Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	darkness_n	light_n	shadow_n	7,372	5	9.4624	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A06736	Fuga sæculi. Or The holy hatred of the world Conteyning the liues of 17. holy confessours of Christ, selected out of sundry authors. Written in Italian by the R. Fa. Iohn-Peter Maffæus of the Society of Iesus. And translated into English by H.H.; Vite di XVII confessori di Christo. English	Maffei, Giovanni Pietro, 1536?-1603.; Hawkins, Henry, 1571?-1646.; Baes, Martin, engraver.	1632 (1632)	STC 17181; ESTC S111891	465,460	588

the fruites of human prayses and fly the pur●…hase of solid vertues could by no meanes endure so much reputa●…ion so prosperous successes of S. Benet This vnfortunate wretch ●…eing stirred vp and excited through blind passion began first with ●…uill words to detract from the merits and actions of S. Benet and ●…hen to hinder by all meanes possible the concourse of people that went vnto him After which perceiuing how he trauailed in vayne ●…nd that by how much he endeauoured to vilify and depresse him ●…e was the more exalted by God and reuerenced of men he suffered ●…imselfe at last to be led into the same very deuilish plot whereinto ●…hose former traytours of the Saint had beene caryed True it is that whereas they hid the fraud vnder a cup of wine this vnder a loafe ●…f bread But as that was not able to deceiue the eyes of the Man of God so was this also reuealed vnto him Because Florentius vnder ●…he shew of charity hauing sent him in almes a Loafe of bread cō●…empered with deadly poyson the holy man stuck not to receiue it with thanks giuing But being soone certifyed through diuine power of the wicked deceipt at the houre of refection he threw it ●…owne to a Crow which at that tyme was wont to come to him ●…o take her meate at his hands said to her On behalfe of our Lord ●…sus Christ take you heere this loafe of bread cary i●…to some place where it may not be touched of any person lyuing At which words ●…he Crow spreading her wings and opening the mouth began to ●…oure with croaking and shewing a will and feare alike to touch ●…hat pestilent food but the Man of God vrging her to obey with ●…onfidence tooke it vp with her clawes and flew away with it and ●…hen after some three houres space returned agayne to her wonted ●…eate At such ill demeanours as these S. Benet was exceedingly sory ●…ot so much for his owne sake as for compassion of his aduersary ●…ut Florentius the while being full of gaul and obstinate in malice ●…nce he could not murder the body of the Maister endeuoured to ●…estroy the disciples soules And among other things he had the im●…udence to contriue in the very garden of the Monastery and in the ●…ght of the Monkes themselues a lasciuious daunce of naked womē ●…t which spectacle the Abbot with reason fearing some notable disorder determined to giue wholy place to the fury of the 〈◊〉 and to abandon the Country and mansion there built vp by hi●… selfe with so great expences Setting then the affayres of the Co●…uents in order and exhorting the Monks to perseuere in the st●… of perfection with some of his companions he puts himselfe 〈◊〉 his iourney and through diuine instinct or rather through a cle●… voyce which came to him from heauen he trauayled toward●… Castle about some two dayes iourney from thence by name C●… with ful purpose to announce the true light of the Ghospel vnto t●… Country people that in habited there which miserably lay yet b●… in the darknes of Gentilisme and the shadow of death Hardly was the seruant of God departed from Sublacum wh●… as vengeance from heauen appeared vpon Florentius because 〈◊〉 howse being otherwise safe and sound the roofe only of the roo●… where he then remayned falling downe on a sudden with a re●…dyles ruine burst all the bones of his body and for his soule 〈◊〉 went to the tribunall of the eternall iustice The accident was 〈◊〉 denly diuulged and one of the Monks ran immediately in hast a●… the holy Abbot to carry him the newes as he thought very gl●… and welcome to him but S. Benet insteed of reioycing thereat s●… forth sighes vnto heauen for that soule with seuere words ga●… a sharpe rebuke to the Monke who therein had shewed in himsel●… not so Christian a mynd as he ought From thence proceeding o●… his way he arriued at last at the foresaid Castle scituated on the s●… of a steepy and high hill in the top wherof was a Temple seene amid the thickest of the woods being dedicated to Apollo Where S. Benet wanted not matter to worke on or what to encounter But before he would enter into battayle he would seeme 〈◊〉 prepare himselfe for that purpose with especiall care by retyring him into some remote place and there for fourty dayes continually together remaynes he in prayer fastings and vigils After whi●… with the odour of so good a life and with the efficacy of his preaching being the fittest batteryes to Fayth he sets himselfe through diuine fauour couragiously to destroy paganisme and so brake the Idol demolisheth the Aultar hewes downe the woodes where before was the Oracle of the false God he erects an Oratory to S. Martin and in place of an Aultar builds a Chapell vnto S. Iohn B●…tist through whose intercession obteyning alwayes new graces offering vp most pure and acceptable sacrifices to the Creatour he neuer left labouring to acquit and discharge poore mortalls from the ●…ruell seruitude of the Deuill The Diuell appeares to S. Benet He throwes downe a wall new built vp and kills one of ●…he Monkes in the ruines thereof who is restored to lyfe agayne with other illusions of the Diuell Chap. 6. THe ancient Tyrant no longer able to endure to foresayd enterprises of S. Benet besides the diuers difficultyes and impe●…iments which in vayne he stirred against the messenger of Christ ●…egan also to appeare vnto him not through in imagination or ●…reame but with open vision and with dreadfull figures casting ●…rth by the mouth and eyes infernall smoake and flames of sul●…hure and with a raging voyce howling and lamenting in such ●…anner as that the disciples though they were not permitted to ●…ehold him yet playnely might heare him to say among other ●…ings Benedicte Benedicte and while the Man of God vouchsafed ●…ot to answere him outragiously he added Maledicte and not Be●…dicte what hast thou to do with me Wherefore dost thou persecute me thus ●…nd heere with fell a vomiting of most horrible blaspemies and ●…enaces whereof though the Saint seemed to make but light ac●…ompt yet the standers by euen the while feared grieuously That which increased his fury was a certayne building begun ●…y the Monkes for their habitation which in processe of tyme ●…om meane beginnings amounted after to the magnificence we ●…e at this present Whereupon being incensed more and more ●…ith anger he appeared one day to S. Benet in his Cell while ●…e Monkes were a labouring and fretting sayd openly to him that ●…e was then going to worke what mischiefe he could both to the ●…bourers to the worke in hand Whereat the holy Father sends ●…ddenly to aduertise his disciples thereof and to admonish them 〈◊〉 retire thēselues without delay but the messenger arriued not so ●…one but that the diuell had already throwne downe to ground a ●…ery high wall which they had built and thereby

and glory to giue S. Theodosius a distinct accompt of all that dayes worke with immortall thankes Many other apparitions are recompted of this diuine Man 〈◊〉 heertofore of S. Nicolas By meanes wherof heere one at sea very happily escapes out of cruell tempe●…s and heere another in the land from sauage beasts and some from this perill and some from that There are likewise told diuers predictions of his whence 〈◊〉 appeares how eminent he was in the spirit of Prophesy But setting apart such like graces being common with men sometymes 〈◊〉 no good life my pen more willingly conuerts it selfe to the 〈◊〉 discourse of his religious Vertue The Humility and Patience of the Man of God especially in his extremity 〈◊〉 sicknes And how sweetly he gaue vp the Ghost Chap. 8. AMong the vertues of this Venerable man the sollicitude 〈◊〉 had of manteyning continuall peace and true concord between his Subiects not deserued the least place And this ●…are 〈◊〉 his so boyled in his breast as that when any of them by so●… accident had broken any friendship betweene them if by no other meanes he could not peece and reunite them agayne he would not stick to cast himselfe downe at their fee●…e and to pray and coniure ech part so long as that being mollifyed with tendernes and confounded with shame deposing all rancour they became reconciled to ech other From whence may likewise be gathered how great was the humility of the holy man most worthy of admiratiō were it only for this that by such acts he lost no reputation but rather how much greater contempt he shewed of himselfe he wa●… so much the more esteemed and reuerenced by othes With this submission of his was the vertue of Patience seene 〈◊〉 march hand in hand with him being a safe buckler and secure 〈◊〉 of the souldiours of Christ against the hoat and furious assaul●… of the ancient aduersary Of which kind of aimes how 〈◊〉 the Man of God would be helping himselfe he notably 〈◊〉 in his extreme age Because that being oppressed through●… most grieuous infirmity which made him more then a yeare to keep his bed with most sharpe dolours yet for all that he fayled not of his in ward peace nor yet for s●…ew his accustomed prayer and familiarity with God And they affirmed who assisted him day night ●…hat in the greatest extremity of all and fury of his fits he did nothing or sayd any word vn worthy of Christian magnanimity or of his former behauiour But euen rather the said assistants auerre That a certaine venerable old man being come to visit him and through compassion bidding him pray to God to deliuer him of so great affliction and he should easily be heard with no pleasing countenance contrary ●…o custome he answered thus Of charity Father speake not to me ●…ny more in this manner for as often as such thoughts haue come ●…nto my mind I euer held them as suggestions of the enemy with all endeauour haue expelled them from me discoursing in this manner with my selfe that to abate the pride that may arise in me from the credit which God hath plesed to giue me on earth these ●…gonyes and humiliations are to very good purpose And what share trow you are we like to haue in the consolations of the E●…ernity if in this short space or rather moment of tyme we suffer ●…ot some manner of affliction In truth Father we needs must resolue to suffer at this present if we would not worthily be vp●…rayded with these words herafter Recepisti bona tua in vita tua Thus S. Theodosius spake and the Monke admiring and touched withal went his wayes In the meane tyme the Man of God feeling himselfe to decay more and more calling at last his sad disciples to his Cell with his owne and their great feeling he exhorted them to perseuere in their vocation and stoutly to resist all temptations and aboue all to maynteyne faythfull and prompt Obedience to whome soeuer with lawful election should come to succed him in the gouerment Moreouer very humbly calling for three of the Bishops of those countryes and communicating with them some things of importance for the publique seruice in the presence of them and of all the Monkes in teares he alone being ioyfull and glad hauing with diligence procured already all things necessary for such a presage did lift vp his eyes and hands to heauen and then decently ●…sting them on his breast without any difficulty yeilded vp his spirit being now of 105. yeares old And it pleased our Lord that a man possessed of an ill spirit who till that tyme could neuer be deliuered from so great a calamity now finally casting himselfe downe with many teares and bitter sighes on the couch of the Saint at the first touch of the venerable Reliques but yet more tormented then euer in the presence of as many as were there was freed and secure from that 〈◊〉 tyranny The blessed Pope Hormisda had the care of the Vniuersall Church at that tyme though others according to S. Cyrill would haue him to haue arriued to the tymes of Pope Agapitus that is to the yeare 536 and in particular of Hierusalem in the tyme of the Patriarch Peter who at the first aduertisement of the departure of S. Theodosius came in hast to the Monastery while an infinite number of people of all parts came likewise in to obtayne some sh●…ed of the Garment or Capuch of the blessed man or at least to com●… neare him and contemplate more freely on those chast lymmes of his which had beene such efficacious instruments of the high Cr●…tour Whereupon to satisfy the pious desire of the multitude the sacred corps of force remayned vnburyed vntill such tyme as the throng being somewhat ceased he was by his deerest most denoted friends with teares and sighes deposed in the bosome of the cōmon Mother from thence to arise agayne at the sound of the last trumpet with the other Elect most glorious and resplendant for all Eternity FINIS S. BENET ABBOT THE ARGVMENT LOoke how the Rosy Daughter of the morne The Starre that glads ech mortall with its sight Leauing at first old Titans bed forlorne About the Spheres doth cast her Crimsom light Roses and Lillyes hurling through the skye Quenching the starres with rayes from thence that fly So glorious was thy morning so bright rayes Thy tender yeares did lighten and foretold The heauenly Sunshine of thy riper dayes Dispelling darkenesse and inflaming cold And senselesse hearts with fire of holy loue And drawing all to seeke the ioyes aboue Thou taughtst the way remouing obstacles That as they rise depresse our mounting soules Thy doctrine thou confirmdst with miracles And heau'n by thee both Death and Hell controules If Starre or Angell bring Heau'ns influence Thou art that Starre thou that Intelligence THE LIFE OF S. BENET ABBOT Taken out of the Dialogues of S. Gregory The Infancy and more tender yeares of