Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	church_n	great_a	zion_n	50	3	8.6759	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A00341	The comparation of a vyrgin and a martyr; Virginis et martyris comparatio. English	Erasmus, Desiderius, d. 1536.; Paynell, Thomas.	1537 (1537)	STC 10465.5; ESTC S116236	19,030	79

admytte that no manne in this lyfe can atteine to that that the quier of vyrgins dothe desyre yet the request of this moste thankefull quire shall not be made in vayn For that that they here throughe fauour of their spowse are mindfulle of shall in the resurrection chance them fully through theyr spouses augmentynge There are degrees in the Churche milytant and soo there be in the churche triumphant I wote not whether I haue taryed you longer than I shulde haue done in declarynge this hymne Truly I repent me not syth it is saynte Ambroses For besyde all other argumentis the word of thre syllables in the ende of euery dimeter sheweth who is the authour wherin I suppose that man had not so moche pleasure in the concent of the meter as he delyted in the symbole of of the holye Trinitie The churche the spouse of Christe hath many hymnes but I wote nat whether there be any that sing with more ioy and gladnes of al persons than they whiche celebrate the spouse in the victories of Martirs or triumphes of virgins ¶ But nowe to retourne againe to those two flowers farre passynge all other most fragant the Rose and the Lilie Lyke as the deathe of Christe with his swete odour drew many to the contēpt and despysynge of this lyfe soo the virginitie of Christe allured many a one to the loue of chastitie They that ar drawen of him beinge nowe theym selues made flowers haue drawen other Christe sayde to Peter Folowe me Howe manye haue folowed Peter Who denyeth but that we be moche bounde to the holy doctours the whiche euery thynge beynge in peace and reste haue taught vs the way of our lorde But how many mo hath the fragraunt swetenes of the martyrs drawen to the professyon of the gospell Yea howe many mo the example of virgins It is a gret thynge boldely and connyngely to dispute of the gospelle But the greattest poynte is gladly to dye for the gospell It is a great thynge to despise and set nought by the glorye and ryches of this worlde but it is farre greatter to mortifie and slee the fleshe with the concupiscencis thereof And the churche knoweth to whome she is bounde The churche next Christ hath had none in more honour than they which wyllyngly and gladly offred theyr bodies to be cruelly turmented for the glorie of their spouse and for sauation of the flocke for the whiche he hym selfe vouchesafed to dye They secondarily were had in honour whiche wyllyngly for the kyngdome of god gaue them selfe holly to lyue chaste what a great ioye and gladnes was it to all the Churche whan a martyr constantly suffred dethe for Christis sake And howe great sorow and lamentation if any shranke backe Agayne Howe greattely dyd the churche reioyce if a virgin that myght haue bē maried to a man wold rather put on the holy vaile of chastite and couple her selfe to her spowse Chryste And how great sorowe was there made if any suche dydde caste of her vayle and wolde be maryed to a man Undoubted the losse of a thynge that is most dere is very greuous with what feruente loue dydde christen men in tyme paste runne to the ashes of Martyrs Howe holy was the memorie of them amonge all chrysten men whan dayly olde men yong men honest matrones and virgins runne thycke and threfolde to the prysones as it were vnto places consecrate to god whan they wold kys the cheynes with whiche they were bounde whan the swerde with which they were martered was reserued and kept amonge the holy relykes What memorie is more ioyfull more hye and holy to the churche than of Martyrs Whan do menne synge with greatter gladnesse than in their yerely feastis The whose afflictions and peynes the churche calleth vyctoryes theyr turmentes triumphes theyr deathes byrthes nor in theyr celebratiōs is no maner mournyng but all thynges full of ioye fulle of gratulation full of preysing full of myrth and sporte Nor the eloquence of excellent lerned mē hath ben more shewed or set forth in any argument than in celebrating the laude and prayse of martyrs and virgins Herein Prudētius in the kynd of verses called Liricum carmen exceded the greate eloquēce of Pindarus he passed the elegancy of Horace not possisyble to be folowed Herein the trumpe bothe of the grekes and latyns soundeth out I wote not what farre greatter and more diuine than verse heroical In this argumente Chrysostomus Cyprianus Ambrosius Hieronymus and many mo then can be nombred excell Ciceros aboundaunt and flowynge style What thynge maye we coniecte to be the cause Truly the magnitude of the martyrs dyd minister abūdāce of eloquence the feruētnes of theyr myndes added strengthe to theyr wordes and deuotion alacritie Of what matter so euer they write theyr style is plentiful and flowyng But as oft as they take in hande to endyte of martyrs and virgins now as it were by diuine inspiration they sowne out I wote not what thing farre passynge mans capacitie Those thynges are not doone by mans studye but they are broughte to passe by inspiration of the holye goste the whiche woll his saynctes to be so glorified in the whiche he desyrously gothe about to be seen most glorious We wold graunt those thynges to be done by man ne were it that god whiche inspireth the mindes of good men doth ornate the monumentes of martyrs and virgins with so manifold myracles For where are wycked spirytes more tourmented where are moo cured of greuous sycknesses and diseases that no phisitions coude heale What emperour what kynge is he with settynge vp of any images titles steples churches collegis commandyng diuine worshyppes dyd opteyne so greatte honour ye in this world Doubtlesse thus god dothe honour his martyrs the whiche semed here poore abiectes and wretched caytyues Thus he honourethe his vyrgyns the whiche beynge as deed to the worlde sette surely al theyr holle hope in theyr spowse Iesu. And they also aknowlege that what so euer they haue cometh all of the lyberall gyfte of theyr spouse But the glorye of martyrs doth not lyghtly glytter and shyne but after the deathe where as virginitie euen in this lyfe is ful gay and glorious For who is so barbarous that wyll not fauour a virgin In the very myddes of the ruffelynge warres the fierce and cruell ennemy forbeareth virginitie And if we beleue histories the dumme beastis ye the hugest the wyldest most cruell of them all beare reuerence vnto vyrgynitie Howe greatly dydde the Romaynes in olde tyme honour the relygious virgyns called virgines vestales what a naturall worshyppe and glorie of virginitie is that whiche ydolaters do aknowlege whiche the barbarous ennemy dothe reuerence which the dumme beastis doo perceyue and to whiche the wylde beastis obeye If soo great honour be done to the vyrgins of this worlde howe moche more honorable is the virgin of Christe O good vyrgyne take on the this holy pride and repute what so euer

virgins folow one spouse In thingis touching the soule it is otherwise for there is nothyng more goodly then to se many many virgins that nere accompany one spouse Iesu. Nor it is noo meruayle if they runne after hym as they were woode for loue of their spouse For he allurethe theym to hym by secrete intycementes whose louelynesse passeth all humayne loue He is the feyrest among the children of men flowynge full of grace are his lyppes the whose vysage to beholde angels esteme most high felycytie He breatheth with his swete smellyng sauors on whom he wolle and they on whome he breatheth say Drawe me after the and we shall renne in the odour of thy swete smelling oyntmentes They can not renne excepte they be drawen they canne not loue excepte they be fyrste loued And they that be alredy drawen desyre to be more plentifully drawen they that rūne couer to rūne so fast that they may approche yet more nere to hym that they loue Trewely they felte and perceyued his lyppes to flowe full of grace the whiche saye O lorde whither shall we goo thou haste the wordes of euerlastynge lyfe Al they that ꝓfesse the name of Christe folowe theyr sheparde Iesus but they al onely his vnseperable feres do folowe whyther so euer he woll goo they folow hym euen to the very beatinges they folowe him euen to the very persecution ¶ Our lorde Iesus what tyme he was in this world ofte tymes ledde after hym greate and huge multitudes of al sortis of people but whan he shulde go to Hierusalem to be slayn fewe dyd accōpanye hym but yet fewer whan he bearynge his Crosse went towarde the Mount of Caluerey But they which be the very felowes of the spouse whiche be true virgins coude not at this poynt be plucked frome theyr spowse When he hynge vpon the crosse Peter whiche was thoughte to haue a wyfe coulde no where be founde but the vyrgyns Mary the mother of Iesu and Iohn̄ abode faste by the crosse the other women stoode afarre of and behelde what was doone They folow then ye and that gladly and wyllyngly nor they folowe hym not as dumme persons but syngynge balades and makynge swete melody ¶ They that be mennes wyues haue no leysure to be in the dances they haue no leysure no many tymes they haue noo luste to synge they muste please theyr husbandes they must chyde and braule with theyr maides and seruantes chastise theyr children Our virgins being free from all care and thought of this worlde do nothynge els but in spiritual quiers synge swete hymmes to theyr spouse For they ascribe nothynge to them selfe but gyue al the glory of theyr felicitie to him to whom onely they owe al thynges He this louer deliteth in suche maner songes he wol he wol his gyftes to be songe he hateth the phariseis songis I fast twise in the Saboth I gyue the .x. of my goodes to the pore I am not as other men be The more chast that a virgin is the more shamefaste she is Here the voyce of a very virgin Beholde the handmayde of our lorde And he hath sene the humilitie of his handemayde In the cantycles he calleth his spouse a douue He desirethe to beholde her shappe and coueteth to here her voyce Come sayth he my douue out of the caues of the rockes out of the holes of the walle O lette me see thy vysage and here thy voyce for swete is thy voyce and fayre is thy face The soule hath his face The face is moste specially estemed and iudged by the eies with the eies we shewe declare our intēt also with the eies with out voyce we signifie the inward affections of our myndes The eie of a vyrgin is symple she enuyeth not she lyeth not in awayt to disceyue she suspectethe none yuell she myndeth not yll The face of suche oone delytethe the spouse which a lyttell after sayth thus Howe fayre arte thou my loue howe fayre art thou Thou haste douues eies ¶ Here some wyll saye What swetenes is in the complaynyng and mourning voyce of a douue to delyte and please a man with The nyghtyngales voyce shulde rather be called to this parable and similitude The rare and vehemente loue maketh contynualle complayntes but yet pleasant and moste acceptable to the spouse Here a lamentyng douue I desyre to be lowsed and to be with Christ. And ageyne O wretched man that I am who shall delyuer me from the body of this deathe Harken what an other douue saythe Wo is me that I dwel so long in this world And By the waters of Babylon we sate downe and wepte whan we remembred the Syon ¶ These lamentable voices and ful of sighynges are most acceptable in the eares of the spouse in such maner of songes he moch delyteth ¶ And bycause they sayd O mercyfull lorde accepte our vowes it is tyme that they nowe expresse and declare what they wold opteyn of theyr spouse Is it richesses is it honours is it pleasures is it a kyngdome is it long lyfe For those thinges care haue they none for y e vehemēt loue of their spouse hath vtterly broughte thē to despise those thinges What is it than we praye the encreace our myndes yet more largely graunt that we mowe vtterly be ignorant of all corruption They aknowlege howe great a tresure vyrgynitie is that is A cleane mynde in a bodye vncorrupte They also aknowlege that what so euer he hath gyuen theym he wol vouchsafe to encreace it and to heape benefyte vpon benefyte Noo vyrgyn is soo pure whiche hath not wherby she may yet profite For you shall scasely find any virgin whiche to thende the body maye be vndefyled offendeth not otherwhile in thought Nor trewe virginitie resteth not only in the gyft of chastitie but all vyce of the mynde is the corruption of this virginitie Who soo euer swarueth from the true feyth catholyke his virginitie is defiled Of this purenesse speaketh Paule writynge to the Corinthees I haue maried you vnto one man to bring a chaste virgine vnto Christe But I feare leste as the serpente begiled Eue with his wylynesse euen so your wyttes shulde be corrupted from the simplenes which is in Christ Iesu. ¶ A vyrgin defyled with enuye backbityng arrogancie is woūded with corruption Therfore they pray that theyr most munificent spouse woll vouchesafe to augment the gyftes that he hath gyuen theym and that he wolle graunte them to be vtterly ignoraunt of all woundes of corruption why saye they vtterly That is nother in mynde nor in body what is to say of all what soo euer the humayne affection doth moue and styre vs to This vowe or request might seme vnreasonable ne were it that the spowse is almyghty and mooste faythfull of his promyse He wol not that his shal be only lyke vnto hym but also he woll them to be the selfe same But let vs