vespere examine his heart Quid nocte vel die praecedente hath hee thought hath he said hath he done Et in quo peccati labem inuenerit Let him mend it cum proposito efficaci simili non peccare This if it be done daily I dare boldly say Vix fieri poterit vt quis moriendo peccet aut peccando moriatur Inter these thoughts I had these things in Contemplation 1. First what Death was and the kinds of death 2. Secondly what feares or ioyes death brought 3. Thirdly when death was to be prepared for and how 4. Fourthly death approching what our last thoughts should then be Of these I thus resolued THat Death was a fall What death is which came by a fall Our first framed father Adam falling in him wee all fell Cecidimus omnes saith S. Bernard super acerbum lapidem in luto vnde inquinati vulneratisumus Therefore wee needed water in Baptisme to wash vs Blood in the Eucharist to heale vs. This falling sicknesse infected not only the person but the nature such is the infection of euill alwayes worse thē the Act making man that was immortall subiect to Death as are Birds and Beasts whereas before wee were differenced from them in this condition though made of the same matter Dust. Yet as wee now stand the fault is ours if that fall be not our rise the aduantage wee haue by Christ being more then the damage wee had by Adam ideo qui stat videat ne cadat For relapse may turne vs againe to be as Birds and Beasts that haue no ioy but being no sorrow but dying Consider Death originally or in his owne nature and it is but a departed breath from dead earth inliuened at first by breath cast vpon it Take the dimension of it and it is but a point of Time interiected betweene two extremes A Parenthesis which interposed breakes no sense when the words meete againe When Seneca was asked Quid est Mors he answered Aut finis est aut transitus Rogatus Secundus Philosophus said to the Emperour Adrian Mors est aeternus somnus Diuitum Pauor pauperum desiderium incerta peregrinatio ineuitabilis euentus latro hominis fuga vitae resolutio omnium Plato said it was Lex Naturae Tributum mortalium Scaliger defines it to bee but the cessation of the soules functions All men graunt the cause of Death was iust yet few can tell who was the Author or what 's the name or nature of it Estimemus singula famâ remotâ quaeramus quid sint non quid vocentur In Nature it can be nothing for it hath no cause efficient The nature of Death but deficient Post mortem nihil est ipsaque Mors nihil It hath no Essence though Existence It is no substance but priuation no creature but creaturarum sepultura Therefore curiously to search the efficient of it were to labour the eye to see darknesse God made it not saith the booke of Wisedome nor is it mentioned as any of his workes God that made all things saw that all things which he had made were good Omne ens bonum omne bonum estens Therefore good Saint Augustine said finely Lord thou hast not made Death wherefore I beseech thee suffer not that which thou hast not made to reigne ouer that which thou hast made It is no errour to say that man made death For curiositie the itch of mans Soule affecting to know that which God neuer made which was the euill of death thinking it had been good to know euill by desiring to know it made it He that knew all other things knew not this one thing that hee knew enough So diuine a thing is knowledge that wee see innocencie it selfe was ambitious of it Life did not content that was thought but the act of knowledge knowledge was the life the soule looked at That yet begets a studious scrutinie to discouer things wee can neuer know So we see that although Nature be moderate in her desires yet conceit is vnsatiable But since God hath reuealed more then we can know enough to make vs happy let vs learne sober knowledge and contented ignorance Who then was the Author of Death The Autho◠of Death The booke of Wisedome saith that through enuie of the diuell death came into the world and they that hold on his side finde it But if the Diuell was the father Sinne was the mother For saith Saint Iames sinne being finished trauaileth in child-birth like a mother to bring foorth death Adam falling sin followed him Man being tempted Death attempts him and by sinne death entred Death had no interest in man till sin had dispossessed him of the freehold hee had in God There was no trust in Gods seruants saith Eliphaz but euen Angels were charged with folly And to doe the Diuell right hee did but perswade not compell It was in mans choice to stand or fall Adam acceperat posse quod vellet non velle quod posset nos accepimus posse quod volumus velle quod possumus ille posse non mori nos non posse mori sic Augustinus Power of standing man had from God but possibilitie of falling from himselfe Therefore though wee may thanke our first parents for our birth-sinne Yet wee may thanke our selues for improouing of it wherefore said the old Letanie Ame salaa me Domine All mans natiue vertues were giuen him but in trust and vnder a condition Hee abused the trust and brake the condition so incurred the penaltie For that is mans nature euer subiect to extremities either dull in want or wanton in fruition Ne moriemini was a faire warning but hee cared not for it when Satan tempted hee consented Had the mind gouerned the eye the Apple could not haue beguiled though it was faire to see to The proud aspiring thought was hatched in man The Diuell was but the deuiser sinne was the Author and wee being partners in the sinne shared likewise in the punishment Facinus quos iniquinat aequat Since then Death stole in at the eare by our hearkening to ill counsell let vs now cast it out by the eares through hearkening to Gods Word the word of life the life of Death For the name of Death The name of Death Saint Iohn cals it a sleepe Amicus noster Lazarus dormit Of Saint Steuen it was said and when hee had thus spoken hee slept The Patriarkes and Kings of Iudah slept with their Fathers Transitum ad vitam aliqui appellant mortem saith Saint Bernard Sed ideo Scriptura dormientes appellat vt euigilaturos minimè desperemus Hee is not dead saith Dauid but sleepeth whose flesh doth rest in hope The night sauours of mortalitie and sleepe is but the shadow of death and where the shadow is the body cannot bee farre off But let it be Mors à morsu which our first Parents tasted or Mors à mora which yet tarries for vs all Let her bee
quāprimum is his rather for that ends misery and begins felicitie There is no man so valiant as the beleeuer Therefore he saith vnto his soule Why art thou cast downe O my soule Why art thou so disquieted within me Waite on God Soule and Soule are differenced in dying as well as liuing The difference of soules as well in dying as liuing The Atheist dares not die for feare of non esse The ill liuer dares not die for feare of male esse The doubtfull conscience dares not die nesciendo whether hee shall be not be or be damned Onely the good man dares and desires to die hee is assured of his hope his hope is full of immortalitie I am thy saluation saith his Sauiour to the other theend of these present miserable miseries is the beginning of worse and such as death it selfe cannot terminate for that would be happinesse enough if they had but hope there would bee an end at last the greatest pleasure they would desire is the act of death so that might end their sorrowes but their conscience will not let them lye or flatteringly perswade them Adueniet tandem quae non sperabitur hora. This they know and grieue to thinke that Tophet is prepared for the bad and Paradise for the good As the tree falleth so it lyeth and as death leaueth thee so iudgement shall finde thee hee that liues ill seldome dyes well Liue well and you cannot but die well practise well doing and you shall haue the comfort of well dying Sed quà m amarum erit hoc tempore corporis animae separatio Body and soule parting We see old acquaintance cannot part without teares Quid facient intimè familiares quales sunt corpus anima quae ab ipso vtere ita iucundissimè vixerint If the Oxe loweth when his fellow is taken from him that drew the plough with him qualem mugitum shall wee giue when soule and body part Siccinè separas amara Mors Siccinè separas saith the Booke of Kings The Spirit at this time may be willing but the flesh will be loth Egrè amittitur quod valdè amatur Faith will assure God is thy father but nature will tell thee She is thy mother and thou mayest not yet leaue her In this conflict take heede the mothers side preuaile not Shee will play Naomi's part perswade thee earnestly to stay and enioy the delights of Moab yet a while longer But resolue thou with Ruth to see what entertainment is for thee in Bethleem for there thou shalt finde a Boaz. In ista hora euery man will make Balaams suite for no man would be miserable if it were enough to desire to be happy but such a wish onely will not serue He must piè viuere that will securè mori We all desire to shut vp our last Scene of life with In manus tuas Domine commendo spiritum meum But it is not the last words a man vtters that doe qualifie his Soule Remember how in thy life thou hast entertained Gods Spirit for as wee vsed his in this life so hee will vse ours after death Qualem quisque se fecerit in hac vita talem se inueniet exiens ab hac vita At this houre what would a man giue for the redemption of his soule but poore indigent man neuer was any so rich that could pay the ransome of his own soule A displeased mercy askes greater satisfaction then thou canst giue Laesa patientia fit furor Now thou goest to giue account of thy Stewardship that is temporis amissi mali commissi boni omissi And thy Soule already knowes in conscientia tua whither it goes quando egreditur è corpore tuo And although thou canst carry nothing else with thee yet this thou canst not leaue behinde thee Which is liber conscientiae tuae that will tell thee whither thou goest and what thou shalt looke for Tunc quasi loquentia tua opera dicent Tu nos egisti Tua opera sumus non te deseramus sed tecum semper erimus tecum pergemus ad Iudicium Man is a great flatterer of himselfe but conscience is alwayes iust and will neuer chide thee wrongfully It alwayes takes part with God against a mans selfe It is Magistratus domesticus that will tell what you doe at home and saith the booke of Wisedome wickednesse condemned of her owne witnesse is euer timerous and being pressed with conscience forecasteth grieuous things Nemo seueriorem seipso habet iudicem If a man will take his ayme by the best men that euer dyed That of Dauid Ezechias yea and of Christ himselfe as a man is able to amaze any man When as our Sauiour Christ at the point of death said Father if it be thy will let this Cup passe from me When Dauid said Saue Lord for thy mercy sake for in death there is no remembrance of thee And Ezechias wept sore when hee was bid Put thy house in order for thou must die Si Prophetae si Apostoli si Martyres si Christus ipse was thus troubled at the houre of death wretched man that I am what shall I doe Euen as Christ bids me Bee of good cheere for I haue ouercome death Mors morte redempta est Now there is aduantage in death that death which was the wages of sinne is made the reward of righteousnesse and in these forenamed persons it was not death but the curse of the Law that went with death which Christ in our persons and these other persons in themselues feared When Christ was to leaue the world and his Disciples to the world he left them this word for their learning and their comfort If you loued mee you would reioyce because I said I goe to the Father In my Fathers house are many dwellings I goe to prepare a place for you that where I am you may be also Now that death hath ouercome death and Faith hath secured feare nec me taedeat viuere nec timeo mori What can hee feare in Death whose death is his hope Right precious in the sight of God is the death of his Saints See then what makes men willing or loth to die Obsecro te Lucili said Seneca cur timeat laborem vir mortem homo It is the present condition of men in this world that makes them willing or loth to die Nor life nor death are alike to all men some can as willingly leaue the world nay dye as others can forbeare the Court. And as men differ in their condition so doe they in their acceptation of Death some pleasant their liues as if the world should alwayes laugh vpon them Et post mortem nulla voluptas These would doe any thing rather then die Others liue as if they came into the world but to act a sad mans part and dye these wish a change hoping it will bee a benefit Therefore well said the sonne of Syrach O death how acceptable is thy remembrance vnto him
to the earth and his soule to God that gaue it The third at the end of the world when body and soule revnited shal enioy heauen So likewise a wicked man hath three distinct deaths Dead in sinne while he liues dead in soule when hee dyes dead in body and soule when both are adiudged to eternall condemnation Malis fit mors sine morte fin◠fine fine defectus sine defectu Quia mors viuit fints semper incipit desicere defectus nescit To labour not to lye is labour in vaine it is to deferre not to auoid To forget to dye and hope to liue is dangerous securitie This let a wise man doe quod ne cesse est ne timeat quod incertum est semper expectet Seeke not consolation against death but let Death bee thy consolation for there is no comfort against death but in death Supremum necoptes nec metuas diem Mortem optare malum timere peius Now to make Death easie Thinke of the glory that followes it Who will not endure a few pangs for infinite pleasures The bitter pill promising health is swallowed willingly Mors non anfert vitam sed in melius transfert That the aspect of Death may not trouble thee looke not vpon Death in death but looke beyond it Thinke not so much of it as of the happinesse that comes by it Erit somnus dilectis initium refrigerij scala montis haereditas secura Ianua vitae ingressus in tabernaculum Therefore saith Iob From sixe troubles it deliuereth thee in septima that is at point of death non tanget te malum Fit your selfe for it and you will neuer feare it doe by it as you doe in other things when you would goe sleepe you put off your cloathes you draw the curtaines and goe to bed Thus as it were acting sleepe before you goe to sleepe So addresse your selfe to death before hand Bring your selfe acquainted with it that when it comes you may entertaine it non vt hostis sed vt hospes not as a foe but as a friend not as a stranger but as a guest that you had long looked for and bid welcome Death more blessed then thy Birth What a griefe is it to see some great men build stately houses as if they should alwayes liue and yet they to liue as if they had but mortall soules It is good counsell Effice mortem tibi familiarem vt possis cum sors tulerit illi laetus alacriter obuiam exire Those Philosophers were more mortified who had their graues alwayes open before their gates that going out or comming in they might alwayes thinke of Death Good Ioseph of Arimathea built his Sepulchre in the middest of his garden So doe thou amid all thy pleasures and delights thinke of death and that wil coole and temper all thy vaine desires It will so qualifie thee to the world and the world to thee as thou wilt not much care for it In this world wee are all Benonies the sonnes of Sorrow The way to Heauen is by weeping crosse Hi motus animorum atq haec certamina tanta Pulueris exigut tactu cōpressa quiescunt It is obserued that most of other creatures liue long but dying perish all to nothing Man that is short-liu'd he dying liues eternally Thinke but of this and you will thinke as S. Bernard did that life was little better then hell were it not for the hope of Heauen Surely Christ would not haue dyed but that wee might die with safety Hee by death in death did deliuer vs from death And did Christ dye for mee that I might liue with him I will not therefore desire to liue long from him It is a token of little loue to God to be loth to goe to God All men goe willingly to see him whom they loue Our brother Ioseph liueth therefore though with Iacob I cannot say I will goe see him before I dye Yet Lord let mee dye that I may see him whom my soule loueth Liuing I cannot but dying I shall Let no difficulties hinder for since Adams fall none passeth vnto Paradise but by burning Seraphims The way to Canaan is cumbersome but knowing that our iourney leades to the land of promise wee passe it pleasantly Yet before wee come at Hierusalem we take in our way the valley of teares The swift Riuer of Iordan must be crossed before wee come to the sweet Waters of Siloam Let no delights tempt you prosperous fortunes may hinder a cheerefull dying but if pleasures of life allure not feares of death will neuer trouble Neminem aduersa conuincunt nisi quem secunda decipiunt Adam was set vpon in Paradise Iob on the dunghill yet Iob fortior in stercore quam Adam in Paradiso The very place of pleasure is dangerous In Paradise Adam could not be innocent but out of Paradise he was a good man For any thing in life lose not the cause of life nor iudge not of things by the face of things For life and death haue deceiueable vizards vnder the faire face of life lurkes griefe vnder the foule feature of death which is but fancy lies felicity Take off the mask and you shall change your minde loath that you loued and loue that you loathed Vita habitu casto cum non sit casta videtur Mors praeter cultum nil meretricis habet Now for the freedomes that come by Death Freedo by deat First it frees from all worldly iniuries Mors multorum malorum finis nullius boni Heere good men doe but liue and suffer benè agere male pati It is their portion and it is good for mee saith Dauid that I haue beene afflicted Non sentire mala non est hominis sed non ferre non esset viri Sufferings are greater trials then actions Secondly it ends all miseries Man in misery saith Iob longs for death and digs for it more then treasure Mors finis est non poena Nay saith one Nec finis nec paena bonis lex est non paena perire Death ends sinnes not life it reformes but doth not destroy Nature Vitiorum est Sepultura virtutum Resurrectio Thirdly it frees vs from all corporall infirmities Mors omnium dolorum solutio Life it selfe is a disease and we dye by corruption of humours whether they be of body or manners who thinke to heale all infirmities with an easier plaister then Death Delineamenta potius quam remedia podagraesuae ponunt Fourthly it frees vs from all bodily labours So saith the Spirit Blessed are they that die in the Lord they rest from their labours Adeo iuuat occupatum mori Fiftly it eases vs of all troubles Refrigeries est animae Refection to the Soule Were wee but in a throng wee thinke that man at ease who gets out first Noah when hee had beene tossed but a yeere vpon the waters Mount Ararat was to him a gladsome place for there the Arke rested So likewise miscrable man after many wearisome