the poore and religiously rule ouer them who being drowned in riches and delicats and swollen with costly meates seeing the poore before their Pallace gates naked and perrishing through hunger and cold doe not stretch out their hands vnto them neyther are mooued vvith any pittie but gyuing themselues vvholie to playes sportings gaming 's feastings and banquets vtterly forget the poore the charge of whom is so often committed and commended vnto thē in the Scriptures neither doe they remember God at any time except perhaps lightly and by the way cursorily perfunctorily Let them certainly perswade themselues and remember these things when they shall feele try them that a most strict and exact aceount shal be required of them vvhy they haue not destributed to the poore those things which were superfluous vnto them and if they cannot giue an account nor purge themselues their soules shall suffer intollerable torments in the deepest pit of hel O how easily doe they offend and howe suddainly are they envvrapped in punishment vvho doe not consider hovve they must dye or howe God shall iudge them O how vncircumspect and vnhappy are they that do not remēber these thinges and doe not resist the temptations of the deuil I dare boldly affirme that if they did acknowledge God to be their Iudge think that they shold die that they wold not sinne at the least with so great security all feare set apart But now they come to Church not to heare the diuine word to pray but to see vanity beuty the pride of womē This is their thought this their intent this their sermon There they talk confer how they may heape riches together there they dispute of the sundry fashions of apparel there they inuite one another to feasts banquets to the dishonest delights of gluttony of whom S Bernard sayth O wretches what do yee who before the time do slay your own soules corrupt and putrifie your bodies Tell me whence comes infirmity whence groweth the sodaine death of yong men but of great aboundance of meats immoderate venery Wretched are ye because ye think that ye can delude God but in truth yee deceaue your selues because yee neglect your soules that yee may pamper your bodies so yee destroy them both before the time appoynted Your pleasure and reioycing shall continue but that short time yee liue but after death your bewaylings and torments shall endure with deuils in hell for euer and euer there shal be euerlasting shame and confusion there shal neither be sumptuous banquets nor delicate wines there with the rich Glutton who in thys world fared delicatly yee shall craue a drop of cold water and it shall not be giuen vnto you for there no man gathereth or reapeth any thing but that hee hath sown in this world What then ô miserable man doest thou Why doest thou not repent Why doest thou not amend thy life O hart harder then a rocke why doest thou linger Why doest thou deferre repentance for thy sinns Why doest thou prorogue thy cōuersion Behold how death commeth running swiftly to carrie thee avvay the deuill standeth ready to catch thy soule and the wormes greedily expect thy flesh which thou hast fatted vvith so fine cates that they may haue more aboundant and more toothsom foode Doth not that horrible and fearefull day of iudgment come into thy mind in vvhich thou shalt not onely render a most stricte account of thy pride gluttony luxury vayne glory vanity and of thy time vnprofitably spent but also of euery idle word Beware that thou fall not into that dreadful condemnation which the Son of God not now a Lambe but a Lyon shal pronounce against the cursed saying Depart from me ye cursed into euerlasting fire which is prepared for the deuill and his angels Beholde sayth Bernard ô thou worldly sinner how farre thou wanderest out of the way if in this world thou seekest for honours pleasures and glory for thou shalt neuer finde that heere which may satisfie thee If thou desirest true ioy and true glory endeuour and labour to goe to heauen by the right way wher the ioyes are truer and better then euer eye hath seene or eare hath heard or hath at any time entred into the heart of man I pray thee for those eternall and euerlasting ioyes neglect and basely account of these transitory and momentary pleasures But what shall wee say of them who can neyther be induced by the feare or loue of GOD nor by the terrour of death nor by the horrour of hellish tormentes to forsake theyr sinnes yea vvhom it repenteth that that they haue not power and abilitie to liue as wickedly as they would that they might satisfie theyr lustes in all thinges O miserable wretches yee laugh in this vvorld but yee shall weepe in the other VVoe bee vnto you who desire momentanie and fading pleasures because yee shall suffer greate and euerlasting torments A lyttle tyme yet remayneth fill vppe the measure of your iniquityes and miseries that the indignation of GOD may bee more plentifullie powred dovvne vppon you Reioyce a lyttle giue ouer your selues to tryflings to toies fables sportings lyes contentions and enmities and let no time passe you in vaine What doe yee Scrape together for your children riches honours and dominions purchase nobility renowne for them that they may doe that which yee left to doe and finish what yee began that yee together vvith them may be tortured vvith greater torments But some man may say God is bountifull gracious mercifull hee receaueth euery sinner that turnes to him with all his hart and he pardoneth all their faults True it is my brother he is more mercifull then thou supposest when he so patiently suffereth sinners and so mercifully granteth thē space to repent in that they may amend themselues and if they returne vnto him he graciously receaueth them But I would haue thee to know that as he is mercifull in suffering expecting and pardoning so he is iust in correcting and punishing If thou shalt say Albeit a man sinne all his life time neither doe any good at all if hee repent at the very point instance of death God will forgiue him all hys sinnes O my brother hovve vaine is this comfort Howe false deceitfull is this cogitation for of an hundred thousand sinners that defer their repētance to the houre of death scarsely one is saued and obtaineth remission of his sinnes A man borne in sinne neuer lyuing according to the lavve of the Lord without the knowledge of him neuer willing to heare the worde of God not knowing what sinne is or what repentance is drowned in the businesses and cares of thys world afflicted with the loue of his children whom hee leaueth with the griefe of his riches which he forsaketh tormented without hope euer to enioy them again what repentance can he make who if any hope of longer life or recouery
thirsteth as it is sayd in the booke of Iob that he drinketh vp the riuer and hasteth not and hee trusteth that hee can draw vp Iorden into his mouth His mouth is hell and the riuer that runneth into his hellish mouth are sinners vvho with great celerity as swift riuers hast into his iawes whom hee swalloweth vp with great thirst and desire It is reported in the life 's of the Fathers that the Prince of deuils did commend and honour one of his traine yea commaunded him to sitte in his chayre of estate crovvned because hee had brought a certayne religious man to the sinne of luxurie vvhom hee had beene enticing fourty yeeres and could not bring him to nibble or byte at his bayte Therefore mourne and lament ô sinfull soule verie bitterlie seeing thou hast so often reioyced thy mortall enemies by sinning so mortallie to thy greate losse and daunger and in steede thereof yeeld repentance and a pure conuersion of heart vnto God that God and his Angells may in like manner reioyce For there is ioy in the presence of the Angels of God for one sinner that conuerteth The third principall reason for which sinne is to be eschewed is the great dammage we reape by it For first by sinne wee are estranged from God and made his enemies This is that which Esay saith Your iniquities haue seperated betweene you and your God and your sinnes haue hid his face from you that he will not heare If all the blessed Cittizens of that heauenly Country could either sinne or would sinne they should fall from heauen into the bottomles depth of hell and should vtterly loose the amity and friendship which they haue with God Heere-vpon Augustine saith If thy faythfull friend offend thee thou thinkest him woorthy to be reprehended howe much more worthy art thou to be blamed if thou sinnest against almighty God thy most gracious and mercifull Father Secondly sinne maketh his Author guilty of infernall torments And because the diuine law doth not much differ from humaine constitutions that which mans lawe doth to the body the same Gods lawe inflicteth vpon the soule Therfore mark how the law of man maketh the transgressor of the Kings commaundement and the contemner of his royall Maiesty guilty of death as it is written in Ezra where it is remembred that King Darius when he had promulgated his decree as concerning the reedifying of the temple at Ierusalem added at the end of his letter Pattens I haue made a decree That who soeuer shall alter this sentence the wood shall be pulled downe from his house and shall be set vp and he shall be hanged thereon and his house shall be made a dunghill for this This vvood is our owne consciences VVee haue the lyke example in Ester where Assuerus commaunded Haman to be hanged This is the sentence of GOD which he will pronounce at the last day agaynst them who shall bee found to haue liued in theyr sinnes let them be hanged vp in hell The third losse is sinne spoileth man in this lyfe of all spirituall graces and in the world to come of euerlasting glory wherefore Salomon saith Sin maketh men miserable Neither is a sinner onely miserable because hee hath not but also because hee hath lost himselfe and his liberty he maketh himselfe the deuills slaue and captiue neyther can he make any spyrituall gayne nor doe any thing in this state acceptable vnto God Neither doth hee liue albeit his body breath a little For a wicked man as sayth Boethius is not aliue but dead for by sinne hee hath seperated him-selfe from the light and is blind The same testifieth Sophonias They shal walke sayth hee as blinde men because they haue sinned agaynst the Lorde And Dauid sayth They haue not knowne nor vnderstoode they walke in darknesse all the foundations of the earth are out of square Esay in the person of sinners dooth more elegantly set them out in their colours We grope for the wall like the blind and we grope as one without eyes wee stumble at the noone day as in the twilight we are in solitary places as dead men Sinne is the same in the soule that rottennes is in an apple for as that doth corrupt the tast smell colour and the whole beauty of the apple so sinne doth rob the soule of the dignity of grace of the report of a good name and of the comlines of all her beauty For this cause Esay doth compare sinners to the mire of the streetes Augustine also affirmeth that a dead dogg doth not stink so filthily in the nosethrils of men as a sinfull soule doth before God and his Angels And the same Father in a certaine Sermon desirous to call a man from the way of sinners saith What doth it profit thee if all thinges be good in thine house and thou thy selfe be not good Tell mee I pray thee why wouldest thou haue any euil or naughtines in thine actions thoughts or desires wouldest not haue naughty graine nor an euill tree but a good one a good horse a good seruant a good friend a good child a good wife But why doe I remēber these great matters when thou wilt not haue a ragged but a whole garmēt to be briefe a good shooe and not one that is torn Or tel me of any thing that thou wishest for which is naught or that thou desirest any thing which is not good I thinke that thou vvouldest not haue a ruinous house but a good house and wilt thou onely haue an euill soule VVherein hast thou offended thy selfe In what hast thou deserued ill of thy selfe Wilt thou not haue anie thing euill among thy good things but only thy selfe Prefer I pray thee thy life before thy shooes All thinges that are obuious vnto thine eies are good beautifull and elegant and thou louest them and art delighted in them and hovve can it be that thou thy selfe wilt be euill vile impure and abiect If all thinges that are in thine house could speak they would crie aloude and say If thou desirest that vvee should bee good vvee also desire a good Maister and they would exclayme against thee vnto God and say O good God thou hast giuen vnto this man so manie good thinges and so much vvealth vvhen as hee himselfe is vvicked and euill vvhat doe those thinges profitte hym vvhich hee hath vvhen as his vnderstanding is blinded and he possesseth not the Lord that bestovved these things vpon him The fourth dammage is that sinne maketh a man a brute beast Therefore Boethius sayth If thou takest goodnesse from a good man hee shall bee a beast And Aristotle sayth in his Ethicks that such a man is vvorse then a beast Neyther dooth the holie Scripture dissent from them vvhen it sayth Man beeing in honour hath no vnderstanding but is compared vn-the beasts that perrish The fift dammage is that sin
enter in with Iesus Christ and enioy all the blessings of his glory Chastice novve thy body vvith repentance that thou mayst then finde most firme assurance O howe happy prudent is that man who laboureth nowe to be such an one as hee will desire to be in that doubtfull and dreadful houre of death Therfore now contend with all thy might to bee such an one for thou knowest not when thou shalt die neither what wil happen vnto thee after death Doe not relie eyther vppon thy friendes or thy children for they will forgette thee sooner then thou thinkest and vnlesse now thou disposest of all thinges who can or will heereafter dispose of them for thee Be carefull and prouident for it is better to foresee and preuent that day with good preparation then to looke for helpe and ayde of another Therfore gather now immortall goods giue almes in thys life make those holy and blessed ones thy friends that when thou departest hence they may receaue thee into their euerlasting habitations For that glorious Doctour of the Church Saint Gregory saith that those things are with great diligence to be considered of and those works with many teares to bee meditated vppon which the Iudge of the world shall exact of vs when that houre of death shall come And Saint Bernard sayth O my soule what feare shal there be when all are sent away whose presence was pleasant vnto thee whose sight acceptable and whose neighbourhood so familiar and thou altogether alone enterest into that vnknowne region shalt see those vgly horible monsters flocking to meete thee Who wil succour thee in a day of so great necessitie Who shall defende thee from those roaring Lyons greedy of theyr pray who shal comfort thee who shal helpe thee who shal conduct thee But happie is that soule which confidentlie and boldly shall speake to her enemies in the gate vvhy standest thou heere thou cruel and bloody beast Thou shalt find nothing deadly in me which shal be entertayned of Angels defended from the rage violence of deuils and shal bee carried into the bosome of Abraham Of death and the way of sinners in an other place also thus speaketh S. Bernard The death of sinners is exceeding euil And heare why it is exceeding euil It is euil in the losse of the worlde vvorse in the seperation of the flesh but worst of al in the double torment of the vvorme and of fire But of al it is exceeding euil because the soule shal bee seperated from the Diuine aspect and with great confusion shal bee for euer depriued of the sight of God Consider my deare brother and marke that no man can eschew death neyther know the houre nor change the time appoynted of God But the death of the righteous is good for they rest from their labours better for the nouelty of the life but best of all for the assurance and security of eternity The seauenth Meditation for Sonday of the ioyes of the blessed in heauen and of the paynes of the damned in hell O Sinfull soule if these earthly thinges seeme vile vnto thee and of no price lift vp thine eyes and beholde heauenlie things consider with great diligence what thinges they be and how great which GOD hath prepared for the Elect. For they be such and so great that as Saint Paul sayth neither eye hath seene nor eare hath heard neyther hath entred into the hart of man Therefore wee must knowe that the delightes of a blessed lyfe are so many and so great that no Arithmetitian can number them no Geomater can measure thē neyther can any Grammarian Logitian or Rhetoritian expresse them eyther by wordes or reasons Seeing neither eye hath seene theyr greatnes nor eare hath heard of them neyther at any time haue they entered into mans heart There the Saints shall ioy beeing circled and compassed with glorie beholding the Diuine essence aboue them seeing the beauty of the heauens and of all creatures beneath them viewing in thēselues the dignity of their soules and glory of their bodies and to bee briefe hauing about them the societie and fellowshippe of all the Angells and blessed Spyrites Hence it is that Anselmus sayth that there are fourteene partes of that felicity vvhich all the Elect shall perfectlie haue vvhen that generall session is ended seauen of the body and as many of the soule the first of vvhich is beautie for in that lyfe the beautie of the righteous shall bee equall to the beautie of the Sunne vvhich shall bee seauen folde brighter then it novve is VVhere-vppon it is written That the iust shall shyne as the Sunne in the Kingdome of God The second shall bee theyr agilitie which shall bee like vnto that of Angells for they shall bee mooued from heauen to the earth and from the earth to heauen sooner then we can mooue one of our fingers vp and downe VVe may beholde an example of this velocitie in the beames of the Sunne vvhich at the Sunne rysing in the East are in a moment carryed to the VVest that thereby we may consider that it is not impossible which wee speake of this our future swiftnesse and celerity especially seeing that greater velocitie is wont to bee in all thinges liuing thē in those things that are liuelesse The third part of their beatitude is fortitude for whosoeuer shall be accounted woorthy to be numbred vvith the celestiall Cittizens shal excell in strength so that no man shal be able to resist them For theyr fortitude shall be as great as that of Angells with whom they liue in ioy for as theyr glory shall be a like so theyr other gyfts shall bee a like The fourth shall bee free and secure liberty for as nothing can hinder Angels so nothing shall hinder the Saints neyther shal any element whatsoeuer bee able to resist them The fift part of theyr beatitude is health which shall bee vvithout infirmitie Of thys health of the righteous vvhat can bee sayd better then that which the sweete Singer of Israel speaketh saying The health of the righteous is of the Lord. And to whom this sound and true health is giuen of the Lorde what infirmitie can any way touch them or come neere them The sixt gift of beatitude is an ineffable delight which shal make drunke the righteous shal fill them full and wholy replenish them with an vnspeakeable aboundance of inestimable ioy What said I shal fil them ful and wholy repleanish them yea theyr eyes nostrils ears mouth hands throat lunges marrow and theyr very entrailes and all and euey part and member of them shal be filled with such wonderfull sence and feeling of such exceeding incomparable pleasure delight that the whole man shal quaffe of the riuer of Gods pleasure and shall bee made drunke with the plentie of his house so that hee shall stande amazed and bee altogether astonished and those
GRANADOS Spirituall and heauenlie Exercises Deuided into seauen pithie and briefe Meditations for euery day in the vveeke one Written in Spanish by the learned and reuerend Diuine F. Lewes of Granado Since translated into the Latine Italian French and the Germaine tongue And now englished by Francis Meres Maister of Artes of both Vniuersities and student in Diuinitie AT LONDON Printed by Iames Robarts for I. B. Anno. Dom. 1598. To the valorous and noble minded Gentleman Captaine Iohn Sammes Esquire F. M. hartily wisheth in this life the health yeeres happines of Galen Nestor and Augustus and in the other the delight rest and ioy of Abraham Isaac and Iacob THere bee three thinges Right worshipful greatlie desired in this lyfe Health VVealth Fame it is a question which of these is cheefe the sicke sayth Health the couetous commendeth VVealth and both these place good name last of all But they be both partiall Iudges because Health VVealth though they be neuer so good and so great end with the body and are subiect to time But honour fame renowne and good report doe tryumph ouer death and make men liue for euer Nunquā stigias fertur ad vmbras Inclyta virtus Immensum calcar gloria habet there is not a greater inticement vnto vertue then Fame true glory Spes famae solet ad virtutem impellere multos This made Alexander in honor of armes to emulate Achilles Scipio Africanus to imitate Xenophons Cyrus Caesar to patterne himselfe by Alexander Selimus Prince of Turkes to trace the steps of Caesar and Carolus Quintus to fire his thoughts at Philip Cominaeus his Lodouicus xi King of Fraunce Proceede noble and heroyick Spirite with young Troylus to ayme at Hectors glory And as the pregnancie of your Hopes promiseth to be an Huniades to the Turkes a Talbot to the French and a Drake to the Spanyard so also bee an Artaxerxes to Hippocrates an Alexander to Pindarus and Aristotle a Scipio to Ennius an Augustus to Virgil a Traian to Plutarch and a Mecaenas to all Schollers And then as the sworde dooth defend the penne of the Scholler so the penne shal grace the sword of the Souldiour shall tunablie sonnet that paracleticall verse out of Horace Dignum laude virum Musa vetat mori Learning indeede vvould bee soone put to silence without the ayde support of noble bountifull and generous spirits In hope of which ayde and supportation I present these diuine and celestiall meditations vnto your VVorship which vnder the title of your protection may doe as much good in England as they haue done in Spayne Portugall Italy Fraunce and Germanie Lodouicus Granatensis the Authour of these heauenly and spyrituall Meditations hath so cunningly portrayed in this Treatise the myseries and calamities of this lyfe and with such diuine eloquence depainted the future blessednes of the other that for stile hee seemes to mee another Cicero and for sounde and emphaticall perswasion a second Paule VVhose diuine spirit heauenly writing as it hath moued the Italians Camillus Camilli Georgius Angelierus Timotheus Bagnus Iohannes Baptista Porcacchius to translate his works into theyr language and Michael of Isselt to conuert thē into Latine Philippus Doberniner into the Germaine tongue so also hath it mooued me to digest thē into English that nowe at the length our Country might enioy that rare Iewel vvhich those famous Countries doe so highly prize For further commendation of the Authour and thys Booke I referre your VVorship to the present discourse which I assure my selfe will worke those motions in you that it shal neyther yrke you of your paines nor mee of my labour Thus boldlie presuming on your curteous acceptation I commit you to hys sacred protection who graceth heere vpon the earth the memories of the valiant and vertuous by the pennes of Schollers and glorifieth them in heauen with his chosen men of vvarre who with Iosua haue fought his battailes and with Dauid haue vnsheathed their swords to auenge his quarrell London the 24. of Nouember 1598. At your Worships commaundement Francis Meres The Contents of the seuerall heads discoursed in this Booke THE Prologue a briefe manner of Meditation Page 1. The first Meditation for Monday Of the miserie in which man is created page 21. The second Meditation for Tuesday of sinne and what discommodities come by it page 39 The third Meditation for Wednesday how dangerous it is to deferre repentance page 63 The fourth meditatiō for Thursday of the contempt of the world and with what hatred and diligence it is to be eschewed page 99. The fift Meditation for Friday of the vanity of the glory and magnificence of this world 120 The sixt Meditation for Saterday how death is to be feared and that a Christian ought so to liue that death may neuer find him vnprepared 147. The seauenth Meditation for Sonday of the ioyes of the blessed in heauen and of the paynes of the damned in hell page 166 Lastly there is annexed to these seauen celestiall Meditations an excellent Exposition vpon the one and fifty Psalme 208. THE Prologue and a briefe manner of Meditation ALl thinges passe away except the loue of GOD. Whē as the wise man had contemplated and by long experience learned the mutabilitie of all things neither had found any constancie or certainelie very little in any thing created in this world but many desires an vnsatiable thirst of men which violently forced them to hunt after these transitorie things at length he cryeth out Vanity of vanities all is vanity affliction of spirit And when he had runne thorow and experimēted all things in the world with a most wholesome councell he concludeth his disputation saying Remember thy Creator in the dayes of thy youth whiles the euill dayes come not nor the yeeres approch wherein thou shalt say I haue no pleasure in them whiles the Sun is not dark nor the light nor the Moone nor the starres nor the clowdes returne after the raine Feare God and keepe his commaundements for this is the whole dutie of man And because the whole safety of our soules and all our blessednes dependeth of this councell it is most aptly and fitlie spoken of S. Gregory That there is no such sacrifice offered to the Almightie as the zeale of the soule is vvhich sheweth by vvholesome doctrines the vvay vnto celestiall glory I beeing therefore moued by this zeale although vnworthy to teach haue gathered this short tractate out of diuers authorities of holy doctors that a soule drowned in the pollution of sinne beeing conuicted by these instructions authorities of holy men and enlightned of the holie Ghost might bee reduced to her Creator and Redeemer as a straying and lost sheepe or at the length might know her estate and the errors and daungers which she in this vvorld is in whilst shee continueth in sinne and being touched with the sorrow of contrition might returne vnto God and returning
of the corruption of the flesh in the pollution of pleasure in the heat of lust and that vvhich is vvorst of all in the corruption of sinne Ponder also with thy selfe with what meat thou wast nourished being conceaued in thy mothers wombe surely with none other then with impure menstruous and hurtfull blood which stayeth in women from the time of theyr conceauing that by it theyr yong ones may be nourished in their wombes Remember that GOD hath created thee of the slime of the earth which is the basest element Hee created the starres and planets of fire birds of the ayre and fishes of water but men and other creatures of the slime of the earth Therfore compare thy selfe with the fishes and beasts bred of the water and thou shalt find thy self of a more abiect nature vilder condition then they are If thou beholdest the fowles and creatures that liue in the ayre neyther art thou to be compared vnto them if thou considerest the nature of the Planets starres and other things made of fire thou art much more ignoble Thou canst neyther be compared to celestiall things nor be preferred before terrestriall but if thou comparest thy selfe to brute creatures in these alone thou shalt find some semblance and likelihood with thy selfe as the Wiseman testifieth who sayth That the condition of the children of men and the condition of beasts are euen as one condition vnto them As the one dyeth so dyeth the other for they haue all one breath and there is no excellency of man aboue the beast For man hath not as touching his body any more then a beast hath seeing both of them are framed and created of earth and both of them in like maner are resolued into earth Remember that whē thou wast borne thou wast brought foorth into thys miserable world howling and weeping as it were foreseeing and therfore bewayling the labours dangers dolors which in this worlde are to be sustained and that which is vvorst of all deploring death it selfe Wherefore if perhaps thou beest borne in a noble and honorable place neither remembrest how vile a beginning and howe abiect an originall thou haddest if the beautie of thy countenaunce and comlinesse of thy proportion if the lineaments of thy body if the fauor of the people if the heate of youth aboundance of riches take away the knowledge of thy selfe frō thee yet neuerthelesse if thou desirest to knovve what man is heare vvhat that most glorious Father S. Augustine sayth the star and light of the doctors of the church hear I say what he saith Wretched man saith he what am I but a vessell ful of dung and corruption a stinking and detestable worm poore naked subiect to many necessities who knowes not whence I came nor whether I shall goe Miserable and mortall am I whose dayes vanish fade as a shadow whose life increaseth and decreaseth as the Moone and as a leafe vpon a tree nowe florishing and to morrow withering I am earth misery the child of wrath and a vessell of indignation reprobation I was borne in the corruption of sinne I lyue in miserie and labour and shall ende my dayes in griefe and anguish And Saint Bernard sayth Flesh wyth which thou hast so great societie is none other thing but froth fome made fleshe inuested in a fraile ornament but the time shall come vvhen it shall bee a miserable and putrified carkasse and the foode of vvormes For bee it neuer so gaily garnished and tricked vp it is alwayes flesh If thou diligently considerest vvhat goeth foorth by thy mouth and nostrils and the other passages of thy bodie thou neuer beheldest so vile a dunghill Consider ô man sayth hee vvhat thou wert before thy byrth vvhat thou art from thy byrth till thy death and what thou shalt be after this lyfe of thine is ended Certainelie thou vvast that thou vvert not after that thou haddst thy beeing of vile matter thou wast inwrapped in a most vile filme and nourished in thy mothers vvombe with menstrous blood Thy coate was a skin so attired and adorned camst thou vnto vs. And hath beauty fauour riches and youth So sotted thy sences deuoyd of truth That mindlesse thou art how base was thy birth And that all men are dust ashes and earth Man is none other thing but an vncleane sperme a sacke of dunge and foode for wormes After a man a worme after a worme stinch faetour So from a man to no man is turned this creature Hetherto S. Bernard with whom agreeth Innocentius O indignity saith he vildnes of mans condition Consider the plants trees they bring forth leaues flowers fruites pleasant to the tast delightful for smel but wretched man bringeth forth pestilent noysom sauours as the tree is such also is the fruite for an euill tree cannot bring foorth good fruit But wilt thou more manifestly know what man is after hee is borne heare most patient Iob Man saith he that is borne of a woman is of short continuance and full of trouble Hee shooteth foorth as a flower and is cut downe hee vanisheth also as a shadow continueth not Why do we seek for the testimonies of men let vs aske God himselfe he wil tel vs Remēber man that thou art dust to dust shalt thou returne This knowledge had holy Iob whē he said vnto God Remember I pray thee ô that thou hast made me as the clay and wilt bring me into dust againe O man of clay why art thou proude ô dust why growest thou insolent ô ashes for what woldest thou be commended vvhose conception is sinfull vvhose natiuitie is painefull whose life is labour and death necessitie Why dooest thou nourish thy body so delicately Why dooest thou adorne that vvith so precious garments which after a while shall in the sepulchre be eaten of vvormes VVhy dooest thou not rather beautifie thy soule vvith good workes which shal be carryed into heauen by the handes of good Angels VVhy dooest thou neglect thy soule and so extraordinarilye cocker thy flesh Behold confusion and prepostrous order the soule which ought to rule serueth the flesh and the fleshe ruleth which should obey Why sufferest thou the Ladie to bee the handmaid the hādmaid to vsurpe authoritie ouer the Lady Doost thou not know that thy flesh is a domestical homebred enemie vnto thy soule which vnder colour of friendship is more cruell then the most tirannous enemie When thou cherishest delicately nourishest it thou breedest and bringest vp thine own enemie when thou deckest beautifiest it thou armest thine enemy against thee whē thou arraiest it in precious garments and outlandish skins of wilde beastes thou robbest thy soule of all beautifull and heauenly ornaments Thirdly ô sinner cōsider what thou shalt be whē thou ceasest to liue Certainely thou shalt be none other but a miserable and corrupted carkasse an habitation foode for wormes
will refresh thee But if all these thinges my Brother which thou hast hetherto read of do not moue thee heare what the same famous Doctor of the Church Bernard sayth of the louers of the world Woe be vnto those vnhappy and wretched ones saith he for whom is prepared intollerable sorrow incomparable stinch and horrible feare Woe bee to them for whom is prepared that place where nothing shall be heard but vveeping and wayling lamentation and howling mourning gnashing of teeth where nothing shall bee seene but the worme vgly deformed and horrible tortures and terrible fearefull deuils where they shal cal seeke for death but shal not find it where there is no order but where perpetual horror euerlastingly abideth How great feare how great sorow how great mourning will there be whē sinners are seperated frō the righteous deliuered to the power of deuills with whom they shall be cast headlong into the eternall tormēts of hel without hope euer to see the face of the Lorde or heauenly glory without any hope to bee euer freed from those torments where neyther the torturers shal be wearied nor the tortures haue any ende where death shall neuer die nor lyfe bring any ioy Tell mee ô sinner sayth S. Ierome if we had the wisedom of Salomon the beauty of Absolon the strength of Sampson the long life of Enoch the riches of Craesus and the felicitie of Octauian what would these things profit vs when as our fleshe at the length is to be giuen to the wormes of the earth and our soules to the deuils to bee euerlastingly tormented with the rich Glutton in hell The shortnesse of time the breuity of life and the vncertainty of death ought to moue thee to contemne the worlde those vaine delights that be in the world Wherefore Saint Gregory sayth Reprobates doe many things wickedly because they hope to liue long heere Contrariwise the righteous whilst they consider the shortnes of theyr lyfe they auoyde the sinnes of pride and vncleannesse Of the breuity of this life S. Iames saith What is your life it is euen as a vapour that appeareth for a little tyme. And Saint Augustine sayth If thou haddest lyued all that time since Adam was expelled out of the garden of Paradice euen to this day certainly thou shouldest well perceiue that thy life was not perpetuall vvhich hath so passed avvay but the lyfe of one man what is it adde as many yeeres as it pleaseth thee adde a very long and lasting old age what then Is it not yet morning Bee it that the day of Iudgement is farre of assuredly thy last day cannot bee farre of therefore nowe prepare thy selfe for as thou departest out of thys life so shalt thou bee presented to the other lyfe Thys sayth hee And in another place All the time that wee liue heere is taken from life so that the lyfe present is none other thing but a short way by which wee passe vnto death in which no man can long stay nor linger or walke softly and at leysure but euery day thou must finish by little and little some part of thy iourney All things passe away sayth Soneca and are in continuall diminution augmentation None of vs is the same in olde age that wee vvere in youth Not any one of vs is the same in the morning that wee were the day before Our bodyes passe away after the manner of running riuers vvhatsoeuer thou seest runneth away with the time Nothing remayneth steadie of all those thinges vve see behold they are changed whilst I speake and I also am changed And in another place The Fates doe ply their worke and doe take away frō vs the sence and feeling of our death and that death may creepe vpon vs more easily it lurketh vnder the very name of life Childhood cōuerts infancie into it youth childhood manly age youth and olde age takes away manly age The very increases if thou doost well account thinke of them will be founde to be losses If my deere Brother thou lettest these thinges into thine eares and meditatest on thē in thine hart well considerest them thou wilt say that thou rather runnest vnto death then that thou canst hope for long lyfe The fift Meditation for Friday of the vanitie of the glory and magnificence of this world THE Prophet Baruch detecting and laying open the great and intollerable mockerie of vaine glory and riches and the subtile deceits of this vvorlde in the third chapter of his prophecie sayth Where are the Princes of the Heathen and such as ruled the beastes vppon the Earth They that had their pastime with the foules of heauen and hoarded vp siluer and golde wherein men trust and made none end of their gathering For they that coyned siluer and were so carefull of their worke and whose inuention had none end are come to naught and gone downe to hell and other men are come vp in their steades Where are the inuincible victors and heroicke conquerours of Coutries who by theyr conquests purchased such tryumphs and by their riches prepared such magnificent feastes and banquettes Where are the Emperours and Captaynes of huge Armies Where are the managers tamers of horses and other creatures vvhere are the Iudges tyrants great theeues of the world they are novv nothing but dust and ashes Looke and looke againe looke I say into theyr Sepulchers whether this is a rich man or that a poore man Whether this man is valiant or that man faint-harted tosse turn ouer their bones distinguish if thou canst a rich man from a poore man a valiant man frō a coward a beautifull man from him that is deformed Wherfore my brother let vs be wise at the last being admonished by this Scripture and let vs assuredly persvvade our selues that all mans glory whence soeuer it commeth is to be auoided of vs. First because of his owne nature it is vile secondly because it is deceitfull in his promises thirdly because it is vaine brickle frayle fleeting and momentany fourthly because it is euill and malicious in rendering a reward First I say that mans glory is to be eschewed because of his owne nature and condition is vile and base as it is manifest in the first booke of the Macchabees where Mattathias dying sayth to his Sonnes Feare not yee the wordes of a sinfull man for his glory is but dong and vvormes VVhat in this world is more filthy thē dong What more vile then wormes Therefore if all mans glorie consisteth in dong it is not to be desired but auoyded Mans glorie as the Phylosopher sayth is as corruption and the rottennesse of vvood Which thing also experience teacheth vs for as the little vvorme Teredo that eateth vvood in the night shyneth and maketh a crackling but in the day time is knovvne to bee a worme putrefaction so also vayne glory shineth and glittereth vvith great
it shall lament that for so small and momentany a pleasure it hath lost the perpetuall felicity of euerlasting blessednes It shall blush be ashamed that for the flesh which shal be cast vnto wormes to eate it neglected and despised it selfe which should haue liued in the society and felowship of Angels And lifting vp the beams of her vnderstanding and considering of those immortall riches of heauen and seeing that shee hath changed them for the miseries of this life shee shall bee exceedingly afflicted and vtterlie confounded VVhen she shall turne her eyes to view the vanities of this world and the darknes of the earth shee shall admire and vvonder at the brightnes of the light glistering aboue her and shall manifestlie knovve that thys worlde is night and darknesse The breaste shall beginne to pant and beate the forehead shall waxe stiffe whence cold svveate shall issue the eyes shall growe dimme the eares deaffe the nose shall sinke downe the nosethrils shall bee filled vvith filth and corruption the countenance shal wax wanne and pale the mouth shall bee distorted and pursed the lippes shall grow blew the hands cold the pulse shall faint and languish novve beating neuer a whitte novve stryking softlie and sometymes creeping lyke a vvorme or a pysmier the feete shall vvax cold and the whole flesh shal turne to corruption Those antecedent tokens of death neerely approching and these neerer signes beeing at hand the euil works which she hath done the wordes which she hath spoken and the cogitations which she hath thoght vpon shall also approach and both the workes wordes and thoughts shall be witnesses against a miserable sinner they shall stand in his sight will he nill he he shall be constrayned to see them At the one side of him there shall bee deuils present and at the other Angells these shall comfort him dying the other shall accuse him and both of them shall earnestly expect which of them shall carry him away with them If there be in him signes of piety and contrition he shall be glad at the sight of the Angels and hee shall take courage to depart vvith thys sweete and happie companie But if on the left side there shal bee present so obscure and so hatefull a multitude of sinns so vncleane and stinking that the Iudge cannot abide the smell of them thē the miserable soule shall forth-with faint for feare it shall bee disturbed with violence of perturbations shall bee compelled to forsake the prison of the miserable flesh Then the soule shall runne to the mouth to the eyes to the eares to the nosethrils seeking which way it may get forth finding all thinges shut vp and closed it shall breake through which when it hath so done and shall looke round about casting her eyes on euery side and seeing her selfe condemned shee shall curse and banne her selfe exclaiming and crying out O the cursed soule of one excomunicate of a theefe of a Church robber of an adulterer of an vsurer And whē the wretched soule shal view the vvhite and vnspotted garment that was giuē her in baptisme to be nowe blacker then pitch she shal sigh and mourn vvith greate lamentation and howling saying Woe is mee woe is mee miserable wretch who hath changed my garmēt it was whiter then snow and nowe it is blacker then pitch Then the deuill will presentlie step forth who wil mock thee and say O my soule doe not meruaile beholde it is I that haue prepared for thee thys blacke garmeut with which vesture the greater part of the worlde is inuested to vvhich thou hast alwayes beene obsequious which thou hast credited which thou with me hast imployed thy selfe in alwayes follovving myne aduice and counsaile therefore with mee thou shalt for euer dvvell in mine infernal kingdom where there is sorrowe without ioy hunger without meate thyrst without drinke darknes without light stinke without sweetnesse greefe without comfort mourning vvithout consolation teares without ceasing hideous noyse vvithout silence howling without melody burning fire without refreshing a violent wind without calmnes heat without ende and all euill without any good Therefore arise my loue goe with me behold all the infernal spirites doe come to meet thee Then also shall bee present the Angel of GOD to vvhom the soule was committed saying Happie and blessed are they who in this worlde haue not spotted nor blemished theyr garments O vnhappy soule ô friend of deuils ô the cursed creature of the omnipotent God I alwayes stood by thee and thou sawest mee not I alwayes admonished thee and thou wouldest not heare me I alwayes suggested good counsailes vnto thee and thou wouldest not beleeue mee Therefore now get thee gone to hell into the handling of deuills that is to the place of torments vvhich are prepared for thee according to thy deserts Who can expresse the multitude of hellish fiends that with great fiercenes shal runne to catch the vnhappie soule and carrie it to euerlasting torments who despitely insulting ouer it and mocking it shall say O how proude hast thou beene heeretofore How delicately and sumptuously hast thou banquetted How finelie curiously hast thou been cloathed Howe valiant and prosperous hast thou alwayes been Tell vs why doest thou not now eate why doest thou not drinke vvhy art thou not gallantlie apparrelled Why doest thou not nowe play and reioyce with thy wife children and friends Then the miserable soule shall curse the bodie saying O temple of the deuill whose works haue polluted mee ô cursed earth ô habitation of sathan arise now and goe with mee and thou shalt see the place of torments prepared for thee in vvhich I shall dwell vvithout thee till the comming of the Iudge and then also shalt thou come hither and for euer shalt bee tormented with mee Cursed bee thine eyes vvhich would not see the light of truth and the vvay of righteousnesse cursed bee thine eares which refused to heare the wordes of eternall lyfe Cursed bee thy nosethrills vvhich disdayned to smell the most sweete sauour of vertue Cursed be thy lippes and tongue and cursed bee thy mouth that would neither taste the ioy of glory nor prayse theyr Creatour Cursed bee thy handes vvhich denyed almes to the poore Cursed be thine heart vvhich brought foorth so many and so vncleane cogitations and counsayles Cursed bee thy feete vvhich vvould not frequente the Church of Christ Iesus Cursed bee thy members vvhich neuer brought foorth the vvorkes of repentance And cursed bee all thy workes which haue deserued so cruell and so endlesse torments Consider therefore my brother from vvhat great daungers and feares thou mayst nowe delyuer thy selfe if so novve through the feare of death thou endeuourest so to lyue that when it commeth thou mayst say with Dauid Into thy handes ô Lorde I commende my spirite Learne novv to dye to the vvorlde that thou mayest lyue vvith Iesus Christ. Learne nowe to contemne all thinges that thou mayst freelie