Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	appear_v	life_n	sin_n	4,010	5	4.7063	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A57730	The gentlemans companion, or, A character of true nobility and gentility in the way of essay / by a person of quality ...	Ramesey, William, 1627-1675 or 6.	1672 (1672)	Wing R206; ESTC R21320	94,433	290

splendid beams which is gained by excelling thy competitours in their own way and beating them at their own Weapon Against Duelling And here I think it not amiss to tell thee I mean not by Weapon to exceed him in a Duel And since for the most part this foolish Action and unlawful practice of Gentlemen arises between Equals and about punctillios of Honour I shall shew you it is no Honour nay the greatest dishonour a Gentleman can possibly be guilty of it standing in direct opposition to 1. Sense and Reason 2. Honour and Reputation 3. Valour and Courage All which they so much pretend to And 4. All Morality and Piety The irrationality of Duelling First can any thing be more irrational and sensless than to see men forfeit their Peace Pleasure Habitations Life Soul and all for a Word a whimsical punctillio as they suppose of Honour Or to purchase eternal Damnation for a momentary revenge or terrours and guilt of Conscience for a Humour Then to see Men for a lye invite him that gave it to give them also their Deaths-wound For an affront to expose themselves to ruine And for fear of the reproach of Man incur the terrours of the Almighty Then to see Men cast away Repentance and all hopes so desperately as they do who leave themselves no space nor grace for either Then to see Men follow so empty a praescript merely because 't is the fashion and not be able to counterpoise their most weighty matters and affairs to suppress it Than to see Men that are Rational Creatures yet not make use of so much Reason as to consider these things Secondly 't is a false way of measuring Honour by the Sword on every trivial occasion of a Mistress Health a word a slight carriage and the like fooleries which are the usual causes of Quarrels which is indeed the dishonour of a Gentleman by how much it is his Honour to pass by Offences 'T is more Honourable to make Peace than to add fuel to strife which may perhaps end in Murther In all publick dangers of thy Countrey and in the Service of thy Prince be as forward as any and in such Lawful attempts quit thy self like a Man that the World may see thou fearest not Death nor preferrest Life before thine Honour and Reputation Thus the declining of a Duel will appear rather to be shunning of Sin and Damnation than Cowardize especially if thy Actions and walkings render thee truly conscientious Since the Mad Infamous Cruel Irrational Impious Act of Duelling sets God at defiance 'T will be the true Honour and Reputation everlasting of a Gentleman to endeavour the extirpation of this idle wicked and damnable custome which renders a Christian Irreligious and even a Moral Man a Fool. But if they must contend and Quarrel let it be to exceed each other in this Magnanimous Heroick and Honourable design Duelling is rather Cowwardize than Courage or Valour Thirdly the vain-huffing Valour of the giddy-pated Hectors of our times is most ridiculous and in effect the rankest piece of Cowardise and Fool-hardiness imaginable under the pretence of Courage being fuller fraught with a sordid fear than a prudent caution and that which they fear is only the breath of a Man's word which runs them on all hazzards and to fight to decline the aspersion of Cowardize and yet if Victor run away from the avenger of Blood some Catch-pole who perhaps yet is no Gentleman Is it not the greatest piece then of pusillanimous Cowardize imaginable or madness when notwithstanding they will encounter the very wrath of God and like the Giants fight against Heaven and dare rather be damn'd than be anger'd or Reproacht Duelling directly opposite to Morality Piety Fourthly that which Duellists finely as they think or rather foolishly smooth over with the term of satisfaction is but in effect down-right malice or revenge which is as it were a barbarous Execution of Justice They being thirsters after their Enemy's blood than which nothing is more Delectable Delicious nor desirous to them Nay they discover themselves to be indeed down-right Murtherers since what they do is with premeditation and deliberation And so are no less likewise impious in letting the Sun go down on their wrath but also Rebellious against the Sacred Dictates of the Almighty And if they dye in the conflict as 't is not impossible they may both and tumble into a Ditch their Bed of Honour with grinning countenances are they not highly promoted This Bed of Honour this grinning Honour O how becoming they are a Gentleman In a word not only Charity is thereby infringed but all sobriety meekness patience humility forgiveness of Injuries gratitude and all other Virtues since in this their beastial Rage rashness they will not let their very Friends escape their Sword 's point if there be but the least seeming mistake As well as Piety which teacheth us to love our Enemies forgive our Brother not only seven but seventy times seven times but they will not bear much less forgive one How would these Huffs learn that lesson then to turn the other cheek if smote first on one when a very word sets them on fire of Hell Besides that 'T is the Honour and Glory of a Man to pass by Offences Anger resteth in the bosom of a Fool. He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty and he that Ruleth his Spirit than he that taketh a City From the opposing these sacred decrees of Heaven arise all the Duels on Earth between these Zamzummims who have enacted clean contrary pronouncing such to be milk-sops and soft gibbos that resent not an affront so hainously as to dispatch the Offender into the other State This they decree to be Gallantry the Spirit of Meekness Prudence and Humility Cowardize or pusillanimity The wayes to avoyd a quarrel you may see beneath in Anger rectified Whether excess of Drinking become a Gentleman I cannot omit here one main occasion of this vain Duelling viz. That beastial Exercise of Drinking a Recreation too common among those that call themselves Gentlemen than which nothing is more uncomely to such forasmuch as this vice un-mans a Man if it either elevate his speech to an intemperate pitch as either to commit folly or to lose his gravity or on the other side if it render him stupid or sottish or inflames him into Rage or Lust or any wise hebetates his understanding obfuscates his Reason or renders him uncapable of serving God in his Calling or his King Countrey or Neighbour let the pretence be what it will which for the most part he must needs be guilty of if he compels another to drink according to his own stint or humour Therefore in all Companies be thou an Ahasuerian that none may be compelled to drink more than he is willing which best becomes a true Gentleman forasmuch as there is no Reason for thee to compell another to be rul'd

them for our future Happiness and close this Treatise with some considerations of Death our last Enemy or rather Friend CHAP. III. Against the fear of Death KIng of Terrours and Fears 't is somewhere called But me-thinks since it frees us of such a miserable world such a miserable Life it should not seem so terrible Stultum est timere quod vitari non potest 'T is a folly to fear what cannot be avoided as Death Death frees us I say of all our cares fears anxieties troubles miseries Enemies and yet we abhor it and will not consider our folly Who is more free from care than he that sleeps Death is but a long sleep and if we dye well it will without doubt be a sweet one Me-thinks the considerations of our unhappy Lives should induce us rather to meet or pursue then shun or flye from Death and account it rather our Friend then Enemy since it openeth the Door to fame and extinguisheth Envy 'T is a Debt we owe to Nature and so 't is but Reason and Honesty to pay it That 's the best time when a man has made his peace with GOD and all the World and hath atchieved worthy expectations and ends has been beneficial and helpful to others in his Generation and done Noble Acts or such as have been praise-worthy The fear of Death is worse than Death it self and is augmented with dreadful Stories when indeed 't is nothing so painful as they make it the vital parts being not the sensiblest How many dye away so sweetly and without noise though sensible as if they only fell asleep 'T is but a weak Opinion therefore makes us fear it For there can be no Reason to fear it since no one can fear that he knows not 'T is as Natural to Dye as to be Born and to a Child perhaps one is as painful as the other To return from whence we came what Burthen what Grief is it or what pain 'T is but the same Journey we have made from Death viz. from nothing to Life without fear without Passion which we will make again from life to death 'T is no more 't is the same thing Nay 't is the Birth-day of Eternity which we fear as our last and carries us from that Death that began in our Mothers Womb to the life that shall never end We shall then see the whole Heavens together and the glory thereof in its due place which we can now see but darkly through the narrow passages of our optick Nerves afar off Instead of taking us from our selves it sets us at liberty and makes us free to our selves Instead of bringing us into darkness it takes it from us and gives us a larger light our Intellectuals You see then there is nothing in Death that 's terrible or fearful Diseases Sighs Groans gastly looks Lamentation of Friends and Allies that make it seem dreadful are but the Mask and Vizard under which Death is only hid and veild 'T is great cowardize then and weakness to fear it To what end have Men Reason and Wisdom given them but to help them in a good Action They signifie nothing if they cannot do more with them than a Fool doth with his folly and which time performeth in a fool and in the weakest Sex too But to lay aside Wisdome and Reason 't is worth our remark there is hardly a Passion before spoken of so weak but it clearly vanquisheth the fear of Death And therefore Death is no such kill-cow such an Hector such a terrible Enemy Honour and Glory aspire to it Love contemns it Grief and Despair pursue it Revenge carries it Captive c. To fear Death then is to be an Enemy to thy self and Life since no man can live at ease that fears to dye 'T is a madness to trouble thy life with the fear of Death and thy Death with the care of life he is only a free-man that fears it not Nay life it self is but a slavery if it were not made free by Death Our lives would be a burthen should they not end in Death if it were quite taken from us we should desire it more than now we fear it who would not dye to avoid the toyl and vexatious trouble of doing the same thing every day and all the dayes of his life over again Nay 't is unjust to fear Death for if it be good why do we fear it if evil why do we make it worse and add evil to evil Since it is an obligation must be paid the time and place uncertain where it will attend us le ts therefore attend it in all places and be ever ready to receive it 'T is a vain thing then to pretend unwillingness to dye because of thy Youth flower and strength 't is fatal to great and glorious Persons not to live long Great Virtue and long life seldom go together Life is measured by the end and if that be good the quantity adds nothing to its perfection Consider why art thou loath to leave the World Hast thou not seen all One day is like another there is no other light nor other night You see the World is made up only of a company of Fools and Knaves Once in a few years if it be well observed you will find the years fall out the same as formerly the same weather as great Rains as great Frosts as great Droughts as great Plenty as great scarcity as cool Summers as warm Winters 't is but the same over again one year is like another and there is nothing new under the Sun So that he that has lived thirty or five and thirty years shall see as much as if he had lived five and thirty thousand 'T is one and the same Sun the same course of the World If thou leavest Parents and Friends thou art going to more and these shall quickly follow thee If thou leavest small Children what then Are they more thine than Gods Does not he think you love them best that loved them first How many such have come to greater preferment than other men 'T is an excellent thing therefore to be prepared for Death at all times and to end our lives before our Death that our sins may dye before our selves that when we come to dye we may have nothing else to do This is an Honourable Death and becoming a Gentleman This is the true Bed of Honour indeed For to dye well is to dye willingly Against the unlawful rash desire of Death As we should not fear so we should not Desire Death 'T is injustice and to be out of Charity with the World which our lives may benefit 'T is ingratitude to Nature not to prize life and improve it to the best advantage since 't is so freely bestowed on us Yet so as if need be to contemn Death for that 's the way to make thy life free If thou canst not contemn Death thou shalt never perform any glorious Act but rather expose