Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	body_n	fear_v	soul_n	6,074	5	5.4095	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A09133	False complaints. Or The censure of an vnthankfull mind, the labour of Carolus Pascalius translated into English by W.C. A worke very learned and fit for all estates in this age of vnnecessarie discontentments, shewing how all complaine, but all without cause; Censura animi ingrati. English	Paschal, Carlo, 1547-1625.; Crashaw, William, 1572-1626, attributed name.; Covell, William, d. 1614?, attributed name.	1605 (1605)	STC 19446; ESTC S120925	107,403	264

nothing can be spoken so falsely so foolishly so lyingly and so impudently as that the body a thing earthly should giue life to the soule a thing heauenly and deuine which of necessitie must be graunted if the soule liueth no longer then whilst it is in this vessell of flesh and that it dieth as soone as it is let loose from thence But there is nothing which either is or can bee more certaine then the mortalitie of the bodie because it consisteth of those things which haue their motion from others namely things vncertaine fading inconstant waxing olde withering perishing and readie to perish whereupon it is that there is nothing in the bodie which can be said to bee liuely For to liue is to be mooued of it selfe but the body hath his motions and agitations from the soule wherfore this whether it be called mortalitie or finishing of life or extinguishing seeing it is a sending out and a freeing of the soule it is not only not euill but the beginning of good and of that good which a-lone is the cheefe and perfect and eternall good By which things that may bee gathered which I sayd before that the dissolution of the bodie which we call death is not only not to be feared but I had almost sayd to be desired doubtles meerly constantly readily to be desired For this is that by which alone there is a passage made for the soules of good men to a true life his owne and euerlasting the same ende of life expecteth all but the effect that followeth of it is distinguisht For some dye once that they may dye eternally others that they may liue for euer Now thou seest how foolishly this bodily mortalitie is either feared or lamented after which immediatly followeth that heauenly immortalitie These and farre greater then these and by many degrees much stronger which neither the weakenes of my minde nor the slendernesse of my witte can attaine nor my selfe expresse which it is fitte should be taken out of the writinges of holy men thou canst not deny but they are confirmed by thy owne conscience the sence whereof although thy body bee olde cannot bee dulled For the conscience is the beame of Cods eye sent to euery man into the secret of his breast and the most inwarde part of his heart this euerie man beareth about him this no man can auoyde no more then himselfe It is fixed in his heart rootes It is giuen vnto man as an arbitrator and ouerlooker It can neuer be shund neuer extinguished neuer deceiued Why thinkest thou because it is that deuine force which is present in all thy thoughts actions vertues vices to those a fauourer and a commender to these euer present though as a secret yet as most seuere accuser This thou mayst vndestand to bee not one of the least arguments of Diuinitie Therefore O thou olde man if thou leanest that way thy soule is if that way thou standest firme thou wilt also be more equall and indifferent to that which thou callest death and wise men call the ende of miserie Thou wilt to conclud so perswade thy selfe that when thou shalt be sent from hence thou shalt bee receiued there so that thou goest that way where thou shalt be knowen as a Citizen and a heauenly inhabitant From hence also thou mayst vnderstand that mortall things doe little pertaine vnto thee seeing all the vse of them belongeth to thy body The body serueth the mind which vseth these no further thē is fit to keepe her dwelling vndesolued vntill she be commanded to forsake it For surely this which wee call life is nothing els but the way of the trauelling soule that goeth to his own Country And all these which incounter him in this life are but as prouisiō for this great iourney and foode to nourish the body whilst it is the chariot of the soule But to couet these things too vehemently to stay gazing and admiring these thinges by the way and so to forget that place whervnto we goe it is not the work of the soule but of the body not of a man but of a beast for it is certain that man in respect of his soule is a God in respect of his bodie is a wilde beast And therefore the longer the soule dwelleth in the bodie his worke is so much the harder And his praise the greater if it suffer not it selfe to bee infected with the contagion of it Yet I do not say that any man vncommanded must goe out of his standing but when he hath leaue and is called for And when he is cited and sent for to appeare then if hee be slowe then if hee bee vnwilling to goe if hee complaine if hee striue against it if hee suffer himselfe to bee drawne surely hee is ignorant of himselfe what hee is and of his owne good What Hee betrayeth himselfe by his owne ill confession hee maketh fetters to tye himselfe and for euer hee is excluded from that felicitie without which a man is nothing but a receptacle of miseries Now see what is thy iudgement of thy selfe who so much fearest death thou canst not plainely show that there is more earthly matter in thee that is claye filth impuritie then there is man that is then soule then celestiall substance The soule in the bodie is as a stranger in an Inne it is the part of an inconsiderat and vnwise man to goe vnwillingly out of his Inne in respect of some obiect of the throat or the belly To conclude it is the point of an vnskilfull man and of one that thinkes little of his owne safetie with the behoulding of earthly things to forgoe heauenly seeing then that in death there is so much good doest thou blame thy olde age which hath brought thee to so great a good Why doest thou not rather lay aside this voluntary blindnes and this so carefull a frowardnes looke at the light why dost thou not acknowledg this same excellent gift or rather seruice of this old age which bringeth thee so neare so excellent a good Oh sticke no longer in these sands pull out thy selfe as speedely as thou canst shake of these lettes breake in sunder these hinderances call the assistance of thy ancient and former minde stirre vp thy learning bend the force of thy witte call vpon the holy spirit bee carried aboue thy sences awake thy selfe to giue God heartie and immortall thankes esteeme his so many benefits in thy mind expresse them all in thy words in thy countenance in thy gesture in imitation in example then thou shall learne by little and little that thou oughtest seriously to reioyce that the time of thy human mortality is come to an end that the time of thy earthly aboad is expired that the ende of thy sinning is at hande that mortall hopes are cut of and that heauenly hopes are augmented and increased surely when thou cammest from thy childhoode to bee a youth thou begannest to scorne all those things which

much gall Had I euer any ioy that was not ended with sorrow Any happinesse that was not recounted with some euill successe Any hope whereto dispaire was not a companion in one word what is all that I haue spoken that I haue done that I haue hoped that I haue gotten but the matter of sorrow and repentance To conclude what shall I say that I either am or haue beene but a perpetuall motion But a liuing creature layd open to euerie violence My life was spent in learning of these miseries liuing long with these I am hardened In what great darke and daunger haue I liu'd Where day and night did witnes how I greeud Oh how truely is it spoken by a man of much experience whose minde in the constancy of death confirmed many verie wise precepts none would accept of life if it were not giuen them without their knowledge what is our Infancie but a dullnes an vncertaine state betwixt life and death more truely the likenes of death or rather indeede a death begun and a funeral mixed to our swadling cloathes What is our childish estate but the showe and the beginning of miserie or rather a glasse wherein a man may see all the miseries which are to come What our youth but a vading flower growing to a better fruite For then wee are greene that wee may nowe wyther then we flowrish that we may now wax old what is our lusty years sōething riper thē our youth but a foolish fearcenes trouble-some to others and hurtfull to it selfe What is our mans estate but an authorised imperious madnes Whilst it is reasons ape What is this last age the wearines whereof I feele to bee layd vpon mee but an ouerflowing of all paines greefes miseries What is this which we call to liue but a fearefull and a continuall expectation of death yet I know these thinges are hardly perswaded to yong men I knowe that the mindes of most are holden in this common error and bownd as it were fast with this chaine which is a loue of life as of that good which containeth all good things in it Surely let the childe see before him the merrie pleasant flower of youth youth the strong couragious and manly age this also let it haue some cōfort left in the approaching old age but then to this last what else is propounded but death For man that is full of yeares as I am what is hee but as they say a picture painted on the wall or the name of a shadowe of that he was And to conclude the pray of death VVhat further can hee doe or hope whose soule is euer going out of his mouth What am I fitte for who am vnmeete for the lightest cares whose strength of bodie is weake The age of abilitie and power past Sences dull and the liuelines of the minde weakened In one worde to whome all thinges with my bodie are withered Life then deserueth that name when it bringeth to a man some ioye or pleasure but if it bring nothing with it which is not vnsweete vnpleasant bitter if it be euer driuen against the rockes of all euill away with this name of life which is more glorious then true I know not others but for my selfe I am sure of all that euer I did heare or see there is nothing likes me and as hope doth more and more freese in me so all pleasure decayeth whereof this worne and decayed bodie of mine is vncapable I haue no healpe in my kindred for all slippe from me by little and little and sh●…nne my companie as an odious and troublesome old man vnles peraduenture deceitfully they hange vpon me to be made the richer by my death My frendes haue little hope in mee to whome I seeme not a man but a ghost Like as the Iuie killes the folded tree So with the imbrace of yeares death killeth me Like to the earth from whence I came Of man I hould only the name My familiaritie is pleasant to none I walke as the hate of the earth neither am I more almost esteemed of any then a thing worne and of no value as many men and many thinges doe not please mee no more doe I please any I am forbidden to meddle with any thing vnder a colour of honour to which they giue the name rest and ceasinge from labour that with the mildnes of the name they may mittigate the asperity of the thing and the grief that I take from it In my sayings there is no authority for all men say I am now past and brought to a doting age the very memory of my life past wherin there was some pleasure daily weareth away Of one thing I haue more vnderstanding then euer I had namely of this miserable estate to which I am appointed and as it were reserued to this age and to this experience rising out of these miseries I am beholding for this one thing that it hath opened my eyes and laide before mee the whole army of those euilles wherewith this mortalitie is guarded and can neither finde remedy nor meanes to escape them Neither can learning that deuine inuention as they call it mitigate this griefe I haue no comfort out of my learning how great soeuer it is nay the more plentifull that is the more plainely doe I see rather what is not true then what is yea it rather brings mee into the large sadde fieldes of errour and there placeth me from whence I may see with a large prospect ignorance that is of kindred to our mortalitie So farre am I from beeing brought to any delightes or pleasures of knovvledge Last of all there remaineth pyety whereof I was euer a diligent worshipper wherein I finde no refuge If for all this being worne with yeares my last houre must come and that fatall necessity whereunto against my will I must obey and follow not whether it leades mee but whether it draweth mee For in that my heape of miseries giueth mee a minde to speake freely From hence am I grieuiously tormented in that I see my selfe brought vnto that peryod of life which is set so fast that it cannot bee remooued There is nothing that dooth more trouble my rest and quiet then the often thinking of the approach of death which the more I labour to cast from me the more and more violently it commeth to my minde and this is that same inward and perpetuall corrasiue This dimmes my life which no delite can cure And leaues no ioy that pleasant is or pure If I beginne to talke with any If I doe any thing If I walke If I rise from sleepe continually I am encountred with the euer present memory of my neare aproaching death I haue euer as that Romane king those two gods present with mee dread and palenesse Now at the last the conscience of my former life which is full of trouble and a torment to me gathereth his forces and doth shew it selfe Sometimes a little hope doth

and vnthfankull mind I beseech thee acknowledge that these lets are remooued from thee which hinder the attaining of thinges excellent and that the occasions are taken away into which pouertie doth oftē thrust men with violence Surely from riches to vertue the way if it be not straighter yet it is more easie then from pouertie peraduenture thou wilt say it is more deceitfull I graunt to a man that is not sufficiently circumspect but to a man warie and diligent this way by riches is much the shorter Blot out of thy minde O thou rich man whatsoeuer doth defame thee as a rauenous wilde beast in the mouthes of men and the richer thou art by so much liue more warily and then inioy and spare not what thou hast gotten at length rest and fauour thy selfe torment not thy selfe with perpetuall gaping after whatsoeuer may begotten this done then more reuerently and more carefully giue thankes to him who as when he might not haue giuen these things to thee yet gaue them freely so he now may take them from thee prouoked by thy vnsound and vnthankefull minde Amongst the vnthankefull persons I finde him who is troubled with sickenesse CHAP 21 THen these that I haue remēbred he is no lesse vnthankefull whom infirmitie of bodie and desperate sickenesse hath tyed vnto his bed who afflicted with continuall torments pineth and wasteth O life saith he liker a death then life yea a cōtinuall death do I liue who am borne to continuall punishment whome greefes daily torment what profit is it for me to be borne into this light when this light is to me a punishment If this my life bee continually vext with feare of death miserie and greefe if in the ende it bee concluded with a death slowe and bitter and aunswerable to the rest of my life As pouertie is greeuous to the poore man basenesse a reproach to the ignoble and to euerie man that which doth most oppresse him yet no mans condition is more intollerable then mine from mee those two fearefull companions neuer depart feare and sorrow I cannot rest I must not mutter I may not breath there is no calamitie so great no plague so cruell wherein the minde with some comfort is not refresht but this of mine is increased with comfort It doth greeue me if anyman goe about with artificiall termes to appease my greefe I seeme to be derided I am not mytigated but made worse for greefe driueth away whatsoeuer driueth not away greefe Him that is worne with griefe in that he is vnthankefull I neither pardon him nor speake him faire CHAP 13 I should confesse my selfe verie voyd of humanitie if I should not pittie thee whosoeuer thou art who art plunged into this bottome of greefe I am not ignorant that their is scarce any strength of minde to bee found which greefe doth not weare and cast downe to triumph ouer greefe is not the parts of a man but of some deuine power it is a cruell tyrant and seildome leaueth a man before it haue brought the bodie lowe and afflicted the minde for the affinitie with it but if thou dost remember thy selfe that thou wert a man before thou weart miserable before thou weart loaden with that miserie and those diseases consider a little remember with mee thy condition Thou art a man Therefore thou art not only a bodie but a soule The soule ought to haue rule ouer the bodie not the bodie ouer the soule why art thou no●… therfore erected and listed vp O thou soule that thou maist behould that place which belongs vnto thee preserue that dignitie and worthinesse which is thine safe and vntoucht what wilt thou suffer the bodie to haue greater preheminence then thy selfe shall those foolish irreligious voyces of this earthly frame detracting from thy commandements following which waye soeuer sence leads them and shall not thy commandement bee heard Go to say vnto thy bodie it is my dutie to rule and then to obey is it not my part to affect the bodie and to impose vpon it whatsoeuer I please say I will lead thee and thou shalt followe me and as I feell and am affected so speake thou I am and haue a being without thee but thou vnlesse thou art quickened by me art but a lumpe of flesh meere claye or if any thing can be more filthie then clay thy dignitie is nothing but as I haue aduanced thee to a deuine knowledge and as all things with me are excellent and admirable so with thee they are contemptible and base to say truth what hast thou in thy selfe that is not common with the brute beasts would not thy weight depresse thee into the deepest bottomes if I did not lift thee vp and ingraft thee to a diuinitie Therefore O body whatsoeuer it is that offendeth thee I reckon it as those things that are vnder mee which neither ad nor detract from me These griefes to thee peraduenture are bitter to me also I do not say vnprofitable but for the a●… f●…ty that I haue with thee vnsweet and vnpleasant But that they should haue power ouer me that they should compell me to dispaire that they should rob mee of my felicity that they should couns●… and I ●…e perswaded that they should command I obey that they should compell and I be inforst this were to make me whose essence is more deuine sub●…ct to corrupt●… 〈◊〉 all these things which com●…se 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which haue their affinity with thee and where of th●… a●… made are true assurances and direct pathes to mortality But I am immortall I am without the danger reach of these darts and therfore with mortall things I can neither bee touched nor aff●…ed ●…ay with these shadows of feare and aff●…le me O grifes at your pleasure bee madde and feare as you thinke good m●… that is the inward and better part of a man yee cannot ●…rt I will keepe my 〈◊〉 no●… only unconquered but vntoucht 〈◊〉 nothing from hence wherof to glory I will 〈◊〉 yee with my strength and are solute h●…t 〈◊〉 i●… bearing I will ouercome you I that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not to ●…e wounded that am 〈◊〉 that am not to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with these 〈◊〉 N●…y I am th●… most fr●…de most at mine owne command then doe I most triumph when I see thee O body affected with griefe as if a strong tower and holde of dangerous affections weare beseedg●… and taken by me Thus will a wise and a valiant man thinke Thus will hee compasse himselfe thus firmely and resolutely will hee stand and the more hee vnderstandeth his misery and feeleth his griefe the more wisely will hee deale the more valiantly will hee suffer that which hee must needes suffer 〈◊〉 more generously will hee speake the more gloriously will hee triumphe to conclude hee will perswade himselfe that those remedies which bring griefe are best and most ●…fectuall and then as griefes hinder the o●…ces of the ●…ody so they stirre vppe the strength

thou complainest that ciuill professions are dispised that learning is contemned and also that thou lyest open and vnhidden to the outrages and disorders of all men as though thus euery honest and innocent disposition is not best seene in his aduersities If thou art wicked this is a scourge to beate thee If thou art good think that a hand is reacht out to thee that thou bee not idle or forgetfull but watchfull least thou catch a grieuous and a deadly fall Well howsoeuer it is consider whether thou haste not in the time of peace abused thy skill and knowledge to the hurte of men and not to defende them Dooth not worthely then which nothing can bee more iust thy owne example fall vpon thy owne head These cogitations will driue out of thy minde all that vniust complaint which thou makest against God Surely displeased with thy owne vices thou shouldest first seuerely blame thy selfe before thou accusest anie other Last of all whosoeuer thou art learned or vnlearned whether one of the states or a common person whether thou art a leader or an ordinary souldier whether thou art rich or poore of what sort soeuer thou art for it were infinit to reckon vp all therefore I speake vnto all that euery man may take it spoken to himselfe Thou that hast passed the flower of thy age thou art he with whō my speech is at this time if thou vsest not thy strength health to some good purpose if before the powers of thy body and mind faile thee thou vse them not for the true defences of thy soule and doe not inrich thy selfe with true riches thou in the olde age wilt in vaine desire those things wherein thou oughtest to be instructed Now it were fitte to arme thy selfe with wisedome and true valour sad and loathsome olde age ouertaketh men that are inconsiderat and vnprepard In time to come thou wilt bee able to do nothing but trifles the mind will wax olde in a decayed bodie Thou shalt be vnfitte for any thing and death at last vnawares shall ouertake thee subiect to many scoffes and dangers and in vaine looking about for helpe which whē thou mightest thou didst not prouide vnto thy selfe Therefore free thy selfe from these delayes least thy sluggishnes bring thee into those daungers from whence thou canst not deliuer thy selfe without much perill Repentance at the last yeares is late Wee looke for meanes of life then late when wee are in the last part of it when our burdens are to be packt vp nay to bee layd aside O lamentable condition of that man who by his inconsideratnes is brought to that which is the beginning of eternall miserie and hee that commeth to that I confesse his life so much the more hatefull in that it is ended most vnfortunatly Thou whosoeuer thou art ascribe thy owne euill to thy selfe who abusest thy owne good thy life vnknowing is lent vnto thee not short but longe and heaped with many and great benefits of God and thou man the vngratfullest of all men spendest the same in error and vanitie thou consumest all thy time in frosen and foolish trifles Dost thou suffer this so great a benefitte by thy negligence to passe from thee without profit and art not ashamed to vpbraide God with the smalenes of the benefit beleeue me thou wholly dependest vpon a small threed thou mayst immediatly be cast headlong down into a perpetuall 〈◊〉 of misery if thou dost not speedily lay hand vpon those meanes with which being supported thou mayst attaine to that felicitie to which thou weart created thou oughtest to contemne all other things and to desire this one thing and not to desire it as one Ill slouthfull and weake but as one strong diligent intent to to his greatest happinesse Amongst vnthankefull persons I account the old man whom neither the plentie nor the greatnes of Gods benefites nor any wisedome gathered out of long experience can reclayme from this vnthankefulnes CHAP. 26. C Considering the dispositions of men vewing the corruptnes of them as it lyeth open as also their cunning as they foolishly thinke wherewith all mortalitie seeketh to couer it selfe that it may not as it is so appeare vnto God to conclude thinking with my selfe howe many wayes euerie man delighteth to wronge that sacred power which hee shoulde reuerence maddinge against his wisedome and rising with complaints against that great power I begin to tremble I say a horror possesseth mee when I take but a vewe of the sharpe of this fowle deformed vice I see nothing but a heape of vnthankfull persons amongst whome most notable is hee whom it least becommeth The olde man I am mooued at none more then at him who ought to haue learned by that great benefit of longe age howe hee only more then all other men of all ages is not only loaden with benefits but almost opprest whome the satiety of liuing ought to haue clensed from this drosse whome the longe vse of the goodnes of God should haue brought to that aequitie of mind which is requisit for one that is readie to leaue the earth yet I see him more froward and more afflicted with this humor of discontent then any other Thus the shaken age out-goeth the most part of mortall men and hauing liued a long time is not for all this more skilfull in this iournie nay oftentimes is more vnprepared and more stained In one worde these seeme to haue gathered vp out of euerie corner and carefully to haue heaped together the seuerall vice●… of all ages and to haue layd open the blemishes and spottes that are in all and from all this to haue framed this monster whose name is an vnthankefull minde For hee doth not complaine of this or that euill as those whom I haue reckoned before but of all things as altogether There is none so weak none so shamlesly furnished to this offence none thinketh more impurely none speaketh euill of GOD more proudly none turneth his head more boldly against his maker there is no where where all the faces of this monster are discouered better then here which are as many as the corruptions that lye hidde in man wherewith he with long liuing is most infected which way soeuer this old man layth open himselfe he is weake forgetfull arrogant vnthankful he sinneth not as others of ignorance of folly of infirmitie inwardly and outwardly he sinneth hee is wholly wicked in word in deede in thought to conclude what can you thinke of him who for this dare not complaine that he is and that his life is giuen vnto him For what sayth he is my life giuen vnto this end that in my life there may be nothing which is worthie to be called a life For what should I remēber the miseries which I had frō my infancy where of I cannot tell whether the sence or the memorie be more greeuous vnto mee had I euer in all my life any honnie but it was mixed with

immortality is their sure hope this the comfort of their hope this their onely defence Therefore they wishe nothing more then that being taken speedely out of these troubles out of the multitude out of this filth and darkenesse and being brought into those holy dwellings they may enioy that euerlasting life purely cleare and perfectly bright to which is added a sound rest and perpetuall security To conclude that inaccessable and vnexpugna ' ble possession of that great good with whose vnshaken confidence they haue assuredly defended their hearts in this life The man that constantly endeauoureth to this layeth vnder his feet all those things which either doe not leade hither or leade from hence All this sinke of other things hee leaueth to those that are euill and to wits that are in admiration with base and vile things Of this kinde are riches pleasures the nourishments of ambition that which dazeleth euery ignorant eye inlargeth their desires and woundeth the mind He knoweth that with these things he is neither beautified nor inriched but holden backe and hindred He knoweth that with these things he is deluded and led into errour and deceipt He knoweth that of these things there is not onely a satiety but a hatred at the onely mention of this perpetuall felicity he is awaked this onely holdeth him hath him possesseth him he delighteth to heare and speake of this this hee often repeateth and imprinteth in himselfe all this time he bestoweth in the meditation of this in this he doth diligently labour heere he doth more satisfie himselfe and what maruaile For where els almost doth he meet with himselfe heere he seeth his beginnings and his nobility from hence he esteemeth himselfe and would haue himselfe esteemed from hence he beginneth to bee nourished with an etheriall and deuine breath now he beginneth to liue with his glory which is to come and last of all as novv already receiued into those hye and Heauenly places hee returneth in his height and perfection and becommeth an admirer and worshipper of his owne diuinity I beseech thee why doost thou oppose against this wholesome and sauing light those mournefull and sadde darkenesses of impyety VVhy doost thou with this daungerous accutenesse of witte foolishly faine vnto thy selfe and falsely obiect those thinges which are not rather then truly and faithfully bee instructed in those things that are VVhy doost thou not free thy selfe out of this torment VVhy doe these thinges swimme in thy minde which if they bee not certaine sound and stable thou shalt bee drowned in the waues of Impyety VVhat doost thou more trouble teare and consume thy selfe wretch that thou art VVilt thou neuer pull vppe couragiously these too much growne branches of Impyety VVhy doost thou delay to plucke out these doubts out of thy minde Doost thou delight to bee miserable and to sollicit and trouble thy olde age with this blinde and vnfortunate vnderstanding why hadst thou rather dangerously floate then staye in a sure place of sayle with wind and oares ouer those rockes And striue for that quiet and calme harbour where thou thy selfe wholly maist bee quiet where thou maist without all doubt bee receiued into that wished hauen Out of which whosoeuer is long must needes suffer shipwracke Thinke that thy life was giuen thee for this meditation without this as thou sayest it is not life but death whosoeuer is not assured of the goodnesse of GOD toward him of his Immortality of eternall and euerlasting felicitie hee is past remedy If thou art such a one why do I talke to thee Why doe I striue with a shadowe VVhy doost thou lend thy eares to those thinges whose minde is a derider and contemner of them But consider how frendly I will deale with thee how I haue not cast away all care of thy saluation how much I doe giue vnto thee whatsoeuer I haue before spoken of the dignity of Man I knowe that thou dost beleeue it VVhatsoeuer thou hast heard concerning that whatsoeuer more subtelly more learnedly more largely may bee spoken of it deliuered by the auntient or late VVriters what more truely and more fruitefully Christian pyety doth promise all that howsoeuer thou seekest to auoid it I will haue thee grant it as most certaine and most knowne VVith these and such like I knowe thou hast fully beene instructed These once thou hast let sinke into thy brest of these thinges once thou hast thought religiously namely when thy minde was purer and not stained with so much frowardnesse In one vvorde I know thou knowest these thinges How shall I conuince thee Namely if I drawe thee into the lawe thou sayest before what Iudge Before that which thou little esteeming how truly and sharpely it confuteth all errour and euery false and truthelesse speaker calledst the Conscience Thither doe I call thee that thou maist not goe farre from thy selfe Dooth not thy conscience tell thee that the presages diuinations not of a drunksicke minde but of a certaine inward instinct that those predictions the inward and proper motions of the soule show the deuinity and immortality of it I say inwarde and propper because the chiefest beginning of those motions is in it selfe alone And therefore all things must first perish before it forsake it selfe and cease to mooue it selfe being immortall that which is immortall and being of a simple vncompounded substance cannot be deuided and if it bee not deuided it cannot dye For deuision is the death of that which is deuided Death is nothing else but the deuision and dissolution of one particular into two or many not content with these thy conscience proceedeth and sayth That the minde is the glasse of the soule the seate of councell and the gouernment of life From hence proceede those gifts of the soule which testifie the deuinity of it as quicknesse prouidence prudence and wisedome Vpon these attend memory vnderstanding knowledge and all the rest of the faculties that area kinne to these and vnseparable from them To these wee may ad those which from the euerlastingnesse of it are deriued into the affections from the affections to the sences In this ranke first is the swiftnesse of our thoughts Next our desires ioyes hopes feares From hence it certainely appeareth that the better part of man is the reasonable soule the praises that man hath belong not to the body but to the soule Likewise that dispraise and Infamy are not so much of the body as of the soule corrupted a runnaway frō his own nobility to those tents of euill affections It is most absurde to thinke that the soule which euer thinketh of his posterite and is so carefull of the long continuance of the memory of it selfe should dye together with the body Nay rather it is carefull what and how great it may be in the opions of men after it is freed from the body as though then it thought it had gotten life when the bodie had liued many yeares For there is