Countries libertie And is it not a farre more Noble and glorious death to die in defence of our owne Soule where many temptations be daily hourely assaulting perpetuall inducemēts ensnaring also not violent siege lying we had need haue expert Captains to marshall our Troups to wit our passions prepared mindes to wit all afflictions and impregnable Bulwarkes to withstand the violence of siege To wit preparatiues against all inducements A Soule thus Fortified cannot well be surprized The Enemie may well lye at the gates but it will be matter of greater difficultie for him to enter A poore man had need haue no trayterous passions or motions within him to render vp the castle and Fortresse of his Soule He hath enemies enow without all should bee faithful vnto him at home Hee must haue no effeminate appetite lest like another Tarpeia it seek to ruinate her possessour as that wantonly-amourous Maide would haue betraied the Capitoll to an Hostile vsurper We should therefore haue our passions in subjection our illimited desires in bondage lest they beeing as they are boundlesse in themselues enforce the Soule to passe the bounds of discreete moderation It was excellently obserued by that father of Moralitie Plutarch esteeming him that could moderate his affections to be halfe vertuous but hee that had soueraigne command ouer his passions to bee a perfit man But as these dayes goe we take such to be good men with Cicero as haue onely appearance of vertue in them Perfection is too absolute for this time and inferiour vertues saith one be good enough for yron Ages If with Balaam wee desire to die the death of the righteous it is enough No matter for the interim of our life we ground vpon an infalliable Axiome A good end is euer attended with a good life it is true But an euill life seldome or neuer produceth a good end he therefore that meanes to die in Gods fauour must liue in his feare for hee that on the stage of this world makes not his entrance in his feare seldome makes his Exit in his fauour But I will dedicate my heart to God that hee who requires it may possesse it so shall both his feare and fauour lodge in the harbour of my heart and blessed is such a Temple as shall be thought worthy to receiue so comfortable a guest hee that hath his heart possessed of God can find no discordant passion transporting him no exhorbitant affection raigning in him all things be safe all all secure for the God of peace liueth in him the holy Spirit wholly possesseth him and the Angells as ministring seruants are deputed by GOD to attend him O then let my heart enioy thee that the rest of my members may follow thee whither soeuer thou goest For like as the poize of a clock turneth the wheeles one way so the heart being the maine poize of euery humaine Composition what manner of way soeuer it doth turne draweth by an attractiue power all the corporall motions with it Or like as the yron is drawne by the Adamant the Strawe by the Ieate and the Helyo trophic by the Sunne Euen so bee the faculties of the body drawne by the attractiue power of the heart For as they receiue all life by her so like loyal subiects they render as to their soueraigne their legeance vnto her The Prodigals offering GOe then O my hart I giue thee to my Maker he craneth thee and he onely shall haue thee Whilest thou wast mine thou wast a wandering heart a faithlesse heart a secure and carnall heart a remorcelesse and impenitent heart but being now thy Creators he will apparell thee anew adorning thee with the excelent gifts of his Spirit that being cloathed heere with the ornaments of his grace thou mayest bee transplanted hence to the Kingdome of Glory And what gift better or more acceptable then my heart to my Maker that made my heart I will say with that blessed father My heart O Lord was created by thee and it can find no rest till it come vnto thee no rest indeede For what rest or peace in this world what comfort in this life Quaequanto magis procedit tanto magis ad mortem accedit Where there is of that side feare of this side trembling heere hunger there thirst heere heate there cold heere griefe there anguish of minde aboundeth and to all these succeedeth importunate death which with a thousand kinds of diseases daily and sodainly seaseth vpon wretched man why then should man so attentiuely set his heart vpon the vaine delights of this world let him but consider the certainty of it and hee shall confesse nothing more inconstant light and wauering let him obserue the vanity of it and hee will acknowledge nothing so foolish contemptuous or vndeseruing Well might Democritus laugh in these dayes where the world as that Philosopher imagined seemes to be made of nothing but discords Many discords indeed where there is no vnity betwixt man and his conscience policy and religion Church and Common-wealth youth and age and that I may vse the Churches very annexion man and wife where some esteeme wife and children as billes of charges Which moued the wisemans answere being demaunded when a man should marry A yong man not yet an old man not at all Wherefore Arminus a Ruler of Carthage being importunately perswaded to marry answered I dare not for if I chance to light vpon one that is wise she will be wilfull if wealthy then wanton if poore then peeuish if beautifull then proud if deformed then loathsome and the least of these is able to kill a thousand men A strange age when our greatest comforts be oftentimes peruerted and made the indefinitest euills What concord in so maine oppositions Esteeme this for a life let him that pleaseth I haue seene in my fewe yeeres expense and many houres bitter experience that the very greatest comforts were but appearances and where a promising euent shewed it selfe there some sinister occurrent euer thwarted the effect I will so resolue to liue that I may die cheerefully without looking backe to what I leaue behind I will iudge of delights as impertinences auailing little to my heauenly voyage What I haue I will vse freely without profusenesse and without sparing to shew I am Maister of mine owne Lauishly to consume what I may with reputation keepe I will not and to spare where Discretion bids mee spend I scorne it the one implies a Prodigall humour exposed to obseruance the other a niggardlinesse indiscreetely parcimonious for the pleasures of this life I thus resolue if they had more permanence and not such motiue causes of repentance I should welneare as much doate on them as I now loath them But to haue delights immixed with such interchangeable courses of discontent falling to their ebbe before euer they come to their flowe I thinke euery wise man will conclude with that wisest of men
â—n the vessells of the Temple prophaning thy most Holie Name till thy terrible Hand appeared I haue Dauid-like feasted on Beauty and drunke deepe in bloud till by a Nathan rowzed and by a taste of thy iudgements throughly awaked I haue Manasses-like erected High-places although not publiquely in the streete yet secretly in my heart till by captiuitie and bondage tamed Lastly like the Prodigall as I am haue I wandered from my Fathers house the house of my spirituall-Father till by penurie I was inforced to return home againe And what were the pleasures which drew mee from the obedience of my Father Nothing but bitternesse anguish sorrow How tedious were those houres of my choycest delights hauing euer for one minutes sweetnes an houres distaste For what earthly ioyes bee not attended by repentance and farre worse bee those ioyes which be not attended by repentance Different be the sorrows of the iust and vniust as their ioyes the one continuate the other abridged The righteous man may be sorrowfull for a night but ioy coÌ„meth in the morning But the wicked sustaine an Eternall torment their rest is but a seeming rest their comfortes meere shadowes but no reall comcomforts They haue euer a worme gnawing and consuming them the reason is their hearts be not fixed on the desire of Eternitie hut on momentarie delights which as they be short in continuance so in the ende they yeeld repentance The Continent saith the Phylosopher must of necessitie be greater then the contained For otherwise how should it comprehend a substance ampler then it selfe But man planting the affections of his Soule vppon a mundane delight hoping to satisfie her large Circumference with so straight a Centre erreth both in Diuine and humane phylosophie Of a thing so little in seeming nothing so extended as the nature of the soule for it aspires higher and higher till it attaine to that height then which nothing can bee higher the reason wherefore she can not come to her expected and indeed limited end is the heauy masse burthen which she carrieth euer about her to wit this vnbrideled Flesh the which not brought into subiection like vnto a turbulent and factious Souldier maketh head against her Captaine and although shee cannot vtterly vanquish him yet by her two Confederates The Prodigall sheweth how the Soule is annoyed with the Flesh and her two Confederates the Worlde and the Diuell c. THe Worlde and the Diuell shee is euer annoying the Soule now moouing her to elation of minde presently to despaire now to forget her Creator by repâ—esenting her owne beautie presently she expresseth the seueritie of GODS iudgments his wrath to sinners and the multitude of her owne transgressions And if the Soule doe desire dissolution with Paul then commeth the flesh and presenteth her with the deluding obiects of Vanitie seeking to captiuate her Guardian with new temptations This mooued that deuout Father to weepe bitterly who walking one day in the field chanced to espie a Sheepheards boy who had catched a Bird and tied a threed to the legge of her The Bird was euermore flickering and endeuoured to soare vp but the threed kept her backe that shee could not This poore Bird is my soule saith he that desireth to mount vp and liue with her Creator but this threed the flesh holds her backe that she can not An obseruation worthy of our consideration that lie manacled with the fetters of sinne subiected to the slauish delights of the flesh and exposed to miserable seruitude by reason of the corruptions of our flesh The best remedy I could euer find to set my soule at liberty was the taming and macerating of my body to giue her as litle countenance as may be lest whilest her fancie be satisfied the fortresse of my soule be razed The Laconians euer had their gouernement most flourishing when their diet was most sparing I must deale so with my body temper and moderate her affections if shee suggest any thing into the eare of my Soule presently to reprooue her for her boldnesse It is not for the Maide to professe her selfe a Councellour to her Mistresse If she present vnto her eye the sundry moouing delights of the world to chastice her sharply daring to seduce her Mistresse from her allegeance towards her Creator No assay should passe vnpunished for impunitie confirmeth sinne strengthening the meanes of sinning through the want of punishing Choose not thou with Martha the worser part set all houshold affaires aside let temporary delights vanish and let such as set their mindes vpon them perish I haue but one soueraigne end at which my soule aymeth let her obtaine that and it sufficeth The Prodigals relation of the destruction of the wicked THe candle of the wicked shal be soone put out but the light of the Righteous shall remaine for euer their flourishing shall abide when the other fadeth for behold though the wicked flourish like a greene palme tree and seeme happy in all outward blessings though his Garnars be full his fields fruitfull his creatures aboundant though his pastures be fat and his children mans greatest blessing be like the Oliue-branches about his table yet doe I know his faire buildings shall be destroyed his Garnars which he enlargedd consumed his faire and fruitfull fields laid waste his treasures rifled his pastures with all his hierds dispersed and his children vtterly rooted out and extinguished But the Righteous man whose gaine is godlinesse whose profession is vprightnes and conuersation holinesse prouideth for himselfe an estate of an other nature Hee hath his eye euer fixed vpon his end he will not enrich himselfe by oppression or inhaunce his meanes by his brothers ruine For hee knoweth that the Lord will see a conuenient time to execute iudgement He noteth how many haue bin taken tripping in their wickednes Balthasar in his mirth Herod in his pride the Philistines in their banquetting the men of Ziglag in their feasting the Israelites in their rioting with Manna and Quailes Iobs children in their drunkennes the Sodomites in their filthinesse the Steward in his security the churle in his plenty the old world in their marrying the Aramites in their sensuall liuing Miserable end when men-end in their sinne where iudgement must receiue them where sinne left them woe and alas shal be their best melody sorrow and vexation their inseparable attendants call to minde this O my soule and tremble sleepe not in thy sinnes lest the sleepe of death surprize thee cast vp thy accounts each Euening let not thy soule take her rest till by the free confession of thy sinnes thou find rest of conscience for when the night commeth none can worke I will worke therefore while it is day The day hath resemblance to mans life as the night hath to death I will imitate the Sunne that shineth euer brightest when it setteth making the period of my dayes a happy concluder of many toylsome houres which I haue
place that when the deluge of sinne is past she may bring one Oliue braunch vnto the Arke of her Soule to expresse her peace is made The Prodigall expresseth that nothing can content the Soule or hath any right in the Soule but God only and alone GIue vnto God that which is Gods It is he that deserueth thee O my heart and there is none fit to possesse thee but he He it is that can onely satisfie thee he it is that can onely suffice thee thou requirest peace he will giue it thee as hee gaue it vnto such as followed him Hee is the God of peace who then can establish my heart in peace but he that is the God of peace Teneat te cor meum quia perfodisti eor tuum vt saluares meum It is not pleasure shall transport me nor riches ensnare me or honour inflame mee I am wholy prest for my Sauiour I will take vp his Crosse willingly with Simon of Cyrene and on my shoulders beare it where though I faint vnder my burden yet will hee support me with his mercies for his loue is more strong then wine What afflictions can separate me from the loue of my God No Lord I haue sinned I haue sinned and in the abundance of my sorrowes doe I flie vnto thee for refuge neither hunger nor nakednes shall take me from thee I haue tasted thy exceeding mercies towards me and thy compassions haue beene from generation to generation For who euer came vnto thee for sight and went away blind for hearing and went away deafe for speech and went away dumbe for health and went away sicke for comfort and went away sorrowfull for the forgiuenesse of sinnes and went away a sinner O inexplicable mercy O inscrutable pietie O ineffable clemencie I that haue euer offended and neuer till now repented I that haue multiplied trangression vpon transgression making league with my sinnes I that haue beene a rebellious childe and haue turned my eare from thy discipline and instruction I that neuer felt remorce of conscience neuer made recourse to thy Temple neuer brake the bread of comfort to the hunger-starued soule To bee short I that gloried in my sinnes and made light of my offences deferring repentance from day to day am now heard in thy mercy comforted in my misery and promised an inheritance of glory Cyrus that renowned Prince of Persia promised such as aided him against his grandsire Ast yages that if they were footemen he would make them horsemen if horsemen they should ride in their Charriots But the King of Hostes that rideth in the clouds for things temporall things eternall for things of no valew bounties of incomparable esteeme No hee will do more euen whilest we soiourne heere in this tabernacle of clay for he will helpe vs fainting exhort and excite vs fighting and crowne vs vanquishing Hence it is poore Prodigall that I reape comfort seeing his mercy vpon all flesh readier to saue then to kill willinger to heare then wee to aske and as forward to crowne as we to fight The prodigals earnest desire THough Father I haue euer retired my selfe in the heate of the day and haue not laboured in thy Vineyard yet comming in the euening of my dayes the Sunne-set of my life it is thy fatherly will that I shall haue my penny Suffer mee at least Father to feede vpon the crummes vnder thy Table or as the Prodigall sonne let me be one of my fathers meiny I desire no great place in thy house for I am vnworthy of thy acceptance yet Father speake but comfortably to thy Seruaunt and my soule will be glad Thou hast promised that at what time soeuer a sinner doth repent him of his sinnes thou wilt put all his offences out of thy remembrancr Behold Lord I present my selfe vnto thee prostrate vpon the ground desiring remission and pardon of all my sinnes nor be these teares I shed dissembling for thou knowest the secrets of al hearts and examinest the reins and I know thou hast denounced a double woe vpon the Hypocrite and Pharisee It is not my prayer but my harty praier not my tears but my harty teares not my conuersion but my harty conuersion which pleaseth thee For the Pharises praier the harlots vow the traitors kisse the sacrifice of Caine the fast of Iezabel the oblation of Ananias theteares of Esau are nothing they are not accepted because not heartily offered but this sacrifice which I offer proceeds from my heart otherwise Father had I not giuen it thee For I know thou art iust and righteous and considerest all the wayes of man whether they be straight or crooked How long Lord how long ere thy fury will be appeased that my wayes may be directed to thee my hope erected by thee and my confidence planted in thee so may the tempests rage but not dismay mee the flouds rise but not come neare mee the winds blow but not remoue me for my foundation is built on a rocke a rocke impregnable a mount in accessible a fort irremoueable Blessed fort where the Saints be enthroned glorious mount with Gods presence beautified and puissant rocke which against the gates of hell hath preuailed O that I might be but a doore-keeper in the house of the Lord singing Songs of mirth and spirituall melody to inhabite there all the dayes of my life Happy Cittizens which bee enfranchised there ioyfull Quiristers that may sing there and victorious souldiours that for the Church millitant are transplanted to a Church Triumphant Heere they beginne to fight there to raigne Heere they were in Tents of Clay now in Campes of Immortality Now in heauen heere on earth In heauen to receiue their reward in earth to sustaine all Afflictions For whosoeuer will pertake of consolations must likewise haue his share of tribulations And that which the Poet saith is true Pati noncesset Qui regnare cupit Fit it is deere Father that thy Children suffer here to raigne els-where that no punishment how intollerable soeuer may seeme worthy of the infinite loue which is borne vnto vs in CHRIST our Lord. For is the maister inferiour to the Seruant Thy Sonne blessed Father whose foot steps we ought to folow was whipped that we might be exempted scourged that wee might bee spared Crowned with Thornes that wee might be crowned with a Crowne of pure golde Crucified that wee might be glorified Farre be it from me to refuse thy Crosse which bore that Crosse that I should haue borne so willingly Thy Crosse was my gayne thy death my life thy wonndes my cures thy Caluarie where thou wast hanged my place of Glorie whereto I shall be aduanced Woe is mee that I should so long wander from the folde of the true Sheepheard Hee that is the great Sheepheard of our Soules Long haue I strayed from these green and flourishing pastures of true consolation following mine owne vanities erring in the pricking brakes of
alas Lord I shall not be able to answer one for a thousand I haue fared with the rich Glutton deliciously euery day I haue abounded with all dainties replenished my heart with all delights whilst my poore brother silly Lazarus cryed at my gate for one small Almes I shut my eares to his cry and comforted my selfe with Musicke sicke and heart-sicke was Lazarus and I visited not him hungry yea hunger-starued was he naked I did not cloath him Impudent Beggar was the best Liuery I gaue him Me thinks I see my selfe seconded in Antinous he was angry with poore Vlisses comming in the forme of a Beggar to his owne house giuing him no better entertainement then a knock with a footstoole alas poore Vlisses Irus hath better welcome and reason good my pernicious Beggar can play the officious Pander Christian charitie growes like a small brooke in a drie Summer not the least refreshing for the wearied passenger or comfort for the smothered traueller The dayes of hospitalitie runne out The Great mans chimny that vsed to steame vp with English smoake is transplanted to his Nose and that like to a second AEtna breaths nought but Indian smoake And where art thou poore beggar all this while thou maist see monuments of honour remaines of hospitality but comming to his house you shall find the Romane Aphorisme to proue true Pater patriae is become Parasitus Curiae no matter a good outside will beare it But returne my soule to thy owne character Hypparchion was strucken blinde for saying there were moates in the Sun And great mens errours must be wouen vp or the spider will throw her web ouer them Thy outward motiues of sorrow be traduced from thy selfe to others as thy inward were engrossed to thy selfe These motiues be exemplarie giuing occasion of offence to others or instructing others how to offend of great force be examples and farre more powerfull then precepts and excellent is the definition which that generally generous Knight maketh of Imitation saying it is a Globe of precepts much am I ashamed that in the casting vp of my accompts I can find nothing through all the progresse of my time worthy obseruation deseruing this Inscription at my death that merited no better in my life Hic vir diu fuit This man was long onely being without liuing And hence is it which Seneca sayth There is no sight more vnseemely then to see a man in Age that hath no other argument that hee hath liued long saue his Age. Manie be olde in yeares that are young in houres which moued the Cinique to answer vnto a miserable fellow that saide hee had liued so many yeares No my friend thou hast scarce liued so many houres This remembrance moueth mee to incessant lamentations inforceth mee with the Prophet to roare out amaine in the consideration of my manie mis-spent howres both employed and idle and worse when employed then when idle For worse is not to doe then not to doe well as it is better to doe well then to doe good For a man cannot offend in dooing well but hee may offend in doing good if he do not well the Intention making the Action absolute But woe is mee I am neither for the Primitiue nor Diriuitiue neyther doe I well nor good But if Iacob sayde vnto Pharaoh Few and euill haue my dayes beene How much more I that haue passed my dayes altogether in vanitie may I say Few be my houres of vertue many the yeares of vanity which though fewe in number yet many in respect of my crimes How many might I haue instructed how many wained from the loue of this world if I had spent my Oyle in the seruice of my Creatour What excellent Obseruations drawne from the liues of others exemplified in my selfe communicated to others with my selfe might I haue contracted vnto one head to establish the inconstancie of humaine frailty make the Image of my owne life the representation of another The Pagan would in any case liue for his Countrey but I a Christian neither liue for my selfe my Creator nor my Countrey nor as it seemes doe I know my Creation from whence or to what end Man is ex terra but not ad terram But I liue as one secure of Gods ordinance planting my selfe on earth as one euer made to dwell on earth All tongues euen from the Etimology of earth teach mee whereto I should trust and of what weake and infirme subsistence I am yet neither Tongue not Nation neither Precept nor Example can rightly teach me to know my selfe but I must be euer soaring euer aspiring raising my minde aboue my meanes Alasse of vanitie What to this houre can I demonstrate in my selfe deseruing immitation That worthy Prince Titus the loue and Darling of mankind thought that day to be lost wherein hee had not in some measure expressed the royaltie of his disposition by the bountie of his minde The very same rule should euery Christian man obserue confirmed by the word of Almighty God Actes the twentith Chap. and the fiue thirtie verse It is more blessed to giue then to take Then cursed it is euer to take and not to giue He expresseth his minde by his hand If the one were as open as the other there were hope in him though his pouerty could not away with bountie for the Widdowes-Mite is accepted A Gardner offering a Rape-roote beeing the best present the poor man had to the Duke of Burgundie was bountifully rewarded by the Duke which his Steward obseruing thought to make vse of his bountie presenting him with a very faire Horse the Duke vt perspicaci erat ingenio presently conceyues his Stewards purpose wherefore hee thought good to receiue the horse and frustrate his hopes giuing him nothing A singular rewarde and accommodate vnto your auariciously bountifull man who as the Comike sayth Semper in dando versatur vt priuatas opes augeat But miserable wretch that I am what can I giue vnto my CREATOR in lieu of his manyfolde Fauours Shall I weepe little enough hee is Sencelesse of himselfe that will not weepe for himselfe How should I LORD reconcile my poor distracted soule vnto thee with what face cā I require for mercie I haue offred the prime of my dayes to the seruice of Belial my first Fruites be gone already and wilt thou be content with the gleanings My yeares of abilitie wherein I could haue laboured in the Vineyard and earned my pennie are gone ouer mee and I in the pensiuenesse of mine owne heart seeing my disability am forced to crie out with Mylo at hi lacerti iam mortui sunt Once was I apt for thy seruice but behold my sinewes are weakened my strength impaired and my eyes bedimmed not for that men keepe not thy Law but for that I haue walked in vnknowne wayes and with the Sodomites stumbled in the Lake euery night will
rather of voluptuous affections withdraw you from your primarie essence you proceed from the soule and shall any extrinsecall obiect draw you from her alas it were pitie your founder the soule is imprisoned already and one that beares her small good will a domesticall enemy that euer plants her battery to ouerthrow the faire and beautifull structures of the said impudencie it is and shameles boldnes for the handmaide to dominiere ouer her Mistris for the case to bee better esteemed then the instrument is in it alas what harmony would a faire and curious case make without her instrument silent musicke if Arion had played on such hee had neuer inchanted fishes but had beene as mute as any fish But the Body vseth to say to the Soule as our gallant to the simple plaine man He is a good soule seeming to disparage Goodnesse with the Epethite of Simplicitie But these braue cutters are deceiued that disparagement maketh them worthy It is the truest badge of a Christian to walke in Trueth and simplicitie These simple shrubbes will find footing in the narrow wayes when our lofty Cedars shall seeke for broader passages And whence I pray you commeth this haughtinesse of minde but from the corruption of the bodie Alas if man would but consider his composition How weake in his birth how naked in his life how perplexed and in his Death ofte-times how irresolued he would fashion himselfe to an other forme neyther how to imitate the Apish fashions of the Spanyarde or Italian but how to expresse himselfe in the duty of a Christian The Prodigals contempt of the world declared in condemning the multiplicities and varieties of fashions in the same IF GOD were in loue with fashions he could neuer bee better serued then in these our dayes For our World is like a Pageant where euery mans Apparrell is better then himselfe where if our bodyes did chaunge formes so often as our Apparrell changeth fashions they should haue more shapes then fingers or toes Miserable Age when our best parte is dis-valued and the worst of man like Esaps Crow so ridiculously varied with all colours The soule being of more tempered judgmēt cā no way chuse but laugh at the bodies foolery and ask her as the philosopher did Scylla Whereto doe all these tend must these euer be stript off thee Dare death affront one of such eminencie Surely no she will disspence with thee for a time if it be but to instruct the World in new vanities O silly man how much imputation thou aspersest on thy selfe in affecting such trumperies Goe but vnto the first ordinance and how farre are these fashions altered from the letherne coats which God made in Paradise There were none of these vanities but the corruptions of these times haue introduced many errours of no lesse occurrence When in reuolutions of times we euer haue obserued the following age to be worse then the precedent and that of Homer to be true Pauci nunc similes patribus nascuntur bonestis I will wish a better cloathing for my bodie not so obseruant to the eye but better fitting for her state These outward couers ofte times make vs forget our imperfections caring for no more then to garnish the body whilest we all together stand neglectfull of the state and condition of the soule The Ancients that were sequestred from the world and onely meditated of their ends though superstitiously deuoted yet in this respect to be admired They stoode not vpon earthly pompe nor on outward garish vanities their refectory was a Cell their companion a deathshead their remembrancer an hour-glasse and their studie how to dye And death certainely could not bee terrible to such fixing their mindes on nothing heere in this life which might trouble them in departure vnto a better life It is true the pompe of death more terrifieth then Death it selfe Obiects of vanitie make our dissolution heauie and some I haue seene passe away with an indifferencie of life others before representment of death merry but at their approach when Resolution should haue shewne her selfe best prowde recreants to themselues Causes I haue conceyued two-fold eyther for that their minde were seated on Earthly affaires and could not pierce into the excellencie of their future hopes or that oppressed with the heauie remembrāce of their sinnes they trembled to appeare so vnprouided or grieuously loaden before a throane of iustice where they must of necessity answer theyr meditation at the instant of death is all of his Iustice without recourse to his mercie O these if they might would sue a repriue at Deaths hands with many intreaties I obserued this poore soule that I am it hath bin an especial motiue to my conuersion admonishing my selfe by their conuersion life to preuēt their miserable end I will therfore first desire to liue well before I will wish to die will for hard it is for him that will not liue the life of the righteous to die the death of the righteous life and death beeing in this nature concomitants the cōclusions euer seconding the begining I must obserue S. Ieroms rule who whither he slept or wakt euer thoght that sūmons to be sounding in his eare Arise ye dead and come vnto Iudgement This preparation will addresse me to thinke of my end before I come to it and the more welcome will it be when I come to it I haue wondred at men when they desired one time after an other for it makes me weepe when I see my houre glasse beside mee and see euery drop of sand follow other so speedily How precious is that treasure which can neuer be redeemed and so precious is Time shewing State in himselfe for he will stay for no man but offering his opportunity which accepted yeeldes remedie to any malady if thou be sicke in minde no time so sinister or akward but will shewe in some season a cordiall to thy discomforts if in body euery day is not canicular there be some promising helpes euen in dayes if not to cure yet to allay thy infirmities Change of Fortune the worldlings greatest sickenesse is soone taken away by continuance either by respect to our selues or to others to our selues considering they were but lent vs to others seeing the like accidents common vnto them with vs. The Prodigall condemning the spent thrifts of time O That our worldling would but call to minde the preciousnesse of the Time Hee would not desire so speedyrunning horses for his pleasure to soake the poore grate vpon the bons of the needy making spunges of them to inrich himselfe nor the ambitious wholly exposed to the insatiare desire of honour would abuse so inestimable good with so indefinite an euill in Courtiers applause spending the beauty of the day with the complements of an oylie tongue That holy Father well obserued this who to put himselfe in minde of his dayes taske would euer sommon himselfe in the Euening with this account O my
transitory delights and heauenly Hee cannot define of goodnes that neuer heard of it The Prodigall sheweth how that passions with there contraries are cured PAssions are best cured by their contraries therefore if my minde bee inclined to pride I will presently expostulate the cause with my selfe why I should be proud I will compare humility with pride their meanes and ends For the meanes or mediate course I see humility more honored lesse enuied more prosperous in her affaires and more absolute in her end I see pride oftentimes distastfull to herselfe for friends she looseth many getteth none And what desart or wildernesse greater then to bee without friends She is neuer obserued but either with laughter or hate and what is that obseruance worth which either purchaseth contempt or spite but where humility goes the eyes of men follow as if they had spied a mirror for themselues to imitate or some worthy Maiesty shrowded in an humble couer This vertue I haue euer obserued to descend lineally to the greatest and noblest borne which mooued the Philospher to call it an Heroicke Vertue We shall see an early mushrome that is nowe growne to a little honour bought perchance for seldome merited put on a strange counterfeit face of seeming honour smile hee dare not beyond a point for feare to vnstarch his looke He holds this opinion which is a flat heresie That pride is the best habilliment of Honour where true honour will shew it selfe without a foot-cloth thus will I compare these two seuerall subiects together where if pride scorne to be compared to so poore a creature as is humilitie I shall loue her the worse for comparisons to them that deserue least are euer most offensiue If I finde the disposition of my minde naturally free engaged to some miserable desire of hauing I will set against her Liberalitie how worthily esteemed the one is and how contemptible the other where if Precepts will not doe it I will confirme my Doctrine with Examples if I finde my minde hard to be weaned from miserable sparing I will first inforce a bounty so in time my minde enforced to do that shee would not will become willing and readie to doe that I would If Enuie raigne in mee I will oppose against her brotherly loue that mutuall loue which is required not onely in humane societie but in the perfection of Gods Law Loue one an other saith our Sauiour CHRIST The reason is confirmed by a blessed Father The loue of GOD saith hee ingendereth loue to our Neighbour the loue of our Neighbour increaseth our loue vnto Gâ—d This was the Serpents sinne and is to this day hee enuyed the welfare of our first Parents in Paradise and continues his enuie to their race expulsed Paradise Farre bee it that my Soule hauing so louing a mirrour to follow as her CHRIST should harbor that vice which is most opposite to CHRIST The Iewes Crucified CHRIST through enuie and I should re-crucifie my deere Sauiour by lodging in my hart enuie My Soule which should be a temple for GOD shall not be made a Sinagogue for sathan The purer mettall is to be chosen Charitie is of all others a mettall most refined Enuy of all others most adulterate and corrupted Thus opposing vertue against vice Reason will direct me to preferre vertue before vice for where Sence becommeth obedient to Reason there the New-man is more set by then the Olde-man but where there is a conflict which whilest wee subsist in this Tabernacle of clay we must of necessitie endure and where the New-man seemes too weake for the encounter then the worst part becomming soueraigne all thinges seeme confounded and as in the first Chaos without order or disposition To strengthen me in this encounter I must incessantly call vpon God that he would assist me with his grace that inclining mine eare to his Commandements I may learne vnderstanding according to that of the Psalmist They which obserue them haue a good vnderstanding So by the light of my vnderstanding I shall be able to discomfite sinne distinguish betwixt sence reason re-ally my forces orderly fight valiantly and vanquish in the end I know Lord vnder whose banner I fight the assaultes therefore of the flesh shal not surprize me nor the world ensnare me nor the diuell though hee come from compassing the whole Earth make a prey on me If the death of the Saints be precious in the Lords sight much more the life of the Saints nor shall one haire fall from my head without thy permission Who would not be prest to the Lords battell hee is that Lyon of Iuda He it was that bruised the head of the Serpent he it was that discomfited death and became conqueror ouer hell and shall I feare to follow such a Captain if I be in darknesse and in the Desart hee will send forth a firie cloud to conduct mee if so I be way-faring as I am during this Earthly pilgrimage hee will send a Raphael to guyde mee To be short hauing him I haue more with mee then against mee The thought of him made the Philistines flye and say God is come into the Host Where hee fighteth all the Elements are vnited together in his assistance and ayde When he fought against the Aramites the Sunne tooke his part when hee fought against the Sodomites the fire tooke his part when hee fought against the Egyptians the water tooke his part when hee fought against the Murmurers the Earth tooke his part No as he is the Lord of the Forrest so the beasts of the Forrest assist him When he fought against the Idolaters the Lyons tooke his part when hee fought against the Mockers the Beares tooke his part Thus all things make with God for God made all things and who can distrust so puissant a Captaine so inuincible a Generall It was but a vaine and insolent brag when the King of Iuda proclamed warre against the King of Aram and sayd no man shall deliuer them out of my hands but where the Lord saith No man shall deliuer them out of his hands it is true For the Author to the Hebrewes saith It is a fearefull thing to fall into the hands of God Let vs fight therefore not with Philips siluer words in Greece not with Artaxerxes golden Archers in Persia but with Pythagoras weapons one minde one heart and one soule perpetuall weapons these be the triumphs whereof haue euerlasting Trophies Powers disnuited be weaker then those which are knit together and where the powers and organs of our soules bee not combined there the castle is soone ruined There be three things obserued serued in managements of warre a discreete commaund in the Generall an vnfained obedience in the Souldier and a conuenience in the seate of the Campe. These three should bee obserued in our spirituall warrefare where the Spirit is Generall the motions or affections of the Soule be the
weighing anchor nor how to ballase thy shippe euenly to wit with the lastage of Reason and poyse of Discretion nor knowest thou thy Points and Distances and therefore hazardest thy Shippe in Shelues and Sands continually Little knowest thou that rockes be neerest where the seas seeme whitest Not a Syrens voyce but may tempt thee and draw thee to folly thou hast no power ouer thy selfe and therefore vnfit to haue power or soueraignetie ouer another No as thou wast created a seruant thou shalt subiect thy selfe to the guidance of reason the line and square of a discreete obedience I will see thee play the subiect better before thou be King Better is it for me that my flesh serue in a Turkes galley then in tyrannicall discipline to dominiere ouer my soule poore and miserable soule that hath such a guardian The Prodigals desire vnto God for mortification of the Flesh to inable him to subdue it to the Spirit O Lord let me I pray thee be rather imprisoned in my flesh then by my flesh for the one endureth but a moment in comparison of the other Peter was in prison and was deliuered Paul in prison and was released Manasses pressed with many yrons yet at last enfranchised But when was Demas that was imprisoned to the World freed or the Sodomites imprisoned to the filthie lusts of their flesh exempted or the proud Pharises imprisoned to outward Obseruances publique Reuerences Hypocriticall Semblances when shall they bee dismissed Kill me in my flesh so I may liue in the spirit for I know Lord that hee who will saue his life must loose it no affliction no crosse no perturbation shall separate mee from the loue I beare to my Sauiour and little is it for me to giue him my life now when he requireth it that gaue for mee his life freely before I did aske it Who would not goe to Heauen although it were with Eliah in a Whirlewinde When Dauid speakes of Troubles hee speaketh of Troupes and Heapes and Starres and Sands and rightly too for fit it is that our troubles in some sort answer the proportion of our sinnes They are multiplyed like the Starres in the Firmament or the Sands vpō the Sea-shore that cannot be numbred Our sinnes therefore like Sands in number should be seconded with troupes of Troubles succeeding in order The righteous neuer want them they are so inured with them as they terme them to be but exercises to trye them and not Terrors to the end to dismay them I know the Worldling makes not Troubles his exercises nor Afflictions his trialls It is miserie enough for him to loose his temporall estate or to be bereft of honour or the like and the reason is for that hee expecteth no further he findes his Non vltra heere the period of his hopes extend no further then to bee rich to be obserued that in the fulnesse of his estate his soule may be at peace Farre be his peace from the mansion of my soule Farre be my hopes enlarged aboue his farre be it from mee to liue with him in this World deliciously and staruing my soule in the World which is to come eternally Though I carrie not so much with me liuing I shall carrie more with mee dying a sincere Conscience and the inestimable Treasures of an vndefiled Soule And these will weigh downe all earthly mindes being possessed by such corrupt mindes and opinions Socrates answered one wittily being demanded Who could carry a Citie about with him saith he the worldly minded man Alas poore rich man haeret lateri laetales arundo Thou hast bought thy many Possessions at a deare rate when Earth shall receiue thee those many acres of earth shall leaue thee and then must thy account bee made for thou canst be no longer Steward Here the Prodigals Vow to Heauen his Legacie to Earth that as he is resolued for his Creatour in Heauen thou mayest be willing to bee dissolued from the Tabernacle of the Earth Thou wilt not die one houre to liue for euer but the Prodigall wisheth he may quickly die that hee may liue for euer Nothing so sweet to thee as life for life is to thee aduantage but nothing more sweet to this poore Prodigall then death for death is to him aduantage Thou thinkest of thy accompts in this life onely hee of his accompts after this life Death to thee is entrance to sorrow Death to him is ender of sorrow reade but his Legacie and thou shalt heare him resolued for death If I could leaue any thing poore Earth behind me it should be my prayers that the simple honest-minded man may quickly leaue thee Vertue is no Tenant for thee shee shall bee shut soone out of doores hauing no other Trade then honestie If I should giue thee any thing it should be that which thou needest lesse vanitie more stayednesse lesse hypocrisie and more sincerenesse If I should begge any thing of thee it should neyther bee fame nor popular praise for I am mortified and doe not loue it it should be that thou wouldest rumour my vices that others hearing them may be cautioned If thou wouldst haue me doe aught for thee I will doe it willingly so it be not to stay with thee If I should aske any thing now at my farewell from thee it should be no curious monument for what would that auaile me I haue a better monument prouided for me with this Imprease Nec spe nec metu will I tarry with thee As I did once loue thee so am I willing to leaue thee for I haue obserued such as loued thee die in their beds vnquietly As I made thee once my palace bee now my graue I loue thee not so ill but I will leaue something with thee my body thou shalt haue for thou fosteredst it but my soule shall fly to him that made it This is all the legacie I will make to earth it now rests that I make my vowes to heauen this little which I gaue to the first is too much this all which I giue to the second is too little yet will my vowes be acceptable to heauen proceeding from him that willingly for heauen forsakes earth I haue soiourned long enough vpon earth now am I for my war-fare to heauen hauing charity for my scrip confidence for my staffe and desire for my guide charity towards my brother confidence in God and desire towards heauen in my abode heere I haue patience to indure prouidence to retire resolution to conquer Patience to indure afflictions prouidence retiring to Christs compassion and resolution to conquer all incursions I will neuer so presume on Gods mercy as to forget he is a Iudge or despaire on Gods mercy to forget he is a Father I will rather with the seruants of God suffer afflictions though with bitternesse then enioy pleasures of sinne for a season and loose my inheritance My best Arithmeticke shall be numbring of my dayes that when my dayes bee