Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	age_n	life_n	old_a	5,148	5	5.6715	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A49605	Ethice christiana, or, The school of wisdom wherein the grounds of moral philosophy are demonstrated to comply with the principles of Christian religion, by a mixt exercise of grace and vertu / written originally in French ... by M. De la Serre ; and done into English by J.A.	La Serre, M. de (Jean-Puget), ca. 1600-1665.; Alardis, James.	1664 (1664)	Wing L457; ESTC R24425	37,313	130

it the same Eternity shall be the measure of your torments 16. It is not our part to make out own destiny unless it be for our salvation or destruction seeing every man hath liberty to do what he can for his own salvation or damnation the events of our life are in the hands of Him who hath numbred our dayes We must undergo with submission the laws which he imposeth upon us 17. He is most unhappy who wisheth alwayes for the good he hath not and is never contented with that he hath The Wise-man is never in quest of his repose because he finds it within himself 18. Although a man be considered in regard of his Condition yet that doth not-render him considerable Suppose his name make a noise and his greatness a splendor yet the noise is dissipated and the splendor vanisheth unless his vertue preserve the memory of the one and the beauty of the other 19. All men do complain of their fortune notwithstanding they have cause to be contented therewith If God suffers you to enjoy riches are you not sati fy'd and if it be his will to withhold them you have no ground of discontent provided he give you patience a Poor contented is far more happy than a Rich disquieted 20. Never cast your eyes upon other mens goods lest Envy give you a salfe possession making you Proprietary of them without enjoying content your self with what God is pleased to bestow upon you how can you pretend to new favours from his Bounty if his Justice have cause to upbraid you with unthankfulness for that which he hath donal ready 21. Consider that the felicity of this life consisteth not in passing it without trouble but rather in passing it without offence so that the troubles of our life pass away with it but the torments of our sins are everlasting 22. What mattereth it in the Runing of our Race whether it be at high noon-day or in the evening I mean with magnificence or without pomp All consisteth in this to run happily to the end we may obtain the Crown 23. The Favorites of Fortune may well rejoyce in the light of the Sun as they walk in their favour upon Ice but the same Star that beholds them continually makes the Ice melt away suddenly whence it comes to pass that they vanish in an instant leaving us nothing but the memory of their mifery with that of their name 24. Suffer not you self to be tempted with Ambition the good thereof is to come and the trouble of it is present It gives nothing but unprofitable desires and vain hopes It argues great weakness to lose the Repose we enjoy in expectation of a greater 25. Do not take much heed to the roughness of the path of your life that part of it which is past will trouble you no more and that which is before may become fairer and more pleasant by walking on in a continuall chearfulness All consists in your skilful entring the gate of death of all the moments of life the last is only to be feared 26. The Wise-man findeth his Repose every where all times are his season and all places his abode he waxeth old with contentment because his old age makes him draw near his grave whence after he is sown in rottenness he is to arise in glory 27. This should be a great comfort to us to know that we breath continually under the protection of Providence seeing that a haire cannot fall from our head without the appointment thereof in all our distresses this ought to be our consolation as well as our remedy CHAP. VII That he that knoweth how to live well is the most learned man in the World 1. IF it be true that the object of Knowledge is Truth then know that there is nothing more true than this that we are born to worke out our own salvation and that we are to be rewarded according to our works 2. The most learned man in the world knoweth nothing if he be ignorant of the means to be saved and seeing Time and Nature can teach us only to die we must seek for other School-masters who can teach us to be born again out of our own ashes to enjoy that immortality which we hope for 3. Put the case you were a great Astrologer and by the rules of this Scienc 〈◊〉 could foresee your good or bad 〈…〉 fore-sight were unprofitable to you because during the course of your lise you have nothing to do but to shun the misery of your damnation to be esteemed happy 4. It is not enough to be a good Divine to comprehend according to the capacity of your understanding the mysteries of the Trinity Faith and submission are the Principles of true Divinity it is better to believe then dispute 5. I grant that Philosophy may inlighten your mind in the knowledge of the wonders of Nature but you must ascribe the glory of all to the Creator and by meanes of these pleasant streams re-ascend to their scource 6. Logicks may teach you the Art to put Arguments in forme but you must alwayes come to the conclusion of this last that being born to die you must die to revive 7. The science of true Physick consists only in this to find out soveraign remedies against the feaver of our passions because if we die of this disease our loss is irrecoverable for all Eternity 8. Suppose you were a great Lawyer then do reason to your self do it to all the World the only practice of this Law of Nature doth briefly comprehend the whole science of the Institutions 9. What doth it availe to be learned in Languages is it not sufficient if a man can speak the language of Reason where works are necessary words are needless 10. There are many who are curious to learn by Cards and Maps to know the extent of the Earth but never reflect upon this truth that if one little point doth there represent a whole City in what space can they remarke that of their grave 11. True Morals do only consist in living without reproach to die without sorrow and the means to compass this is to consider the end of our actions having alwayes Honour for our object and duty for our guide 12. Not that Sciences are to be contemned the study of them is as commendable as necessary but it is a sa●● thing for a man to imploy the whol● time of his life in the diligent search of their Truths without making profit of this that he who knoweth how to obey the Commandments of God is the most learned man in the World 13. O how learned he is in all Sciences that knoweth how to love God! and which may satisfy us in this it is the Will alone that can render us learned without standing in need of any other Master 14. Wonder not if the Spirit of God saith that The feare of the Lord is the beginning of Wisedom seeing the Love of him ought to be both the progress

us 8. Because at death vows are to no purpose we ought to make and accomplish them during Life the occasion of well-doing is not alwayes prefent Though the seasons be ordered as well as the Days and Nights yet it is not so with Life because the moments thereof succeed one to another without having so much as one assured 9. The meer necessity of dying doth perswade Wisemen to work out their own Salvation while it is day without standing in need of any other Clock to mark the hours of their work 10. Wise men do never sorrow for their Life past because they live only to die And though the time to come be not theirs yet they dispose of it before hand to their own advantage in the resolution they are alwayes to imploy it well 11. Life hath nothing that is its own but death all the Goods which it injoyeth are imaginary because they subsist only in the Fancy And seeing that subsistence depends of Time and Fortune if This take away from us the use of it That can limit the continuance thereof 12. He is happy upon the account of Justice who seeth himself die in doing of his duty the Race of this Life how painful soever it be becometh pleasant when we run it happily 13. To live but for one day is to live a whole Age provided we spend that day to good purpose A thousand years of Life are reckoned only by the last moment which doth finish it because that alone must Crown all the former 14. There is nothing so dreadful at Death as the remembrance of a long Life because as we must give an account of all our days past seeing they are present with God either to justify or condemn them so the doubt of our happiness or misery keeps our Souls on the Rack 15. We cannot go but once from Time to Eternity it is a journey that hath no returning and seeing that all Wise men prepare themselves to make it as soon as they are capable of reason he must needs be quite deprived of reason who is surprised at the hour of retreat 16. As the Pilgrim doth accomplish his vow when he puts himself on the way to make his Pilgrimage so we begin to go about our Mission as soon as we are born in the Path which we hold it is enough that Reason be our Lantern and Duty our Guide to keep us from going astray without measuring the paces of our Race 17. Although we do but pass away here below yet every man may work out his own Salvation here in passing All consists in the imploying well the Time allowed us without being solicitous for more or less a good life is alwayes long though it should last but for one moment 18. Endeavour every day to dosome good work to the end you may injoy what is past as you do what is present The Wise man never searcheth in vain for his Repose is in his Memory 19. Seeing that the Way which we are to hold in our Life is marked out let us go on cheerfully and consider that the more painful it be it is the safer provided that Patience be our Guide 20. Know that Death is the reward of the just and the punishment of the Wicked because Those when they die may lawfully hope for the Crown of their labours but These for the chastisement of their crime CHAP. XV. That the Wise man waiteth for Death without either wishing or fearing it 1. HE that wisheth for Death hath cause to fear it because the guilt of his desire prepareth his punishment as we are born here below by a secret Order of Providence so this alone can sound our retreat and of all the miseries which can befall us Desperation is the greatest 2. We should never fear the Evils which we cannot avoid because Fear is a new Evill far more painfull than that which we are to incurre and if in these encounters Nature overcome Reason we ought to implore the help of Grace because it triumpheth alwayes 3. Death frights none but the Wicked not but that the Godly do fear it but their Hope being stronger than their Fear the one is diminished by the growth of the other 4. Wise Christians do never dispute with Providence they undergo the laws thereof without repining and how rigorous soever they be seeing there is more glory in suffering than in complaining they beg for Constancy in their distresses rather than for Comfort 5. They that have a love to Life know not what they love For if it be a Good the imaginary propriety and uncertain usage thereof make us sensibly know the contempt we ought to have of it 6. A good Life is always long how short soever it be and seeing the greatest Heroes reckon their years by their Heroick acts the wise Christian ought to keep an account of his age by the Good he doth 7. Although we be born here below unwitting to us we have liberty to live here as we please but seeing that we must give an account of our Life we ought to be good husbands of Time for it conducts us to Eternity 8. Life may be justly compared to a Dream because we live in a continual dotage taking the false Good for the reall and the way of Vice for the path of Vertue 9. Know that the preparation to Death doth mitigate the fear thereof as the continuall thoughts of it taketh away the horrour and as Experience cannot chuse but be profitable to you so the profit you shall receive by it will far surpass the pains you shall take for it 10. If you would forsake Life without sorrow enjoy it without being tyed to it we should never think but of finishing our journey so much the rather because we cannot stay by the way 11. This Interval of dayes and nights whereof our Life is composed lets us see by the Image of Sleep that it is so confounded with Death that it is but one and the same thing 12. Nature causeth us to be born like unto Posts in this World where every man carrieth the sealed Letter of his Destiny directing to Death and seeing Time leadeth us thither if we do not go it will pull us This obligeth us to follow our Fate with that submission which becometh a creature 13. Seeing we do not live but to die and that we do not die but to live again let us drive the Trade of the Vertuous man because he alone can find at the end of his Course that Eternity which he waits for 14. He that liveth only to live doth deprive himself of Hope which is the sole Good of Life What would become of us in the miseries wherein we are if we did not pretend to Eternal happiness seeing our Souls can never die 15. Life is not otherwise considerable than by the good use we make of it though you should live a whole Age abounding with Riches and Happiness if the last moment do not justify all the former you may be reckoned in the number of the most miserable men in the World 16. Every body wisheth to live long not considering that a long life is a long receit of Time bestowed on us seeing that we must give an account of the imployment of our dayes The felicity of our Life depends of the happiness of our Death 17. Consider that every Age seeth die all that it hath seen born and that it draweth along with it all that hath appeared like it in the World without hope of returning because the years whereof it is composed are never twice counted 18. As soon as a man hath attained to the years of Reason he liveth long enough if he live but one day provided that one day be well spent The rest of the Time which is allowed us turneth to our reproach rather than our advantage if we do not spend it to good purpose 19. When we wish for Death we manifest our Cowardise more than our Courage because this fails us through want of resolution to endure the memory of what is past the trouble of what is present and the fear of what is to come whereof the only Hope of Eternity can sufficiently instruct us 20. Know that the Life of Great Men is a path strewed with Roses whereof the Thorns are at the end For after they have smelled the sweet odour of Those they must needs feel the sting of These 21. There is none but God and Vertue that can prolong the Life of Man God in adding to it that which is to come and Vertue in recalling what is past by the satisfaction we injoy in having spent it well 22. He that loveth Life in his miseries to suffer them constantly hath cause to fear Death because in suffering new torments it taketh away from him the means to acquire new Crowns 23. Live only to die if you would live without reproach he that thinks on that which is to come doth not sorrow for what is past and enjoyeth what is present without disquiet FINIS