make waiker the faith of Christe but rather let theim declare in that debate thy vertue or puissaunce sens all violence of euilles whiche be presente are to be had in contempte vppon truste of good thinges whiche shal happen hereafter For excepte warre goo before there maie bee noo victorie But whanne after battaile ioyned there ensueth victorie than to the vainquishours is giuen the garlande Semblablie in a tempest a good maister is knowen and the soudiour in bataile is proued Bostyng out of perill is pleasaunt but resistaunce in aduersitee is the triall of truthe The tre whiche with a deepe roote standethe faste in the grounde is not meued with euery puffe of winde that bloweth Also the ship whiche is well couched togither with a strong frame though she be often hitte with the wawes yet is she not bouged And whan the corne is thresshed in the barne the sounde and stronge graine continueth the windes while the chaffe is blowen aboute with euery light blaste So the Apostle Paule after this wrecke on the sea after his whippinges after sondrie and greuouse tournementes sustayned in his bodie he dothe not saie that he was vexed or tourbled but that by those aduersitees he was amended as he woulde saie that the more gruously that he was troubled the more surely was he than proued There is giuē to me saith he a pricke in my fleshe a messenger of the diuell whiche continually striketh me to the entente that I shall not be extolled in mind Wherfore thryse I desyred god that I mought be therof deliuered And he answered me Content the with my grace For in infirmitee vertue is tried Therfore whan we be vexed either with infirmitee feblenes or any aduersitee than is our vertue proued than our faith if it abide be constant is crowned according as it is writen The fourneis trieth the pottars vessel and temptacion of trouble trieth men that be good Betwene vs christen men and other the onely diuersitee is that they in aduersitee do grutche and complaine And vs Christen people aduersitee maie not cal a waie frome the truthe of vertue and faith but dothe corroborat or strenghte vs in the grefe that wee suffre That the bealye resolued with fluxes expulseth by the bowelles bodiely strength or that the superfluous heat ingendred in the marowe of our bones inflamethe out by blisters in our chekes that our bowels be shaken with continuall vomittes that with abundaunce of bloud our eien do burne in our heades◠that some mens feete and other membres putrifyed bee cutte of or rotted that by losse of membres or other harme taken by sicknes either our going is febled or our hearyng is stopped or our sight is perished all this profiteth to the doctrine of faith And to resiste with the powers of an immonable mynde against soo many assaultes of distruction and deathe what valiantnes of courage is it ye and what honour to stande bolt vp right among the ruines of mankinde and not to lie prostrat with them whiche hope not in god We therfore muste rather reioyce and take in good worth the rewarde of the tyme that while we dooe constantely declare our faithe and by sustainyng of labour do approche vnto Christe by Christes straite passage wee maie receyue by his iudgement the rewarde of life whiche faithe dothe require Let him hardiely feare that not beyng regenerate by water and the hollye goste is committed to the terrible fiers of hell Let him feare that is rekened noo partener of the crosse and passion of Christe Lette hym also feare whiche from this carnal deathe shall passe to the secounde deathe and lette hym feare home ones departed out of this worlde euerlastynge fire shall tourmente with paines continuall Fynally let hym be a ferde vnto whome by longe tariynge here this one thing auaileth that his tourmentes and waillynges bee in the meane tyme put of or differred Many of our numbre do die in this mortalytee that is as who sayth many of our numbre be out of this worlde deliuered Forsoth this mortalitee likewise as to the Iewes and paynims it is a pestilence so to the seruantes of god it is a holsome departynge What if good men without any diuersitie doo die with the euyll men there is noo cause that ye shoulde therfore thinke that death is commune to good men with them that be yll For good men bee called to ioye the euyll men be drawen into paine so suretie to them that beleue well and payne to myscreauntes the soner doth happen Uerely good brethrene wee bee vncurtayse and neglygent hauyng regarde to goddes benefites ne we dooe recognise what is offered vnto vs. Beholde howe virgins bee departed saulfe and in peace with their glory and praise not fearing the thretnynges corruptions nor bordell houses of Antichrist who is nowe commynge Childrene are eskaped the perill of theyr slypper age and haue atteyned happylye to the rewarde of innocencie and pure continence The delicate matrone now feareth noo tourmentes sens with spedye death she hath preuented the feare of persecucion and the hands and tourmentes of cruell tyrantes More ouer by feare of mortalytee and troubles of this time thei whiche were late colde in faith be nowe chaused and warme they whiche were remysse or louse be knitte together and made substanciall thei that were cowardes be quickened in courage The forsakers of their faythe bee compelled to retourne The paynims constrayned to beleue The olde faithfull people be called to quiete And a freshe and great hoste of them whiche became souldiours of Christ in the tyme of mortalitee is assēbled with a more puissaunce to fight without dread whan the batailes is ioined What a thyng is this good frendes how conueniente and necessarie is this pestilence and moraine whiche seming to be monstruous and horrible triethe out the goodnes of dyuers men and examineth the mindes of all men that is to saie whether the hole men do aide them that be sicke If kinsmen be kinde one to an other If the maisters do pitee their fraile and weke seruauntes If phisicions do not abandō their pacientes If thei whiche be cruell will withdrawe their violence If the oppressors and robbers at the lest for feare of death will asswage the insaciable appetite of furiouse auarice If proud men wil stoupe or vnthriftes auale their lewde corage If thei that be riche and shal die without heires of their bodies will any thyng distribute amonge their nedie neighbours And surely althoughe this mortalitee were to nothinge elles profitable yet in this it hath bene aduantage to christen men and them whiche be goddes seruauntes that in learnynge not to feare death we the more willyngely desire martyrdome This to vs is no deathe but an exercise whiche bryngethe to the minde renoume of valiaunte courage and by dispising of deathe prepareth to receiue the garland of victory But parchaunce some man will replie and saie yet not withstandynge this greauethe me in this presente
walke if you will procede in vertue the whiche is onely the thynge that makethe a man both happye in this worlde and also blessed in the worlde to come Beleue you my counsaile and vse the same or elles hereafter you wille paraduenture bewayle your negligence Fare ye well It More a place of my lorde Cardinals in the feast of saincte Bartholomew 1529. FINIS A compendious treatise teachyng the waie of diyng well THey saie it is a point of a proude vanitee or a stubburne foly to kepe sure and certaine what some euer is ones saied always it semeth not to wyse men that a promisse shulde bee sticked by in as muche there maie chaunce greatter causes to breake a promisse than the reasons bee why promisse shoulde be performed As if I haue saied that I will suppe with you hit is not enough to binde me against al chances I maie fall sicke I maie haue at home some necessary impedimeÌ„t the wether maie so fal that it is no goyng out many casualties maie happen that were not in mynde whan suche promysse was made Wherfore wyse men saie in all makyng of promisse there be euer vnderstande some secrete excepcions suche as be these If I can If I maie If it bee conuement If noo greatter cause happen to lette me By the whiche excepcions a promisse neuer bindeth a man further than is accordyng to bee obsâ—rued and kepte ¶ If I thought my frende IohnÌ„ walker that you wolde take mine excuse by the saied excepcions I woulde rather by theim escape my promisse that I haue made to you than I wolde fulfyl it for whan I sodenly agreed to your requeste that was to haue me wryte to you the waie of diyng well I considered not at that time what the thing was After I perceiued more difficultee in it than was mete for my poore wit specially beyng as you maie see me other wyse occupied in suche studies as appertaine to my leisure and of shortely this lesson to lerne the waie of diyng well hath nede to haue a maister the whiche knowethe bothe what our lyfe is and what the losse of the same is Nor no man in my minde can effectuously teache the waie to die wel except he be one that knoweth the waie to liue wel And plainly the mattier requireth a philosophers stomacke and a sadde For suche a one as Marcus Cato was were a man mete to entreate this thyng he knewe what valure laie in deathe the whiche he soughte bothe with sworde and his nayles tearyng â—ut his owne bowelles ¶ I wolde thynke a Catulus or a Mercula shoulde speake lustely to you of deathe seynge they shewed theyr couragious herte nothing to esteme lyfe whan the tyme required either to die with honour or to liue with shame These men and suche other woulde shewe you the waie to go to deathe longe before deathe came to you But none of all the painymes canne either with worde or with ensaumples of their actes declare this thyng soo truely and effectually as maie he that is exercised in Christes philosophie a Paule or a Peter or a Hierom shulde here in speake more lyuely than all the subtylle clerkes of the olde grekes Yet to me for my part it is an harde thyng either to plaie with you one of this sort or of that sort It passeth my power to speake to you either like Socrates or like Chrisostome So that if the saied excepcions bee with you admitted in a promisse makyng I maie truely denie you the performaunce of my grauntyng in as muche whan I promised you this thyng there was vnderstanded if I could and if it were conuenient I nother can wel declare this waie of diyng nor yet me thynke it is not conuenient for me liuing in this coÌ„mon course of the worldely folke to speake of deth so ernestly as a monke of the Charter house shoulde and myght dooe But bycause I knowe your importune desire to be so set vpon this thing that nedes you wil haue me saie somewhat herein I will praie you so to reade me as the tale not onely to bee wrytten of me for you but that I my selfe am also an auditour of the same and as muche shal I enforce to folow the couÌ„saile that in my saiynge I aduise you as thoughe the holle woorke pertained onely to my selfe wherin take this note for your comfortes that I write nothyng to you that I wyshe not were in my owne power to execute Thus I with you and you with me bothe of vs fast yoked to gethers let vs endeuour our selfes to be in dede suche men as we commende and praise For as it is shame to speake one thyng and to thynke an other soo it is a more shame to write holyly and to lyue worldly And as great a rebuke there is in hym that can here and praise good saiynges but doo there after he will not Nowe than let vs not speake onely of the waie to die well but in effecte lette vs indeuer our mindes to haue the frute of this lesson to make in dede a good ende of our lyfe And here nowe without any further proces I will begin to paie you my dette and shortelye you shall knowe my minde howe you maie die well ¶ As I was bethynkyng me to write some thing of this mattier to the satisfiynge of your desire I tourned a boke where my memorie gâ—ue me to bee a storie of one called Caniuâ— that lyued vnder the tyraun Caligula Cesar. This Canius beside his hye learnynge was a man of a greatte spirite the whiche he wâ—ll declared in the maner of taking his death It chaunced hym to faile out for a certaine cause with the saied tiraunte and many sore woordes were betwene theim at the laste whan the tone was departyng frome the tother this emperour in his fiers â—re said well thou foole make mery if thou wilte for I haue pointed the within fewe daies to be â—â—ame Therat Canius turned him with low courtesy and saied My mooste gentill prynce I hertely thanke you ¶ This answere came from a noble stomacke whereby he shewed the madde rages of the cruell tyraunt to be soo farre intollerable that vnder hym deathe was to be reckened for a benefit and a good tourne wherfore he thanked hym for his offer as for a specially rewarde And great maruaile men had to beholde this Philosopher howe merie he was after this tyrantes thretenyng There were .x. daies gyuen of respite before he shoulde die the whiche tyme he soo passed that he neuer semed to be in lesse care nor to haue his mynde in better quietnes ¶ Whan the daie came of execucion the kynges geyler and hangman wente about the towne with a great company of them that shuld suffer deathe the whiche passinge by this Canius house they called hym to bee broughte also forthe amongeste the other at the whiche tyme Canius was plaiyng at the chestes with one of his companyons and hearing them make hast he rose and
conceiueth by the riddaunce of the soule from the heauy burden of this bodie ¶ Of these contrarye opinyons you shall lesse maruaile whan we haue a littell considered the thyng it selfe what shoulde be death the whiche one parte of vs soo muche feareth and an other sort setteth so littel by the same and so by a short processe you shall see whether the saied Canius bee more woorthy of praise for his littell regardyng the deadly punishement than is frances Philip that within fewe yeres passed was put to execucion with vs for treason the whiche died soo cowardely in soo great panges of feare that he semed extracte from his wittes scant for quakyng and trimbling the wreche could speake one worde The fewe wordes that he coulde with muche stutterynge sounde were onely in the declaracion of his dispraieâ— nor nothynge was sene nor harde of hym but weâ—yng lamentyng wryngyng of his handes with banninge the houre and daie of his byrthe continually sighing as though his hert shuld haue burste for sorowe The difference of these affectes wil here after be I thynke plainer to you whan we haue a littel more spoken in this mattier For nowe good JohnÌ„ I will crepe a littel nygher to your desyre the which you haue of learnyng the waie to die well ¶ THIS DIYNGE well is in effecte to die gladly For who soo euer dieth gladlie he departeth froÌ„ this lyfe in a sure hope to lyue againe beynge nowe wery of this worlde but nother this hope of the lyfe to come nor this werynes of the lyfe presente can make in any man a glad herte to die Oneles he be one that hath lyued well here For in deathe there can be no gladnes excepte there bee a fulle truste of opteyning the rewarde of vertue partely by the truste and faith of a good mynde partely by the mercie of god that fulfilleth euer our insufficiencie yf we bryng ought with vs woorthy of his fauour For goddis grace supplieth where our power lacketh if it soo bee that our soules appere before hym in an apparelle mete for his presence the whiche apparell requireth a perfecte faith and an ernest will of doing well all though we haue not alwaie done wel The mercie of god neuer failethe hym that fully trusteth in it But a ful truste canne not bee withoute the strength of charitee the whiche euer burneth in the loue of doynge good and faith can not be perfect oneles there bee good workes the whiche maie stur vp and quycken in vs faithe to take a beeleue that by Christis actes our final demerites maie grow to be perfect Thus a cherefull hert be sette with faith hope and charitee taketh no pensifulnes in the remembraunce of death but rather it reioyseth to remembre that by death it shall passe to lyfe neuer more to die Wherfore to die well euer is to die gladly either to be ridde from the bondes of this prison or to optaine the lybertee of heauen bothe waies commeth from a good lyfe passed so that surely no man can die well that lyueth not well for euer death is a sorowfull thyng to the euyl lyuer bycause he hath nothing to lay before the mercie of god whervpon he maie take hope and truste to be made worthy of the sure lyfe in the whiche deathe medleth not Nowe than yf we can gether what maie let vs to be gladde of deathe and what wyll bring vs to a desire of diyng gladdely we shall by the same picke out the waie to die well For in my minde these .ii. be alwais one to die well and to die gladly ¶ The glad desire of diyng is letted cheifely by two thynges one by the feare of death the tother by the loue of this lyfe The tone of these foloweth the tother For he that loueth this lyfe feareth to die and he that feareth to die loueth this lyfe Yet we maie speake of eche parte by him selfe and fyrste let vs assaie the greatteste the whiche is the feare of death than next after we will come to the tother the whiche is the loue of this life If these two blockes bee taken out of our stomackes we shall fynde an easy and a plaine waâ— to the ende of our purpose For who someuer nother feareth to die nor loueth to tarie in this lyfe he is redie alwaie to die gladly But to performe my promisse let me saie some what of the saied feare and loue ¶ Fyrste and cheifely the feare of death taketh awaie all gladnes of diyng and therby after myne opinion no man that dieth fearefully can die well soo that to learne the waie of diyng well we must learne the waie to die without feare And yet how I shulde proue that death is not to be feared I can not well tel seyng the hole power of nature sheweth that of all thynges death is most fearefull and to reason againste nature it were paraduenture not soo harde as vaine For what can reason preuaile if nature resistâ— It is a thing to farre aboue mans power to striue or to wrastell with nature hir strengthe passeth the myght of our will what helpe some euer we take of reason or of auctoritee nother counsaile nor coÌ„maundment hath place where nature dothe hir vtter mooste It is none excuâ—e to saie that men feare death bycause they be loth to leaue the commoditees of this lyfe or bycause they feare the thretenynges of purgatorie and of hell or elles bycause they thynke vpon the sore peynefull panges the whiche be in the tyme of death Naie these thinges make not cheifely the feare of diyng it maie well be that of suche thynges the feare is increased and made more ful but there is a feare before and beside all these thinges the whiche feare nature I saie giueth as it is well sene in yong children that haue no remembraunce nother of this life nor of the dedely panges nor of heauen purgatorie or helle Whan we in sporte threten to caste theim headling out at some hye windowe they quake trimble and waxe pale shewynge plaine and euident tokens of a naturall feare towarde deathe And thoughe by learnyng or by a curragious minde somme few amongest vs seme lyttell or nothyng to be moued with deathe yet the ensaumple of these fewe can not take awaie the trouth that nature in all the reste worketh For howe many be there that onely to eschew death suffre al wretchednes al beggarie all peyne in pycking vp crommes of nourisshement to abide a while in this lyght And the more shamfully that men for the moste parte feare to die the greater proffe there is that suche extreme poyntes of feare against all shame shulde not in soo many daiely appere whan death approcheth onles by nature some iuste feare were of the same For as the exceasse of feare cometh by weakenes of herte and lacke of stomacke the whiche is worthy to be rebuked for shamefull cowardnes so there is a meane measure of feare nâ— death
not death And surely it shoulde not be the naturall ende of mans course in this life if it were a thing by it selfe naught For euill magrie mans heade is neuer put to him as it shuld be yf death were euyll the whiche necessariely man is constrained to suffer Therfore it semeth true that deathe considered alone by it selfe is nother good nor euill But whan we here of diyng wel or diyng euil or of a good deathe or an euill deathe it is not deathe by it selfe that is spoken of but rather the circumstances the maner the facion the cause of deth or that goeth before death or that foloweth death These be the thinges that gyuethe and takethe this name of goodnes or euilnes As to saie that deathe is good bycause it endeth this sinneful life and is the meane to passe from this worlde to heauen or els whan we saie that Iudas died an euil death it is not ment that the departing of Iudas soule from the bodie was euill but the maner of his diyng was the euill thyng his cursed desperacion his dampnable mistrust of goddis mercy his dispitful refusing grace made his death euil The two theues he at the ryght hande and he at the lefte bothe died one kinde of death both nailed to crosses bothe woorthy for their trespasses yet it is trouthe that the tone died well in a good deathe the tother died naughte in an euill deathe not for the deathe by it selfe wherin was no difference but for the diuersitee of their .ii. mindes in takynge of death The tone repented him and asked mercie wherof he died graciouslye the tother continued in his blaspheming god the whiche stubburne stomacke in sinne caused him to die vngraciously It is a thing that foloweth death and is not in deathe it selfe whervpon we loke whan we iudge to bee a good ende or an euil For by the maner of him that dieth we coniecture the state and condicion of the soule the whiche if we finde in our fantasie to be in an euill case as in the daunger of goddes curse we calle deathe euil wherby the soule passed to com to suche sorowe And contrarie if we thinke the soule to be in the fauour of god or to bee redie to take mercie we call death good the whiche conueied the soule to his blys So that by it self death remaineth indifferent to be iudged of diuers consideracions other a good ende or an euill ende ¶ Now than we maie here saie he that feareth deathe shewethe him selfe to bee in doubte of his soules state or els to be certaine that his soule is in goddis curse The whiche fearefull minde is in them that haue soo passed this presente life that either thei haue doen nothing wherby thei maie hope to be rewarded in heauen or els thei haue done so vngraciously that thei can haue no trust of escaping damnable punishement specially if he be a christened man For if he bee not christened and feareth to die he declareth him selfe to haue none higher thoughte of lyfe than the dumbe beastes haue the whiche make by the lawe of nature so much of their lifes that they can minde nothing beside and the losse of their bloud maketh with theim an hole conclusion of their beyng Wherfore beastes mai iustly fle and feare death as the worste thinge that can happen to their state but a man doth hym selfe to muche wronge if he thinke hym selfe in no better condicion than be these beastes It is not in the diuels power to doo man soo great hurte as this false imaginacion dothe And surely vnworthy he is to haue in hym the power of vnderstanding of thinking of prouiding of learning of teaching of diuisyng of remembrynge of louing of hatyng of reasoning of counsailing of infinite mo giftes who some euer iudgeth him selfe to haue noo more than a swyne or an ape hath Loke as by the fiue wittes the bodie knoweth this or that soo by these powers of minde the soule walketh to his vnderstanding and of an heauenly mattier is made this maruailous thinge that dwelleth in mans bodie for a time to be made worthy other of euerlastyng lyfe or of euerlastinge death for the damned soule lyueth in death without ende ¶ But yet what shal we saie to the place we lefte before that naturally deathe is feared Lette it bee the woorkyng of nature yet I see not but the strength of mans mind fully fastened in faithe maie victoriously ouer come all this feare as we finde many ensamples of men that so haue done not only of them that haue bene helped with faith but also of many paynymes the whiche toke a courage to dispyse death onely of a mightie and valiant minde to haue reason subdue in theim the power of all affectes ¶ I finde a lerned painime wrote that we shoulde nother care for life by it selfe nor yet for deathe by it selfe He saith that we shulde care to liue well and to die well and let life and deathe passe without care For life is not good but to liue wel is good ¶ If painymes haue this righte consideracion of life and of death what shame is it for Christened meÌ„ to care for deathe seeyng Christe whose wordes can not but be true soo vehemently forbyddeth vs the same that painimes sawe by reason to be done Againe seyng this death is so common a thyng daiely in our sight why shoulde we feare it Thynges that sildome chaunce mai stur vp by their raâ—enes great fere thinges that be euer at hande shuld by their familiaritee and custome nousell vs to sette littell by them Furthermore he that feareth death comyng to hym wolde feare by lykelyhode death if it coulde be with hym whan deathe is suche a thing that other it is not yet come or els it is paste For noo man can saie that death is present So this feare can neuer be ioyned with the thing that is feared Againe that thyng that euery man maie do no man lightly dothe that thyng that no man can helpe him selfe in that for the moste parte all men do No man almost studieth or careth how well he maie liue but howe longe he maie liue euerye man musethe whan the trouthe is that it might of all men be optained to liue wel and noo man can further him selfe to liue longe A like frowardenes is in our remembraunce of deathe we busilye labour and enforce to dreame of deathe the whiche thing we can not do we might finde the waie to die well and this thing we will not do This madnes JohnÌ„ I trust you will put of and feare not deathe the whiche you can not escape But feare an euill death the whiche you maie flee ¶ Amonge many commoditees of death I reken one cheifely to be set by that it is good to die well to escape therby the occasion of liuinge euill and surely he dieth well that for suche an intente taketh deathe gladdely ¶ More ouer consider you well and
their passions waxed more gloryous And the Iewes hauing their teÌ„ple theyr sacrifices the boke written with the haÌ„d of god hauing also Cherubin their holy and secreate place of praiers and al other thinges mete for their daily sacrifices and hauing the prophetes some departed some yet aliue the which in structed theim in their present maners shewed what god did continually for them and what he had in times past done what he did for them in Egipte what in the wildernes and what also god did for theÌ„ whan they came into the place promissed to them Yet al this not with standyng they not onely nothyng proceded in grace and vertu but also in appetual witnes of their own mischiefe and vngraciousnes they set vp in their churche ydols and images of faulse goddes sacrifyynge to the same bothe their owne sons and daughters Thus they did in theyr temple and also in other places in woddes and mountains but these saied thre children in a straunge countrey in the handes of their ennemies vnder the power of a cruell tiranne throwen into the fire bee nothynge hurted and not onely that but also take thereof greate honour and glorye Nowe than to make an ende wee knowing and gathering these maner of exaumples out of the hollye scripture where be many mo that make to this purpose if a man will seke there so that diuersly we may see some without all constrainte without all necessitee without any cause to bee againste theim selfe and take sore hurte some other hauing all the worlde against theim to be stedfaste in their righte waie and not able to be neuer so littel remoued frome theyr vertue Thus whan we euidently knowe and see we shoulde without all doubtynge conclude with our selfe that if any man be hurted he is hurted of him selfe although the numbre of theim that do hurte bee infinite although all in a plumpe that dwell other in the earthe or in the sea wolde agre to hurt yet they can not in no smal point hurt him that is not hurted of hym selfe With this we began and with this wee make here an ende FINIS The preface To my right worshipfull suster dame Suzan Kyngestone THe circumspecte persone whiche is accustomed one tyme in the yere to bee vexed with feuer Catarre or lyke syckenes preuenteth that tyme by expulsing the matter whiche moughte bee occasion of suche disseases and studiethe to reduce the bodie into suche temperaunce and soo to preserue it as the saied mattier shall not bee augmented wherby moughte ensue any detriment Like industrie or rather muche more oughte to be vsed good Suster of euery reasonable creature as well against the moste certaine sickenes and finall dissolucion of nature called corporal death as also against all worldly vexacions and troubles called the toyes of fortune or the crankes of the worlde consideryng that of any of theim neither the time can bee knowen whan they shall happen nor assured remedye maie bee founden for to repell them onely a pure and constaunte faithe hauynge therto ioyned wisedom and pacience may sustaine their assaultes and strongly resiste theim As it is excellently declared and taughte by the holly doctour and martyr saincte Cyprian in a sermon whiche he made to the people of Affrica where he was Byshoppe in the time whan there was continuall persecucion of painims and also mortalitee by generalle pestilence Whiche sermone whan I had ones perused in readyng I liked so well that I desired that all other persons mought vnderstande it Remembring that many there bee whiche I doubte not are as neigligent as I in consideryng those sondrie calamitees not withstandynge that they haue beholden men and women of euery astate whiche haue died eyther before that they loked for death or in some other wise than they vouched saulfe orels for saken of fortune haue liued in pouerty Wherfore as wel for their instruction as mine howe we maie be alwaie prepared againste those naturall and worldly afflictions I haue traunslated this littell boke not supersticiously folowing the letter whiche is verely elegant and therfore the harder to traunslate in to oure langage but kepyng the sentence and entent of the Auctour I haue attemted not with litel study to reduce into englishe the right phrase or fourme of speaking vsed in this treatise whiche I haue dedycate and sent vnto you for a tâ—ken that ye shall perceiue that I do not forget you and that I do vnfainedly loue you not onely for our allyance but also muche more for your perseueraunce in vertue and workes of true faithe praiyng you to communicate it with oure two susters religious Dorothe and Alianour and to ioyne in your praiers to god for me that I maie be constant in his seruice and performe well suche other workes as bene in my handes onely to his honourâ— and glorie ¶ I haue added hereto a litel treatise but wonderfull fruitful made by the vertuous and noble prince IohnÌ„ Picus Erle of Mirandula who in abundaunce of learnynge and grace incomparablie excelled all other in his time sens Whose picture I wolde to god were in all noble mens Chambers and his grace and vertues in theyr soules and maners Hertely fare ye well It London the firste day of Iuly the yere of our lorde god 1534. ¶ The sermon of holy sainct Cyprian of mortalitee of man Ryght well beloued frendes all bee it that many of you haue your myndes entier and perfecte the faith stable and the soule deuoute not beyng meued with the hugenes of this present mortalitee but lyke to a puissant and stedfast rocke rather doo breake the troublous assaultes of this worlde and the violente floudes of this present tyme the soule hir selfe not beyng broken ne ouercome with anye temptacions but onely proued Neuerthelesse for as muche as I do consider to be in the multitude diuers whiche either bee weakenes of courage or by smalnes of faith or by swetenes of the life of this world or by the delicatenes of their kynde or that whiche is a more heuie thing being deceiued in the opinion of truthe do not stande faste ne set forthe the diuine and inuincible mighte of their stomackes I mought no lenger dissemble that matter ne retaine it in silence but that as farre forthe as the meanes of my learning or wit moughte extende I wolde declare the doctrine of Christe by a sermon conceiued and lifelye expressed to the entent that the slouthe and dulnes of delicate mindes moughte be refourmed And also that he whiche hath all redie professed to be the seruante of Christe maie hereafter bee demed woorthy of Christe and therto accepted Uerely good frendes he that fyghteth for god and beyng in the celestial campe dothe hope on thynges that bee Godly ought to knowe well hym selfe to the intent that in the tempestes and stormes of this worlde there be in vs no dred or fearefulnes sens almightee god hathe afore warned that suche thynges shulde happen Instructyng and teachynge vs
the face of god And this is the conclusyon of the passionat soule that lieth in the fetters of fylthye â—â—â—tes without reste drawen nowe hyther nowe thyther in a continuall waueryng of vayne fantasies But on the other syde the quycke lyuyng soule that quietly resteth in the loue of god dryueth frome hym by the power of grace wherwith he is indued all these vnquiete passions If he stande in feare to be moued with vncomely appetytes he fasteth he watcheth he laboreth The man I saie or woman dothe this in whome suche a blessed soule beareth rule Lyke wise against anger wrath and vayne glorie he settethe atte naught bothe honour and dyshonour shame sclaunder and worshyppe in this worlde bee nothyng in his reputacion Against remembraunce of displeasures he praieth for his euyll wyllers Suche a maner charitie teacheth and courageth this blessed soule to bee occupied in the mainteinyng and defendyng the myndes quietnesse a thynge aboue all thynges in this worlde to be kepte warely The rest that aungels in heauen haue is none other but this not to be moued nor sturred with these passions of louyng of hating of beyng pleased of beyng diseased of trustyng of lusting of abhorring of couetyng of refusyng of reioysyng of lamentyng and of innumerable such other that scourgeth and whippeth mans minde by reason of the corrupte affection and loue that he beareth in his ytching bodie a loue mooste contrarye to charitie the whiche hath as muche ease as that hath trouble You shall here a lesson of our mayster Christ the auctour and preacher of charitie He aduysethe counsaileth and commaundeth me if I be his disciple not to resist ageinst euill to offre my lefte cheke to him that hathe bee blowed me on the righte to leaue my gowne to hym that hath taken from me my cote to walke two miles with hym that hath vexed me and compelled me to walke one myle The forme of this lesson that Christe here gyueth is to enstructe and warne all christen men to regarde nothynge of the bodye or of the worlde aboue the rest and quietnesse of the mynde but that we shoulde suffre the losse of our goodes with the hurte ye with the deathe of our bodies rather then we shulde lose any smalle porcion of charitie to bee moued with any passion of minde wherby our loue towarde god myght decaie It is not possible after Christes doctrine to take in this worlde by any kynde of vyolence soo greatte domage or hurte in bodye or goodes as is the least drope of trouble in the mynde where no tyrant nor the deuyll hym selfe hath any dominion For there onely ruleth our owne free wyll soo that if we will disordre our mynde with any passion we be to our selfe more violente and cruell than the deuyll can be Wherfore my good syster let vs beleue our maister Christe and to the deathe lette vs neuer breake peace with god For if we do fare well all reste We breake peace with god when we tourne vs for any cause to the care of this lyfe If you fele your selfe inordynatly moued with displeasante woordes with angry countenaunces with euyll reportes with dyspraises with rebukes with fals sclander with vntrue complaintes beware syster for surely you be not in charitie with god If you mumble vpon coniectours if you fede vpon suspicions if you gnawe vpon shrewde tales if you delyte to gyue taunte for taunte beware agayne good syster for withoute doubte god and you betwayne And if you beleue the sonne of god your selfe with your owne will do more then any fierce prynce ouer you coulde dooe all thoughe he brought you to extreme wretchednes and at the laste to the deathe tourmented your body It is with out comparison worse to bee sette with these passions than it is to suffre the panges of death But at this pointe peraduenture you will saie and aske me whether we shuld forsake al the commodities of this worlde whether we shulde make no force to gette suche thynges as kepeth vp the welthe of our bodie whether we shulde vtterly refuse all thynges ordeyned for this lyfe whether we shoulde be cleane careles of good name No no syster not soo Holly scripture forbeadeth vs nothynge that is for vse or profyte as by Chrystes lawe it is not forbyd to eate to drynke to haue and gette wherwith suche sustinaunce maie bee mainteyned to gette chyldren to haue money to haue possessions to bee in honour to bee regarded but the worde of god suffrethe not glottony and a delyte in the belye cheare nor lechery and an vnlauful pleasure in bodylye lustes nor couetousnesse nor a gredye desyre to be ryche not vaynglory and a proude desyre to be magnified Lykewise the commaundemente of god forbeadeth vs not the thynkynge of these and of suche other thynges but it is playne contrarye to the wylle of god that we shoulde with any great intencion solicitude or carefulnesse of mynde prosecute these bodyly necessities And in the hauynge of the goodes promocions and honours we maie not iudge to be any hygher at all then is to haue thynges for mans necessitie So that towarde theim we maie not beare any maner of loue or affection but only we must with suche a mynde take theym to help forthe this lyfe as the craftes men take the instrumentes and toles to helpe theyr handye woorkes that in the hauynge of ryches our mynde considre nothyng but a plentie of thynges apperteinyng to our vse and necessytyes And thus we maie bothe for our selfe and for our neyghbours bethynke vs well howe we shall lyue but it maie be noo care nor yet any erneste studye least therby our charitie with god be dimynysshed For holde faste my syster in your remembrance that to haue and kepe charitie with god is to loue God with your holle herte with your hole mynde with your hole power If any smalle parte of your herte or of your mynde or of your wit be bestowed in any affection or loue towarde this life ye mynishe the perfection of your charitie with god the which requireth of you all and hole to be withoute a felowe by hym selfe alone loued You maie right well syster putte youre mynde and witte to gette these thynges that mainteyne this lyfe but it muste be done without all loue and affection there maie bee no parte of loue spente in suche matters for your mynde can not with any loue and affect labour to get and to holde this worldly commodities but in the meane season your charitie with god is greatly decayed and welnyghe broken Also you betray your selfe to mystruste the promission of god with the whiche mistruste god is moste displeased For there be three causes noted that shulde chiefly moue mens mindes to desyre these worldelye goodes One is the loue of welthe case myrthe and pleasure An other loue of worshyppe honour and glorye the thyrde the doubtefulnes and mystruste of lyuyng here the whiche mystrust I saie is worste of
of god Do neuer that thinge wherin you feare goddes displeasure ¶ More particularly in wrytynges you shall learne this lesson if you wolde some tyme take in your handes the Newe testamente and reade it with a due reuerence For I wolde not haue you in that boke forget with whome you talke It is god that there speketh it is you a poore creature of god that readethe Consider the matche and meke downe youre wittes Presume not in no case to thynke that there you vnderstand ought leaue deuisyng thervpon submit your selfe to the exposicions of holy doctours and euer conforme your consent to agre with Christis churche This is the sureste waie that you can take both before god and man Your obedience to the vniuersalle â—aithe shall excuse you before god althoughe it might bee in a faulse belefe and the same obedience shal also keepe you oute of trouble in this worlde where you see howe folisshe medlars be daiely sore punisshed bothe to their owne vndoyng and also to their great sorowe and lamentyng of their louers and frendes Surely the trouth is as I haue saied that it is your parte to obey and to folowe the churche so that bothe for your soules sake and for your bodily quietnes with the comforte of your frendes I exhorte you to meddle in no poynt of your faith otherwise than the churche shall instructe and teache you In the whiche obedience reade for you increase in vertue the storie of our maister Christe that lyuely expresseth the hole course of a vertuous life And there you shall here the holy goost commaunde you to seke first afore al thinges the king dome of heauen and than saieth the spirite of god all other thynges appertaining to the bodie and worlde shall by theim selfe folowe without your care ¶ In readynge the gosples I woulde you had at hande Chrisostome and Ierom by whome you might surely be broughte to a perfecte vnderstandynge of the texte And hereafter at leysure I wolde you reade the Ethikes of Aristotell either vnder some experte philosopher or elles with comment of Futtiracius And let Plato be familiar with you speacially in the bokes that he writeth De re puâ—ica Also you shall fynde muche for your knowladg in the morall philosophie of Cicero as in his bokes De officns de senectute de Fato de Finibus de Achademicis questio de Thusse Speacially reade with diligence the workes of Seneca of whom ye shall learne as muche of vertue as mans witte can teache you These workes I thinke sufficient to shewe you what is vertue and what is vice and by readyng of these you shall growe into a highe courage to ryse in a iudgement aboue the common sorte to esteme this worlde accordynge to his worthines that is farre vnder the dignitie of the vertues the whiche the mynde of man conceiuethe and reioyseth in these bokes shall lyfte you vp from the claie of this erthe and set you in a hyll of highe contemplacion from whens you shall loke downe and despise the vanitee that folysshe men take in the deceitfull pompe of this shorte and wretched lyfe Mo bokes I will not aduise you for your soules studie to reade than these excepte it be Enchiridion that Erasmus writethe a worke doubtles that in fewe leaues conteineth an infinite knowladge of goodnesse Thynke not my good Edmonde that I ouercharge youe For I knowe what pleasure you haue in readyng and in better bokes you can not bestow your pleasure than in these the whiche bee in noumbre but fewe and yet they shall do you more good than the readyng here and there of many other I wold to Iesus I had in your age folowed lyke counsaile in readyng onely these workes the whiche nowe at last by a great losse of time in readyng of other I haue chosen out for my purpose to refresshe with theym the reste of my life And I counsaile you nowe to beginne to do the same whan time and conueniente leisure shall bee gyuen you to reade any boke ¶ The seconde care is for the Bodie the whiche you muste cherisshe as muche as maie stande with the seruice of your fourmer thoughte and studie for your cheife treasure Haue a respecte to kepe your bodie in good helth the whiche resteth in the ayre and in your diete Abide not where corrupcion or infection is Eate not nor drynke not out of tyme or measure nor yet of suche meates and drinkes as be more delicate and pleasant than holsome Knowe the measure of youre stomacke before you ouerlade your bealy Choke not your appetite but fede your hunger Drowne not your lust but quenche your thirst and euer for your soules sake kepe you from gluttonie Faste sometime bothe for deuocion and also for your helth Slepe rather to lytell than to muche as muche as you take from slepe so muche you adde to your life For slepe is death for the time Exercise you continually for in labour your bodie shal finde strength and lustines is gotten by the vse of your lymmes Let neuer the son ryse before you you shall haue to all your affaires the lenger daie and euer for your soules sake flee from idelnes the whiche is not onely in hym that dothe nothing but also in hym that doth not well and idell you bee whan you be not well occupied Be temperate in your lustes touchynge the bodily pleasure the time shall not be longe tyll your frendes by goddis grace wyll prouide you of an honest mate In the meane season lette the feare and loue of god kepe you in chastitee the whiche apperteineth to your cheife careâ— for nedes you muste so doo seinge that otherwise lechery shal sore defoyle your soule the whiche you must regarde before the bodies appetite For this parte I wolde you reade as your leisure shall bee a littell worke of Galen De bona valetudine tuenda And in the workes afore named you shall finde many thynges that shall instructe you well for this parte also and lyke wyse for the thyrde the which third euer hath occupied mens stomackes more than either the first or the seconde Wherfore as well in holy scripture as in the other philosophers and speacially in Seneca you shall finde many lessons that appertein to the thirde care This third care is for the goodes in this worlde In this parte I can gyue you smalle aduise of my selfe bycause I haue had but small experience herein yet euer I see that you maie not in the studie of gettynge these goodes leaue or slacke the cheife care for the first thyng nor yet the secondarie care for the bodie Labour you must for your lyuing in a due order as in the thirde degre of your thinges If matens masse or a sermon bee to bee harde set your marchaundise aparte for the season and prefer the matens of your
telled his men saiyng to his companion Loke now that after my deathe you lye not nor make noo faulse crakes that you haue won this game There with also he bekenyd to the geyler and saied I praie you beare witnes that I haue one man in this game more than my felowe hath ¶ In this wyse this philosopher plaied with death and shortly his quiete herte gaue a fouie checke mate to the tyrauntes crueltie he shewed hym selfe to be in spirite as farte aboue all kinges violent power as these mighty prynces think to haue a stronge dominyon ouer all theyr subiectes The frendes and familiars of this philosopher were veraie sorowfull bewailyng the losse of suche a man to whome what meane you quoth he why be you sad why mourne you for me Is hit not youre studye to knowe whether the soule of man be mortal or immortal The trouth of this harde question I now shall learne and nowe shall I see the trouth of all our doubtes of heuen and of god ¶ Thus talking with his frendes he came to the place of execucion and there a lyttell whyleste other were headded he stode styl in a musyng dumpte What thynke you nowe good Canius quoth one of his frendes Where vppon nowe muse you so ernestly Mary quoth he I haue determined with my self to marke wel whether in this short pange of death my soule shall perceiue and feele that he goeth out of my bodie This pointe I fully entende to take hede of and if I can I will surely brynge you and the rest of my felowes worde what I felte and what is the state of our soules ¶ Here was a wonderfull caulme stomacke in the middest of soo stormye a tempest this mans mynde was worthy of an euer lasting life that was not only to the death studious of knowladg but also in the selfe death founde occasion of learnyng It was not possible for any mans minde to continue his studie longer or to a further pointe than this noble philosopher dyd ¶ This storie and certaine other like maken me often to reson with my selfe what a strength of knowladge is in mans braine to serche and to finde by hym selfe the truth if he enforce his wittes to learne For this Canius and many other were not taught of Christe as we nowe be they had not the rules of faith the which shewe the vndoubtfulle waie to come to the perfytte knowladge of all priuie misteries they were not comforted with the preachyng of goddis son to set lyttell by this life as we now be Thei wer not plucked to conceiue a loue of vertue aboue nature as the holy scripture draweth vs from this world to the beholding of an other place where vertue receiuethe hic crowne Wherfore to me it is noo smalle cause of maruailyng whan I here suche ensaumples of naturall men that by them selfe coulde in suche a maner ryse aboue theyr nature in settynge lyttell by that thyng that naturally euery creature mooste abhorreth and feareth for deathe is the thing that in this worlde by nature is made mooste doubtfull most terrible most heynous and moste worthy to be feared to be eschewed and by all meanes waies gynnes or craft to be escaped To here than a naturall man without the teachyng of god to ryse vp in his phantasie aboue nature to iudge of deathe farre other wise then nature teacheth him to dispise the duraunce in this lyfe whan he knoweth no certainetie of none other world to vse the streÌ„gth and myghte of the spirite againste the puisant power of all tyrantes It semethe to me a wonderfulle thynge and more wonderfull the same shulde be if I sawe not written in holi scripture how that from the fyrste creacion of Adam the goodnes of god hath bene so great towarde mankynde that he hathe gyuen vs alwaie sufficiente grace to knowe the righte to see the hye maiestee of vertue to finde out the true dignitee of the soule to perceiue the vanite of this present life and fynally to vnderstande where in standethe the pleasure of god and wherein standeth his displeasure Euer by goddis mere goodnes man knewe what was well to bee done and what was contrarie yuell to be done It is a lawe written in the herte of man with the finger of god in our creacion to be enduced by reasonne to praise alwaie vertue and to thinke synne woorthy of dispraise The minde of man hath a grace to se further than the bodye syghte can attaine to the mynde of man feleth more subtilly than our fyue wittes can aproche to the losse of bloudde or of brethe is a smal trifull in the mindes consideracion whan the mynde vsethe his owne cleare sighte and is not blynded with the darkenesse of the bodie the whiche stombleth at euerie strawe in this worlde Euery mote choketh a worldely man Euerie littel sounde maketh a worldly man trimble and shake I call a worldely man him that giueth al â—is care to vse his wittes in this worlde that creapeth vppon suche thynges as be lene harde felte tasted and sinelte that clymeth not in no consideracion aboue the mist of this valey The moste parte of men euer haue bene of this weake sorte and yet styll the moste part of men is the same This worlde euer hath his multitude that honoureth worshyppeth and magnifieth nothyng beside this shorte life and those thynges that pertaine to this life Yet againe euer hath there bene some and styll there bee some that playe the philosophers the whiche studied to know the dignities and woorthynesses of euerye thing howe muche it shuld be estemed valuied or regarded of vs the whiche laboreth to picke out in euerye thynge what is good and what is naught Men of this sorte be called spirituall men For you must know that a taillour a shomaker a carpenter a bote man without both lernyng and orders maie be spirituall whan a maister of arte a doctour of diuinitee a deanâ— a bishop both with his cunning and dignities maie be temporall seyng the true diffinicion of a spiritual man is to be one in whom the mynde and spirite cheifelye ruleth Like wise the temporall man is he in whom this present time of this traunsitorie lyfe hath mooste rome Thus I saie spirituall men haue euer sene the trouth to ponder and valure euery thyng in this worlde accordingly And as to the temporall mynde nothyng semeth sweter than to lyue here so the spirituall minde fyndeth swetenes in deathe by the whiche this lyfe endeth For lyke as the prince of this world neuer agreeth with god nor yet the bodie with the soule nor the erthe with heauen soo he that studieth for this time hath cleane contrarie opinions to him that foloweth the spirite And as the temporall man saieth it is a pleasaunte thynge to lyue here and a bytter thyng it is to die so the spirituall man thynkethe it a better tyme to induce the space of this lyfe and muche ioy he
that maie be reckened honest and iuste bycause nature maketh it necessarie ¶ Loke you howe bothe olde and newe stories kepe in memorie their names that appered to dy without feare as who saie it is to be written for a wonder and lyke to a myracle beynge a thynge beside the course of nature to here of a man that can in death ouercome the passion of feare as we wonder to here of some that lyue withouâ—e sustinaunce of meate or of drinke Bycause I saie it is a naturall thynge to feare deathe we greately maruaile of them that feare it not Yet reason saith we shoulde not feare that thynge the whiche we knowe not and onely euyll is woorthy to be feared But seyng we know not deathâ— we maie wel by reion doubt whether it bee euyll or good And now before we speake any more of feare let vs a littel consider death by it selfe what thyng it is of his owne nature and whether by it self it be good or euyll ¶ We call ones deathe the losyng a sonder and departyng of .ii. thinges the soule frome the bodie the whiche departyng no man can escape but necessarily die al we must that be borne in this worlde Whan the body by any violence loseth his sensis and is spoiled froÌ„ the quicke vse of his principall partes than departeth the soule from hym and in maner the body leueth the soule before the soule leaueth the bodie For it is not the soule by hym selfe that goeth frome the bodie but it is the bodie by his forsakyng lyfe that causethe the soule to departe For where lyfe is not there the soule can not abide and as the bodie is lyuely before the soule entereth so the same bodie is deadly before the soule departeth Bloud in his measure and temperaunce betwene colde and hotte kepeth lyfe in the bodie the whiche bloud by innumerable wais of chances may be altered and constramed to leaue his nourishyng whervpon shal insue the losse of life then streight after foloweth the soules goyng away For well you knowe that the soule is one thyng and life is an other Where so euer the soule is there is life But it is not true that where some euer life is there is the soule For trees and herbes haue a parte of life a more parte of life is in muskelles oysters and wormes yet a more perfecte life is in these beastes and birdesâ— the which haue amongeste theim some more some lesse of lifes perfectnesse But though in them life the whiche resteth in the vse of the sensis that be to here to se to fele to smel to tast and in swifte mouynge is a greate worke of life the which thynges I say though they be in the perfection amongest these beastes yet the hand of god hath not giuen to any creature liuyng in the earth water or ayre to haue besyde life a soule the whiche is a thyng formed after his likenesse sauyng onely to man whom he hathput here to rule ouer thynges created like as he ruleth in heauen ouer all It is the creatours wyll that no thynge in this worlde shal haue a soule but man alone the whiche soule bryngeth with him the vse of reason a thyng that maye teache vs bothe that we haue a soule and that god is he the whiche hath thus made vs to be in this worlde his cheife and most excellent creature Reason doth thus teache vs yet beside reason we be herein better instructed by our master the sonne of god so that nowe we can not doubte that in vs is a thyng the whiche can not die But of suietie we euidently se not only by reason but muche better by belefe that the ymage of god in vs is perpetual and can not fele any corruption onelesse suche as our frowarde will maie giue wherof groweth syn that is the lyuyng death of the soule But lette vs come to our mattier ¶ To speake of this bodily deathe we now haue a great fordel in comparison of some olde clerkes that were in doubte whether there was in man any soule beside lyfe more than is in an horse or a gose They were in doubte whether any thyng of man remayned after death that myghte feele or perceiue eyther ioy or peyne For as to the faynynge poetes that spake of delicious gardeynes for good spirites and of diuers soore turmentes for vngracious sowles after this life mooste parte of olde clerkes gaue no maner of credence and they that beleued other an heauen or an hell to bee ordeyned for mens soules yet they so beleued that muche doubtfulnes was in theyr belefe in as muche as their reason suffised not to fynde out the certaintee of goddes workes From the which doubtis the vnfallible doctrine of Christ hath nowe deliuered vs all so that as many as wyll gyue eare to the voyce of god they can not mistrust their knowladge but that without â—uestion both we haue a soule and the same soule is immortal a thing that neither in this worlde nor out of this worlde can perishe or feele any pointe of death to lacke by the same any iote of his beyng I saie our soules continuallye withoute ende shall euer more endure the which be created and made by god after the fourme of god What forme that is it is as harde to shew as it passeth our capacitie to know what god is whose shap and facion our soules beareth ¶ Nowe than what shall we saye of deathe the whiche by hym selfe is not vnlyke to an endles slepe of the bodye wherof the bodye lyeth without power to vse anye sence beyng after life like to a stone that neuer hadde life This chaunge of the bodies state whether by it selfe it bee good or euyll it is an hardâ— thynge for vs to iudge seeyng the trouth is that no man liuynge expertly knoweth what thyng death is and to determine of a thing vnknowen it semethe a presumpcion full of folye Therfore without any certaine determinacion we may for our learnyng debate with reason the thyng as muche as shal be within the bondes of our capacity and fyrst if death were by hym selfe good it shoulde be no trespasse for one man to kyll hym selfe or an other For in giuing to other a good thynge or in takynge to our selfe a good thynge can bee noo rebuke Where the dede is good there is well doyng in the doer But euer not onely by Christes teachynge but also by naturall reason manslaughter hath bene iudged an abhominable synne Wherfore it can not be that by hym selfe deathe is a good thing And againe an euyll thynge it is not For Chryste died wyllyngly the whiche will in god and goddis sonne coulde not haue consented to deathe if deathe had bene a thyng of his owne nature euyll Nor yet it coulde not be that vertue shuld be praised in the glad suffering of death as now be crowned in heauen many holy marters the whiche couragyously toke vpon theim
vppon the burninge cooles as merie and as quiete as thoughe he laie vppon swete reed roses Whan the turmentours turned his body vpon the fierie grediernes he bad the cruel tiraunt eate of his burned side whiles the tother part was a rostyng This saiyng declared that this holy marter feared no deathe ¶ How many thousande marters suffered incredible paines of flaiyng with hokes their skynne from the fleshe of scrapyng with tile stones the fleshe frome the bones of rentyng and tearing membre from membre with horses with bowed branches of trees of beatyng with whippes till the bowelles fall out of hangyng of burning of Crucifiyng of infinite straunge and new deuises for paine Howe many I saie suffred all that cruell tirauntes could imagine either with haÌ„d fier or iron rather than they wold ones denie them selfe to be of Christes profession Whan it was proclaimed that who so euer wold saie he was Christened he shulde cruelly be put to death There passed no daie without a greatte numbre of them that boldly spoke tho woordes of the whiche shulde folowe so blouddie a slaughter This was a manyfest token that feare of death hadde no maner of place with our blessed martiers the whiche with a constant boldnes defied and dispised the mighty cruel and fierse emperours their courage to die ouerthrewe the ragynge madnes of tyrauntes The cause of this mirthe in soo pitious martirdomes was that this blessed men knewe howe Christ nother coulde nor wolde deceiue them but that for their littell regardyng of this life thei shulde optaine an other life where their ioy shuld neuer haue nother chang nor decrease nor ende Therefore my good Walker mistrust you not Christe whose doctrine the heauen and the erth hath by innumerable miracles this many hundreth yeres approued and confirmed to be true the bloud of so many sainctes haue witnessed the same and the diuels with all the damned spirites so surely beleue the trouthe of Christes teachyng that thei trimble and quake there Bee not moued with the common ensample of the hole worlde though bothe spirituall and temporall men though the pope with all his cardinals byshoppes and priestes thoughe the princes with all their gentilmeÌ„ and subiectes magnifie esteme loue norishe and by all meanes cherish this life yet beleue you the trouth and thinke all the worlde faulse where Christes saiyng agreeth not with that the worlde dothe If it wer possible that you sawe the angels of heauen liue contrary to the preachyng of Christe yet againste theim all beleue the sonne of god and loue not to abyde in this lyfe whan Christe callethe you hense make a final valure of this present pleasures whan Christ saith all be vanitees and maie bee tourned to endles sorowes Regarde noo honoure noo promocion here whan Christe saith the place of honour is in heauen and here is none aduancement that is not both shame and also may be cause of a perpetuall wretchednes Dispise the ease and rest that theie riches bringeth in as muche Christe saithe that of them be taken many impedimentes and leâ—s to entre into the sure quietnes of blessed soules Thinke no place to be for your abiding in this worlde whan Christe saith here is not your countrey but your father and your dwelling place is in heauen Hast therfore hense This is to saie bee willinge to forsake this straunge countrey And seyng the waie to your homewarde lieth by death take a couragious stomacke to die and die gladly that you may die well Beleue I saie Christâ— and you shall thinke it painfull to be in this life Beleue Christe and you shal be gredie to be partaker of the heauenly ioyes whervpon will folowe a pleasant remembraunce of deathe by the whiche you shall departe from your paine to that ioye the whiche you desire And hereof is made a glad diyng the whiche I still name a good diyng Thus if we can take this feare a waie we bee well forwarde and hereof will easily ensue the reste that is to die gladdely It is a true saiyng that who so euer feareth deathe he shall neuer doo a dede woorthie for a lyuing man Therfore if it were but onely for lifes sake it is our part to dispise the feare of deathe ¶ Beside this feare of deathe the loue I saie of this life sore hindereth the gladnes of diyng no man dieth gladly that estemeth muche this life He that rekeneth in this worlde him selfe happie whan he hathe gotten ryches possessions auctoritee promocion a roial state a prince like courte abundaunce of welthie fare a rule and power bothe to auaunce his frende and to vndoo his foo this man I saie that gloriethe in his fantasye for these and suche other thinges can not but with muche sorowe depart hense To this mans herte the remembrance of death is a euer greuous thought his minde can not but lament whan he seeth the necessitee to be pluckid and draweÌ„ from these commoditees in the whiche resteth the ioye pleasure and gladnes of his minde he hath soo stedfastlie accustomed him selfe to take this worlde for heauen that it will not synke in his braine to hope of an other heauen he hath so corrupted his taste with thinking this life to be swete that nedes it must be a bytter thing to make an ende of all his pleasures and in this case bee not onely thei that haue this world at their will but also thei be in the same case that haue naughte and be gredie of hauing As muche loueth he this worlde that woulde faine be riche as he that is riche It is not the hauing nor the lackynge of abundance in goodes that maketh a sorowful hert in the remembrance of death but it is the minde that valureth and pondreth these presente goodes to bee of a greatte price and worthie to be taried for This minde I saie as wel in a communer as in a kynge as well in a yoman as in a lorde as well in an hermite monke or frier as in a marchant plowman or vacabund as well in beggars as in riche meÌ„ is the thyng that causeth sorowe in diyng And gladly no man dieth that loueth the welthe of this life Wherfore the learning to die well requireth necessarie a lesson howe much the goodes of this worlde be worthie to be regarded And let the truthe haue in your stomacke his place so that if it be true that the thinges of this life be worthy to be loued and to bee cared for thanne loue you them and care for theim If the truthe be other wise change your minde and nother loue these saied thinges nor care for theim Of the truth in this matter no maÌ„ can doubte that beleueth Christe whom if you thinke to be god you muste also thinke it all trouth that he saithe It can not bee otherwise than Christe testifieth whose preaching euer exhorteth vs to wilfull pouertee the whiche is nother to loue y â— goods of this world though we haue them nor
be loste and tyll yesterdaie all tyme past is gone and lost This same selfe daâ—e that we nowe liue is deuided and parted with death Still without ceassing we approche to deathe by the expence and wast of life Thus diyng we alwaie be though death â—e not alwaie vpon vs. Conceyue thaÌ„ this ordinate life in your mind and bestowe your time whilest you haue the time Aboue all thinges flee idelnes the whiche is a thing bothe to the bodie and to the soule like a kankeryng rustines and as an eatyng consumpcion it wasteth to naught both vertue strength A man the whiche is in the life that you be may sone be corrupted with this contagion of idelnes if he bee not well ware and diligentely enforce him selfe to the contrarie For I se you haue a maister so affectionate and giuen to you that he will nother suffer you lacke any thinge mete for your helth or qÌ„etnes but also he had rather forâ—ere his own commoditees than for his seruice you shulde be disquietted So tender he is in all poyntes ouer you that if you poÌ„der well his state and your own condicion you shall find your life better defended frome all stormes againste the mindes reste than your maisters condicion is He is in suche a sight of the world thaâ— necessarilie his studie and care must moue him to satisfy the great expectacion that his hole countrey hath of his towardenes And fortune one the tother side is soo contrary to him that nedes he must by wisedome procure with no smalle thought howe he maie in penurie maintaine the outward face of his reputacion so that for your quietnes his minde often labourethe where you maie doo what you will withoute feare of the worldes displeasure without feare of lackyng or not hauing enough for your necessaries and muche more than necessitee requirethe Labour haue you none but that maie be rather taken for a pastyme thoughte to please your maister you neede not take in as much you maie be assured that he can not nor will not for the time of his life chaunge his affection towarde you Therfore I saie it maie be feared in one of your state leste idelnes shoulde brede a foule slouens neste the which were enoughe to distroye all lustines of vertue and to make you long deed and buried in this worlde before life forsakethe you For my good IohnÌ„ I will haue you knowe and remembre that idelnes is called the graue of liuinge men it is the thing wherin life dieth and therby your soule is twyse buried in you ones in your bodie nexte in your slouth The which vice in seruing men moste reighneth and the same is roote of many vnthryftie thoughtes whervpon foloweth a worse idelnes than the tother is For it is an euill idelnes to do noo thyng but a worse idelnes it is to do not well Suche an euill felow saincte Chrisostomus calleth a dissolatyng or a boide baiting place where into the diuell entreath as in to his own house by good right For where vertue is not exercised there the ennemy of grace claimeth his rule it is not now my purpose to shewe what you shulde do that you might not only fâ—e idelnes but also be well occupied This were a matter enough for a nother worke I haue my entente at this time if you see that death is not to bee feared and that by continuall remembraunce of deathe you shall prepaire your self to die gladly with a good will the whiche you can not do oneles you be in hope of the euâ—rlastyng life and this hope requireth some truste in the clenes of a good conscience the whiche euer foloweth a gracious entenâ—e of liuing well So that if you liue wel you shall die well And of the waie to liue wel you can not misse if you arme your minde to bee stronge against all suddennes of deth Praie euer continually without cessinge you muste but what is this continuall praier I wolde you learned For of praier it is but one final porcion the saiyng of psalmes or axyng with wordes of god his grace the bâ—raie praier is to be euer well minded to bee euer in charitee to haue euer the honour of god in remembraunce to suffer no rancore none ire no wrathe no malice no synne to abide in your delite but to be in a continuall good thoughte the whiche you maie kepe whether you sleepe or wake whether you eate or drinke whether you feast or fast whether you reste or labour neuer paraduenture you can praie better than whan you muste giue your selfe to serue your maister to whom the course of your life is due and bounden specially whan god hath giuen you such a maister whome your seruice can not please without you be studious to please god For well you se that without vertue your seruice weere to your maister an vnsauerie thing but as I haue said it is not now my purpose to apoynte you the waie of liuinge well if you haue harde enoughe to die well I haue for my part now saied enough and shortlie by the same you shall of yourself without further helpe finde the waie to liue wel Now that by this I thinke my promisse fulfilled I will at this point bed you farewel And I praie god giue you a strong corage to passe valiantly through death to come from thense to euerlastyng life by the helpe and grace of our maister and sauiour Christe to whome let vs for euer more render al glorie praise and honour Amen At Paris the .x. day of Ianuarie FINIS A sermon of sainct Chrysostome that no man is hurte but onely of hym selfe I Knowe well that all men of a grosse iudgemente and giuen to the pleasures of this present life drouned in worldelines bound seruanies to their owne lustes that regarde not the spirituall sence shall thinke my tale meruailous and newe and paraduenture will moâ—ke me as thoughe in the firste entre and title of our sermon we purpose a thing bothe folishe and that to noo mans eares can seme true But this not withstanding we wol prosecute our entente and by this frowardnesse we shal be more sturred to approue the saied sentence so that thei the whiche seme agreued with our speakyng will in the beginning haue a littell pacience nor will not at the first hearing interrupt my tale but bee contente to abide the ende and conclusion of this mattier For plainlie if thei so do I am perswaded that they shall vtterly change their mindes herein and cleaue to our partee deniyng their owne opinion and rebukynge theim selfe for their errour that they haue hitherto defended and further more thankyng me as sicke men thanke phisicions whan they haue recouered their helth So now I wold not haue the bring forth thine olde rooted opinioÌ„ but a littel tarie and consider the reasons of my tale wherby thou maist iustlie iudge of this mattier and speciallye whan thou haste lopped and cutte awaie thine own croked fantasi that
that by banishementes by rebukes by bondages by prisonmentes holy men came to great glorie I praie the shewe me deathe it selfe what hurte dyd it to the moste iuste and blessed Abell I saie that bytter and cruell deathe committed of no straunger but of his own naturall brother Is not Abel for this thing celebrated worshipped throughe all this worlde Thou seeste howe my processe declareth more than I promissed for it doth not only opē that no man is hurted of an other beside him selfe but also that holy men take infinite gaines and profites in these thynges by the whiche they seme to bee euill handled Here thou saiste what nedeth soo many peines so many punishmentes What nedeth hell and so many thretninges if it be true that no man hurteth nor noo man is hurted Here me to this peruerte not nor mingle not my tale For I said not that noo man hurteth but I saied that no man is hurted of an other Againe thou saist howe can this be that some shall hurte and yet no man bee hurted It maie be as I haue shewed for his own bretherne hurted Ioseph and did wickedly againste him but Iosephe him selfe was not hurted And Caine did wickedly against Abell whan he laide in wait to slaie him yet Abell him selfe was not hurted nor suffred noo parte of euill To this purpose seruethe peines and punishementes For the vertue of pacience in theim that suffre dothe not take away the trespasse of them that with an vngracious entente set vpon other and do wrongfully For all bee it that they by their pacience bee made more glorious yet the other bee not redemed of their miscsheife in their malicious purpose And therfore the vertue and noblenes of minde auaunceth the sufferer to honour and the malicious stomacke drowneth the doers in depe peines Thus the rightous iudge almightie god to them that constauntly continue in a vertuous life and come to receiue the rewarde of victorie preparethe a kyngdome in heauen and for them that without repentance persecute euer their sinfull purpose hell is ordeined Therfore if thy goodes bee taken from the saie with holy Iob I came naked out of my mothers wombe and naked I shall depart hense Put hereto the apostels saiyng We brought nothing in to this worlde nor we can not take hense with vs any thyng Thou hast hearde thy selfe to be euyll spoken by to be infamed and sclaundered with men remembre thou and put before thine eyes the wordes of oure maister where he saith Wo be ye whan ye be of al mē praised And in an other place Be ye mery and reioice whā men reuile your name as naught for my sake Thou art cast out of thy countrey and driuen from thy hous and possessions remembre that we haue not here our dwelling coūtrey but that wee seke the worlde to come Why then dost thou think that thou hast loste thy countreye whanne in this whole world thou art a stranger an alien and a pilgrim Thou art fallen into a greuous and ieoperdous sycknes vse and exercise the apostles saieng that is this Although our body the outwarde man be infected and sycke yet our sowle the inward man is therby renued and refreshed day by day Thou art closed and shette in pryson and some cruell deathe hangethe ouer thine head Loke vpon S. Iohn̄ beheaded in pryson and there fastely beholde soo great a prophetes heade graunted and giuen to a tumbling wench in the reward of bodily plesure These thynges whan they chaunce to the wrongefully loke thou regarde not the iniurye and malyce of theim that do hurte but ponder and way thou the rewarde and glorye that shall bee gyuen the for these wronges For he that willingly and pacientelye sufferethe all suche troubles is not only forgiuen of his trespasses and synnes but also he opteynethe thereby the merytes and the rewardes due to vertue and goodnes so hygh and great a thing it is to kepe stedfastly an assured and full faith in god Than seing that nother the losse of goodes and substaunce nor sclander nor defyaunce nor banysshement nor sickenesse nor tormentes nor deathe it selfe that semethe the most greuous thing of all the forsaid can hurt men but more rather helpe and do good to men in making vs better worthy of so great reward howe and wherof shall we proue any man to be hurted whan of none of these sayd greues a man can be hurted But I will nowe assay to lay plainly before thine eies that they only be hurted the which do hurt and that the hurt the whiche thei do noieth not nor toucheth not none other persone but onely them self that inforceth to hurt For tell me what can now be more vnhappy than Caine The death by the whiche he with his owne handes slewe his propre brother hath made Abell for euermore a saincte and gloriouse martyre and hathe caused the slear for euermore to be taken for a wicked mankyller and that against his owne bloud Also what is more wretched than that Herodis wife the which desired to haue S. John̄s head in a dishe that hir owne head shuld be drowned in the euerlasting flames of burning hell What is in worse case then the dyuell hym selfe the whiche by his malice made the holly Iob waxed nobler so muche grew and increased the diuels peine I thinke thou nowe seest that my tale hath shewed much more thā I promised For it is open and plaine not only how no man is hurted of theim that do wronge but also that the hurters and none els bee hurted and suffre euill For nother riches nor libertee nor noblenes nor helthe nor life nor suche other thinges be the propre goodes and substaunce of man that hath nothynge proprely his owne but onely the vertue of minde And therfore whan in these outwarde thynges other hurte or losse or trouble happeneth man is not hurted seeyng all his treasure is in the saied vertue of mind Here thou askest what if a man be hurted in the saied vertue It can not be but thus If any be hurted therin he is hurted of none other persō but only of himself Thou desirest to here how a man is hurted of him selfe Whā he is beaten of somme other or robbed and spoiled of his goods or by any meanes troubled if than he speke any opprobrious word any vnpacient sentence he is hurted yea and soore hurted yet I saie not of an other but of hymselfe through his own lacke of pacience For as it is saied before Behold what the blessed Iob suffered not of any man but of him that passed the al men in mischefe and crueltee That if he that blouddie tourmentour the diuell that haynouse kaitife with so many ingins so many craftes so many peines culd nothing preuaile in cōstraining Iob to trespasse with his tong before the face of God speciallye whan Iob had neuer hearde the lawe of God nor had not parte of the redempcion of the