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	kill_v	soul_n	5,768	5	5.6613	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
B07563	1603. The vvonderfull yeare. Wherein is shewed the picture of London lying sicke of the Plague. ...	Dekker, Thomas, ca. 1572-1632.; N. L. (Nicholas Ling), fl. 1580-1607, printer.; Creede, Thomas, d. 1619?, printer.	1603 (1603)	STC 6535; ESTC S91632	33,610	47

shew tricks like Bancks his Curtall O you Booke-sellers that are Factors to the Liberall Sciences ouer whose Stalls these Drones do dayly flye humming let Homer Hesiod Euripides and some other mad Greekes with a band of the Latines lye like musket-shot in their way when these Gothes and Getes set vpon you in your paper fortifications it is the only Canon vpon whose mouth they dare not venture none but the English will take their parts therefore feare them not for such a strong breath haue these cheese-eaters that if they do but blow vpō a booke they imagine straight t is blasted Quod supra nos Nihil ad nos they say that which is aboue our capacitie shall not passe vnder our commendation Yet would I haue these Zoilists of all other to reade me if euer I should write any thing worthily for the blame that knowne-fooles heape vpon a deseruing labour does not discredit the same but makes wise men more perfectly in loue with it Into such a ones hands therefore if I fortune to fall I will not shrinke an inch but euen when his teeth are sharpest and most readie to bite I will stop his mouth only with this Haec mala sunt sed tu non meliora facis Reader WHereas there stands in the Rere-ward of this Booke a certaine mingled Troope of strange Discourses fashioned into Tales Know that the intelligence which first brought them to light was onely flying Report whose tongue as it often does if in spredding them it haue tript in any materiall point and either slipt too farre or falne too short beare with the error and the rather because it is not wilfully committed Neither let any one whome those Reports shall seeme to touch cauill or complaine of iniury sithence nothing is set downe by a malitious hand Farewell THE WONDERfull yeare VErtumnus being attired in his accustomed habit of changeable silke Vertumnus God of the yeare had newly passed through the first and principall Court-gate of heauen to whom for a farewell Description of the Spring and to shewe how dutifull he was in his office Ianus that beares two faces vnder one hood made a very mannerly lowe legge and because he was the onely Porter at that gate presented vnto this King of the monethes all the New-yeares gifts which were more in number and more worth then those that are giuen to the great Turke or the Emperour of Persia on went Vertumnus in his lustie progresse Priapus Flora the Dryades and Hamadryades with all the woodden rabble of those that drest Orchards and Gardens perfuming all the wayes that he went with the swéete Odours that breath'd from flowers hearbes and trées which now began to péepe out of prison by vertue of which excellent aires the skie got a most cleare complexion lookt smug and smoothe and had not so much as a wart sticking on her face the Sunne likewise was freshly and verie richly apparelled in cloth of gold like a bridegroome and in stead of gilded Rosemary the hornes of the Ramme Vpon the 23 of Marche the Spring begins by reason of the Sunnes entrance into Aries being the signe of that celestiall bride-house where he laie to be marryed to the Spring were not like your common hornes parcell-gilt but double double-gilt with the liquid gold that melted from his beames for ioy whereof the Larke sung at his windowe euery morning the Nightingale euery night the Cuckooe like a single-sole Fidler that réeles from Tauerne to Tauerne plide it all the day long Lambes friskte vp and downe in the vallies Kids and Goates leapt too and fro on the Mountaines Shepheards sat piping country wenches singing Louers made Sonnets for their Lasses whilest they made Garlands for their Louers And as the Country was frolicke so was the Citie mery Oliue Trées which grow no where but in the Garden of peace stood as common as Béech does at Midsomer at euery mans doore braunches of Palme were in euery mans hande Stréetes were full of people people full of ioy euery house séemde to haue a Lorde of misrule in it in euery house there was so much iollity no Scritch-Owle frighted the silly Countryman at midnight nor any Drum the Citizen at noone-day but all was more calme than a still water all husht as if the Spheres had bene playing in Consort In conclusion heauen lookt like a Pallace and the great hall of the earth like a Paradice But O the short-liu'de Felicitie of man O world of what slight and thin stuffe is thy happinesse Iust in the midst of this iocund Hollday a storme rises in the West The Queenes sicknes Westward from the toppe of a Ritch-mount descended a hidious tempest that shooke Cedars terrified the tallest Pines and cleft in sunder euen the hardest hearts of Oake And if such great trées were shaken what thinke you became of the tender Eglantine and humble Hawthorne they could not doubtlesse but droope they could not choose but die with the terror The Element taking the Destinies part who indéed set abroach this mischiefe scowled on the earth and filling her hie forehead full of blacke wrinckles tumbling long vp and downe like a great bellyed wife her sighes being whirlewindes and her grones thunder at length she fell in labour and was deliuered of a pale meagre weake childe named Sicknesse whom Death with a pestilence would néedes take vpon him to nurse and did so This starueling being come to his full growth had an office giuen him for nothing and that 's a wonder in this age Death made him his Herauld attirde him like a Courtier and in his name chargde him to goe into the Priuie Chamber of the English Queene to sommon her to appeare in the Star-chamber of heauen The sommons made her start but hauing an inuincible spirit did not amaze her yet whom would not the certaine newes of parting from a Kingdome amaze But she knewe where to finde a richer Her death and therefore lightlie regarded the losse of this and thereupon made readie for that heauenlie Coronation being which was most strange most dutifull to obay that had so many yeares so powrefully commaunded She obayed deaths messenger and yéelded her body to the hands of death himselfe She dyed resigning her Scepter to posteritie and her Soule to immortalitie The report of her death like a thunder-clap was able to kill thousands it tooke away hearts from millions for hauing brought vp euen vnder her wing a nation that was almost begotten and borne vnder her that neuer shouted any other Aue than for her name neuer sawe the face of any Prince but her selfe neuer vnderstoode what that strange out landish word Change signified how was it possible but that her sicknes should throw abroad an vniuersall feare The generall terror that her death bred and her death an astonishment She was the Courtiers treasure therefore he had cause to mourne the Lawyers sword of iustice he might well faint the Merchants patronesse

true pictures Eccho forth your grones through the hollow truncke of my pen and raine downe your gummy teares into mine Incke that euen marble bosomes may be shaken with terrour and hearts of Adamant melt into compassion What an vnmatchable torment were it for a man to be bard vp euery night in a vast silent Charnell-house hung to make it more hideous with lamps dimly slowly burning in hollow and glimmering corners where all the pauement should in stead of gréene rushes be strewde with blasted Rosemary withered Hyacinthes fatall Cipresse and Ewe thickly mingled with heapes of dead mens bones the bare ribbes of a father that begat him lying there here the Chaples hollow scull of a mother that bore him round about him a thousand Coarses some standing bolt vpright in their knotted winding shéetes others halfe mouldred in rotten Goffins that should suddenly yawne wide open filling his nosthrils with noysome stench and his eyes with the sight of nothing but crawling wormes And to kéepe such a poore wretch waking he should hear no noise but of Toads croaking Scréech-Owles howling Mandrakes shriking were not this an infernall prison would not the strongest-harted man beset with such a ghastly horror looke wilde and runne madde and die And euen such a formidable shape did the diseased Citie appeare in For he that durst in the dead houre of gloomy midnight haue bene so valiant as to haue walkte through the stil and melancholy stréets what thinke you should haue bene his musicke Surely the loude grones of rauing sicke men the strugling panges of soules departing In euery house griefe striking vp an Allarum Seruants crying out for maisters wiues for husbands parents for children children for their mothers here he should haue met some frantickly running to knock vp Sextons there others fearfully sweating with Coffins to steale forth dead bodies least the fatall hand-writing of death should seale vp their doores And to make this dismall consort more full round about him Bells heauily tolling in one place and ringing out in another The dreadfulnesse of such an houre is in-vtterable let vs goe further If some poore man suddeinly starting out of a sweet and golden slumber should behold his house flaming about his eares all his family destroied in their sléepes by the mercilesse fire himselfe in the verie midst of it wofully and like a madde man calling for helpe would not the misery of such a distressed soule appeare the greater if the rich Vsurer dwelling next doore to him should not stirre though he felt part of the danger but suffer him to perish when the thrusting out of an arme might haue saued him O how many thousandes of wretched people haue acted this poore mans part how often hath the amazed husband waking found the comfort of his bedde lying breathlesse by his side his children at the same instant gasping for life and his seruaunts mortally wounded at the hart by sicknes the distracted creature beats at deaths doores exclaimes at windows his cries are sharp inough to pierce heauen but on earth no eare is opend to receiue them And in this maner do the tedious minutes of the night stretch out the sorrowes of ten thousand It is now day let vs looke forth and try what Consolation rizes with the Sun not any not any for before the Iewell of the morning be fully set in siluer a hundred hungry graues stand gaping and euery one of them as at a breakfast hath swallowed downe ten or eleuen liueles carcases before dinner in the same gulfe are twice so many more deuoured and before the sun takes his rest those numbers are doubled Thréescore that not many houres before had euery one seuerall lodgings very delicately furnisht are now thrust altogether into one close roome a litle litle noisom roome not fully ten foote square Doth not this strike coldly to the hart of a worldly mizer To some the very sound of deaths name is in stead of a passing bell what shall become of such a coward being told that the selfe-same bodie of his which now is so pampered with superfluous fare so perfumed and bathed in odoriferous waters and so gaily apparelled in varietie of fashiōs must one day be throwne like stinking carion into a rank rotten graue where his goodly eies that did once shoote foorth such amorous glances must be eaten out of his head his lockes that hang wantonly dangling troden in durt vnder foote this doubtlesse like thunder must néeds strike him into the earth But wretched man when thou shalt sée and be assured by tokens sent thée from heauen that to morrow thou must be fumbled into a Mucke-pit and suffer thy body to be bruisde and prest with threescore dead men lying slouenly vpon thée and thou to be vndermost of all yea and perhaps halfe of that number were thine enemies and sée howe they may be reuenged for the wormes that bréed out of their putrifying carcasses shall crawle in huge swarmes from them and quite deuoure thée what agonies wil this straunge newes driue thée into If thou art in loue with thy selfe this cannot choose but possesse thée with frenzie But thou art gotten safe out of the ciuill citie Calamitie to thy Parkes and Pallaces in the Country lading thy Asses and thy Mules with thy gold thy god thy plate and thy Iewels and the fruites of thy wombe thriftily growing vp but in one onely sonne the young Landlord of all thy carefull labours him also hast thou rescued from the arrowes of infection Now is thy soule iocund and thy sences merry But open thine eyes thou Foole and behold that darling of thine eye thy sonne turnde suddeinly into a lumpe of clay the hand of pestilence hath smote him euen vnder thy wing Now doest thou rent thine haire blaspheme thy Creator cursest thy creation and basely descendest into bruitish vnmanly passions threatning in despite of death his Plague to maintaine the memory of thy childe in the euerlasting brest of Marble a tombe must now defend him from tempests And for that purpose the swetty hinde that digs the rent he paies thée out of the entrailes of the earth he is sent for to conuey foorth that burden of thy sorrow But note how thy pride is disdained that weather-beaten sun-burnt drudge that not a month since fawnde vpon thy worship like a Spaniell and like a bond-slaue would haue stoopt lower than thy féete does now stoppe his nose at thy presence and is readie to set his Mastiue as hye as thy throate to driue thée from his doore all thy golde and siluer cannot hire one of those whom before thou didst scorne to carry the dead body to his last home the Countrey round about thée shun thée as a Basiliske and therfore to London from whose armes thou cowardly fledst away poast vpon poast must be galloping to fetch from thence those that may performe that Funerall office But there are they so full of graue-matters of their owne that they haue no

Alack that the West Indies stand so farre from Vniuersities and that a minde richly apparelled should haue a thred-bare body made faithfull promise to him that he should be naild vp he would boord him and for that purpose went instantlie to one of the new-found trade of Coffin-cutters bespake one and like the Surueyor of deaths buildings gaue direction how this little Tenement should be framed paying all the rent for it before hand But note vpon what slippery ground life goes little did he thinke to dwell in that roome himselfe which he had taken for his friend yet it séemed the common lawe of mortalitie had so decréede for he was cald into the colde companie of his graue neighbors an houre before his infected friend and had a long lease euen till doomes day in the same lodging which in the strength of health he went to prepare for the other What credit therefore is to be giuen to breath which like a harlot will runne away with euery minute How nimble is Sicknes and what skill hath he in all the weapons he playes withall The greatest cutter that takes vp the Mediterranean I le in Powles for his Gallery to walke in cannot ward off his blowes Hée s the best Fencer in the world Vincentio Sauiolo is no body to him He has his Mandrittaes Imbrocataes Stramazones and Stoccataes at 's fingers ends hée le make you giue him ground tho you were neuer worth foote of land and beat you out of breath though Aeolus himselfe plaid vpō your wind-pipe To witnes which I will call forth a Dutchman yet now hée s past calling for h 'as lost his hearing for his eares by this time are eaten off with wormes who though hée dwelt in Bedlem was not mad yet the very lookes of the Plague which indéede are terrible put him almost out of his wits for when the snares of this cunning hunter the Pestilence were but newly layd and yet layd as my Dutchman smelt it out well enough to intrap poore mens liues that meant him no hurt away sneakes my clipper of the kings english and because Musket-shot should not reach him to the Low-countries that are built vpon butter-firkins and holland chéese sayles this plaguie fugitiue but death who hath more authoritie there than all the seauen Electors and to shew him that there were other Low-countries besides his owne takes a little Frokin one of my Dutch runnawayes children and sends her packing into those Netherlands she departed O how pitifullie lookt my Burgomaister when he vnderstood that the sicknes could swim It was an easie matter to scape the Dunkirks but Deaths Gallyes made out after him swifter than the great Turks Which he perceiuing made no more adoo but drunke to the States fiue or sixe healths because he would be sure to liue well and back againe comes he to try the strength of English Béere his old Randeuous of mad-men was the place of méeting where he was no sooner arriued but the Plague had him by the back and arrested him vpon an Exeat Regnum for running to the enemie so that for the mad tricks he plaid to cosen our english wormes of his Dutch carcas which had bin fatted héere sicknes and death clapt him vp in Bedlem the second time and there he lyes and there he shall lye till he rot before I le meble any more with him But being gotten out of Bedlem let vs make a iourney to Bristow taking an honest knowne Citizen along with vs who with other companie trauailing thither only for feare the aire of London should conspire to poison him and setting vp his rest not to heare the sound of Bow-bell till next Christmas was notwithstanding in the hye way singled out from his companie and set vpon by the Plague who bid him stand and deliuer his life The rest at that word shifted for themselues and went on he amazed to sée his friends flye and being not able to defend himselfe for who can defend himselfe méeting such an enemy yeelded and being but about fortie miles from London vsed all the slights he could to get loose out of the hands of death and so to hide himselfe in his owne house whereupon he cald for help at the same Inne where not long before he and his fellow-pilgrimes obteined for their money mary yet with more prayers then a begger makes in thrée Tearmes to stand and drinke some thirtie foote from the doore To this house of tipling Iniquitie he repaires againe coniuring the Lares or walking Sprites in it if they were Christians that if was well put in and in the name of God to succor and rescue him to their power out of the hands of infection which now assaulted his body the Diuell would haue bin afraid of this coniuration but they were not yet afraid they were it séemde for presentlie the doores had their wodden ribs crusht in pieces by being beaten together the casements were shut more close then an Vsurers greasie veluet pouch the drawing windowes were hangd drawne and quartered not a creuis but was stopt not a mouse-hole left open for all the holes in the house were most wickedlie dambd vp mine Host and Hostesse ran ouer one another into the back-side the maydes into the Orchard quiuering and quaking and readie to hang themselues on the innocent Plomtrées for hanging to them would not be so sore a death as the Plague to dye maydes too Oh horible As for the Tapster he fled into the Celler rapping out fiue or sixe plaine Countrey oathes that he would drowne himselfe in a most villanous Stand of Ale if the sick Londoner stoode at the dore any longer But stand there he must for to goe away well he cannot but continues knocking and calling in a faint voice which in their eares sounded as if some staring ghost in a Tragedy had exclaimd vpon Rhadamanth he might knock till his hands akt and call till his heart akt for they were in a worse pickle within than he was without he being in a good way to go to heauen they being so frighted that they scarce knew whereabout heauen stoode onely they all cryed out Lord haue mercy vpon vs yet Lord haue mercy vpon vs was the onely thing they feared The dolefull Catastrophe of all is a bed could not be had for all Babylon not a cup of drinke no nor cold water be gotten though it had bin for Alexander the great if a draught of Aqua vitae might haue sau'd his soule the towne denyed to do God that good seruice What miserie continues euer The poore man standing thus at deaths dore and looking euery minute when he should be let in behold another Londoner that had likewise bin in the Frigida Zona of the countrey and was returning like Aeneas out of hell to the heauen of his owne home makes a stand at this sight to play the Phisition and seeing by the complexion of his patient that he was sick at heart applies to