Selected quad for the lemma: death_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A16668
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A new spring shadovved in sundry pithie poems. Musophilus
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Brathwaite, Richard, 1588?-1673.
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1619
(1619)
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STC 3574; ESTC S106131
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13,301
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40
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of error we are in If there be Hell why doe we liue on earth As if there were none yea if common sense Tells vs a Pilgrimage hath no true mirth Where this day we are he ere next calls vs hence Why liue we heere as if we nere should forth From this vast Grate of griefe our residence Is short on Earth then let vs hasten hence Th'vnseemliest Obiect Mans eye can behold Is Age attended on by nought but yeares Where his gray-hayres may tell vs he is old But there 's no other signe of Age appeares Wherefore his Age seemes as a Tale that 's told His life a Medley of desires and feares Desire of life to welcome Death with teares What is this curious modell Man whose shape Diuinely featured includes all faire In Him as in her Abstract but an Ape That imitates all formes in habite haire Carriage of Body and whats'ere may make His vanity admir'd now heere now there Distasting most the tast of 's Country ayre If Man consist of Body and of Soule And that the being of the first relies Vpon the latter why should it controule The first by which it liues or why despise Or striue to make her chiefest Beauty foule With her seducing trifling vanities Which presse the Soule so low it cannot rise That Know thy selfe deriued her first birth And Pettigree from Heauen and did appeare On Earth to make it seeme an heauenly Earth But see what chanc'd Men so besotted were Of their defectiue Knowledge as a dearth Fell amongst humble men learning to erre And fall by Pride as did that a Lucifer O let vs then confesse as well wee may Our Knowledge it is nothing and the good That 's in vs is not ours nor can we say Ought proper ours saue Sin so rank's the blood Of our corrupted Nature where each day Paints out our frailety which if vnderstood Man has no cause at all for to be proud If euery Euen were as it ought to be It should keepe count of all the day that 's past Asking our sin-surcharged soule what she Hath done which reckning should be neuer rac't Out of the Table of our Memory But haue it so o're all our actions plac't That th' forme we haue may neuer be defac'd If every houre we spend must beare record When we shall summon'd be how carefull should Man be of euery worke and euery word Done to be done or spoke for how shall mould Clay and corruption stand against the Lord On whom wee all are truely said to hold Seeing the crimes we act so manifold Where each Mans Conscience shall his Tophet be His Sinnes his Testates and his last farewell To Earth his entrance into misery Where his owne Soule appeares his onely Hell Th' Companions that attends him doubts and feares Mouing Despaire to sound her larum Bell To warne him to the place where he must dwell Mansion of horror where the quenchles fire Burns without ceasing where the gnawing worme Eates without resting and that wofull hire Death neuer dead though dying where the forme Of all confusion formeth her retire Thrice happy he if he had neere beene borne That 's markt to come to such a place forlorne No Life but shade of Life for what is Life But a continuall Death wherein we die Each day a little where dissention strife Restlesse Ambition Treason Periury Oppression violence bee onely rife Where outward obiects daze the inward eye And ill 's made good by sinnes impunity Liue may I neither to my selfe nor Time Since Time-obseruers now proue Parasites But to make streight that great accompt of mine After so many dayes so many nights Past in neglect so may my Soule in fine Possesse then happy she those pure delights Which doe include of comforts infinites Muse doe I much when I doe heare men call Whether Experience tell them or their Art Some yeares more safe some Climactericall Where if we looke into our humane part In houres dayes yeeres we shall perceiue how all Summon alike Deaths parley to our heart From whom to get we striue but cannot start I haue long sought that Essence of my being A faithfull friend and I haue found in Some A veine of protestation well agreeing With Friend if Christian but when I should come To take a surer triall he was fleeing Prouing a Summer Swallow this 's my doome My friend 's in Heauen on Earth he has no roome When I obserue Earth's as a Ball in th' ayre I askt my selfe what may I seeme to be That liues as if I had my Mansion there Planting my hopes on mutability And I doe finde who otherwise liues heere Then as a forraigne Trauellor though hee Seeme wise to some hee seemes a foole to me This House I liue in like a shaking frame Threatens each day a fall yet I secure Where I must goe to or from whence I came Liue so as if this Building would endure And to eternity extend her name But 'lasse how weake am I seeming most sure While sin wounds deepe and doth despaire of cure Some farre lesse wise then curious doe delight To glaze their windowes with Perspectiue glasse Presenting sundry obiects to the sight As Hils Dales Seas and whatsoere shall passe Within an equall distance but the light Which the Bay-windore of my Mansion has Hath no such various Prospect though it might But opens wide that she may see what 's right May Goodnesse be the Abstract of my Fayre My best aduice Direction of the word May Worlds-care be still my least of care May my Selfe-loue be now to loue the Lord May I obserue a time to spend to spare Not taking thought to waste or how to hoard But in expence to keepe me on euen board Rich had I rather then accounted be Sayes the Worldling But I am not of his minde For my Account is dearer vnto me Then this same Barke of man this outward rinde Yet Rich are men of most account we see It 's true indeed wee by experience finde Oft goes the Cart before the Horse behinde Arise to iudgement is a doome of feare To Flesh for why shee could contented be To build her selfe a Tabernacle heere Liuing to bee her owne posterity But th' Soule mounts vpward to an higher Sphere Striuing to breake from her captiuity Nor can shee ioy till shee 's at liberty Her Nunc dimittis is her cheerefulst Song Her passage th'entrance to a safe repose Her comfort this though her restraint was long Griefes past be counterpoiz'd with present ioyes Her hope that she shall make her party strong Being both rid of her perfidious foes And sphered there where sacred comfort flowes In our first Birth we shrike in death we sigh Thus discontent is Man in birth and death In Birth we shrike because affliction 's nigh In Death we sigh sigh sith wee cannot breath Thus both in Death and Birth there 's misery And more in Death then Birth if so his wreath Of glory be reduc'd
to wrath beneath An Elegie which the Author entituleth Bound yet free Speaking of the benefit of imprisonment THou whom we call lifes death Captiuity Yet canst contemplate in the darkest Cell Of things aboue the reach of Vanitie Dost in my iudgement Liberty excell In that thou teachest man to mortifie His indisposed passions and canst well Direct him how to mannage his estate Confin'd to th'narrow prospect of thy Grate Hee sees the passage of this Globe of earth And makes right vse of what his sight partakes Some he obserues expresse a kinde of mirth Of which he this due application makes If they did know the misery of Birth With Deaths approach they would not hazard stakes Of Soules eternall glory for a day Of present ioy which one houre takes away Others he heares bemoning of the losse Of some deare friend or 't may be not so well Decrease of fortune or some other crosse Which to forgoe they deeme a second hell So firmely fixed be their mindes on drosse As nought smels well but what of gaine doth smell These he condemnes and proues it euery way The captiu'st wretch's in better state then they Others he notes obseruing of the time Meere Fashion-mongers shadowes of the great And these attendance giue where th'Sunne doth shine And like to Isis Asse admire the Seat More then the Person cause the robes be fine That hang about it and hee doth intreat Their absence for These cannot well saith hee By liuing leaue name to posteritie Others as base and farre more dangerous Notes he as Politician Machauels Who count that gaine which is commodious Adhering to themselues and to none els For these make ancient houses ruinous And Charitie from out the Realme expels Reducing th' Orphans teare and Widdowes curse To th'damn'd Elixie of their well-cramm'd purse Others he notes and they would noted be For painting purfling smoothing cerusing Shew they would be obseru'd for vanitie Staruing their Soules by bodies cherishing And these hee laughes at for their foolery For while they put the Case to garnishing That Shell of frailty they 're indifferent What shall become of th' Soule the Instrument Others there be which seeme least what they are Pretending truth in falshood and doe gull The World with shadow yet doth he compare the passage of euents and finds at full Their end 's attended with an endlesse care And th'pregnant wit which seemes so smooth proues dull When thousand Testates shall produced be For to disclose their close hypocrisie Others hee sees and taxeth for they hold proportion with the World being made After a better Image yet they 'r sold to all collusion making in their trade This vilde Position who 'll be rich when old must cheat being young but see how they 'r displaid So oft haue they deceiu'd as now they must Persorce deceiue themselues by mens distrust Others as Prollers of the time he sees but scornes to take acquaintance for their fate Presageth worst of ills whose best increase proceeds from good mens falls yet mark their state As indirectly got so little peace accrewes in state to any for the hate Of God and man attends them and how then Should there be peace wher 's war with God Men More hee beholds and hee obserues them too and numbers their dimensions as they passe The compasse of his Prospect too and fro for this same Grate he makes his Looking-glasse In which he sees more then the world can show conferring what is present with what was Extracting this from times experienc't Schoole The Captiue's freer then the Worlds foole For by the first we shew but what we are and Moralize our selues in being pent Close from the Worlds eye which we compare Vnto a Prison since th'enfranchisement We haue's in Heauen then howsoere we fare though bound if free in minde th'imprisonment We suffer cannot so our spirits depresse That th' freedome of our minds should seeme ought lesse Ought lesse nay more for we approue as true What th'deuine Morall taught That one may haue A fuiler and more perfect enteruiew of the Starres beauty in a hollow Caue Then on the Superficies for the shew of pompe distracts our passions and doth slaue Our reason to our sense whence we may know The dangers of high states are seene below Below and what more low then to be shut from open ayre strang'd from the sight of Men Clos'd in obliuion linked hand and foot least their escape gaine liberty what then Shall this enthrall my soule it cannot doo 't it does aspire aboue the thoughts of them Who shed their Childish teares when they are sent By higher powers to take them to restraint The truth of things saith sage Democritus lies hid in certaine Caues that is the Cell Of Thraldome which restraines and limits vs which makes vs happy if we vse it well For we 're sequestred from th'pernicious obiects of earth and may in priuate tell What we in publike were where we doe finde The freest man may haue the slauish'st minde For my experience tells me th' Act of Sin proceeds from sinnes occasion which restrain'd To meditate soules freedome we begin and flie from earth when th'Body is enchain'd Making our thoughts contemplators of Him whom if we get we haue sufficient gain'd So as the Grate of our Captiuity Is th' Gate that opens to soules liberty Whence 't is wee see so many tast the ayre of freedome with neglect of what they are Making their will their Law but when they share their portion in affliction then their care Is in the honour of that inward faire and they lament the state wherein they were For Man in state forgets himselfe and his Till his Affliction tells him what he is If life indeed were such a Iubile that euery houre day yeare did promise vs Continuate health and wealth and liberty then had we better reason to excuse The loue we haue to our mortality but since wee see we cannot will nor choose But must be rest of these why should we grieue To leaue as men what men are forc'd to leaue Nor skills it much where we be reft of these whether in Thrall or Freedome but of th'two I 'de rather lose my fortune where I cease to make resort to any and must know No more of th' World or the Worlds prease but am retired from the publike show Of this fraile Theatre and am confin'd In Flesh to tast true liberty of Minde A Minde as free as is the Body thrall transcendent in her being taking th' Wings Of th' Morning to ascend and make that all of hers immortall sphearing it with Kings Whose glory is so firme it cannot fall where euery Saint in their reposure sings Th'triumphant Paean of eternity To Him whose sight giues perfect Liberty Then whether my restraint enforce or no I le be my selfe but more in my restraint Because through it I see the end of woe tasting in griefe the Essence of content That when from this same double-ward