fountaine Whether her prophetick Soule foresaw the snares of the ungodly and so shun'd them they say not once for certaine they averre that Temptations aym'd at her broke like Haile against a Rocke nor