is a pilgrimage vnto death Giue me a possession of buriall with you here is the home of pilgrimes and the house of death Then Sarah died Thence obserue the generall condition of mankinde euen that which the Apostle hath confirmed * Heb. 9. It is appointed vnto men that they shal once die And Abraham came to mourne and weepe for her thence obserue that naturall affection towards the dead is commendable in all Then Abraham said I am a stranger and a forrenner among you Thence obserue that all men are but strangers and pilgrims here on earth Giue me a possession of buriall with you Thence obserue that the dead are to be honoured with buriall and a graue That all men must once die that naturall affection towardes the dead is commendable in all that all are but pilgrims and strangers here on earth that all after death are to be honoured with buriall a graue are the foure sad seuerall subiects of my ensuing sad discourse which whiles I applie to this sad spectacle applie you your hearts to sorrow your eyes to teares if not for her that is dead and gone for she is blest and resteth from her labours yet for your owne sinnes which will cause you will you nill you God knowes how soone looke you how well to follow after her we will by Gods assistance and your much desired patience trauish the same ground we haue began to tread tracing the steppes and following the method in the selfe same order we haue propounded it Then Sarah died Was Sarah the first that died was not mother Eue with her daughters and her daughters daughters dead long before if dead and why not mentioned what was rare and singular in Sarahs death that shee alone aboue all other women aboue Eue her selfe should deserue to haue the first memoriall then Sarah died surelie I know no other reason but this that as Abraham was the father so Sarah was the mother of the faithfull and therefore the holie Ghost vouchsafeth vnto her that which he denied to other women before her an honourable mention both of her age how long she liued and of the tyme of her death when shee died when Sarah was an hundreth twentie and seuen yeeres olde so long liued she then Sarah died Sarah though the mother of the faithfull though a holy and religious matrone though a Saint of God yet then Sarah died Whence we obserue the generall condition of mankinde It is appointed vnto men that they shall once die all must drinke of Sarahs cup the cup is full of one and the same liquour the liquour is drawne from one and the same fountaine the fountaine it selfe is poisned and if the fountaine be vncleane the streames will be troubled too if the root be cankred the branches will wither also if the head be diseased the members will be distempered too Now the head the roote the fountaine as of Sarah so of all mankinde was father Adam as therefore Adam by rushing against the law like a pitcher that dasheth against the wall sinned not onlie in his owne person but in his humane nature not onlie in himselfe but in his descent so he purchased the punishment of sinne which is death not onlie vnto himselfe vnto his owne person but vnto others vnto his humane nature of which we all partake For as by one man saith the Apostle by one Adam and one Eue two in sex but one in nature one in mariage one in sinning the woman seduced by the Serpent the man induced by the woman sinne entered into the world and death by sinne so by the sinne of one man death went ouer all men in whom all men had sinned * Rom. 5.12 But how did sinne enter by one into the world not by propagation of kinde onlie as Socinus the hereticke auerreth but by participation of the fault also and by imputation of the guilt And how did death enter by sinne euen as an effect that followeth yts cause or as a shadowe that accompanieth a bodie in the sunne And how went death ouer all as a plague grassantis in domo depopulating the citie or a house where it entereth or like an enemie pervagantis vastantis sternentis raging ranging destroying all that he meets with or like a hidden poyson that diffuseth it's venome vnto euery member and penetrateth vnto all and euerie part not onlie vnto a few sicke weaklings and poore staruelings but generallie vnto all high and lowe rich and poore bond and free of what age sex condition degree soeuer all men and women young and old great and litle strong and weake are subiect to deaths stroke whence the poet cryeth out Heu mortem invisam quaesola vltricibus armis Elatos fraenas animos communia toti Genti sceptra tenens aeternaque faedera seruans Quae magnos parvosque teris quae fortibus aequas Imbelles populisque duces seniumque iuventae Maphaeus True it is indeed that which Saint Austen taught long agoe God at first created man as a meane betweene Angels and beasts that if he obeyed the Lord his true creatour and kept his hestes he might be transported to the Angels societie but if he became peruerse in will and offended the Lord his God then that he might be cast vnto death like a bruit beast And to this end he placed him in the garden of Eden the paradise of God stored with matchlesse varietie of whatsoeuer delightes heart could desire especiallie garnished begnets hacaim with the tree of life and begnets haddagneth the tree of knowledge which two trees he appointed him for two Sacraments by the tree of life mystically importing that if he continued his obedience he should surely enioy life neuer feele nor feare hunger thirst sickenes age or death by the tree of knowledge that if he transgressed the commandement ipso facto In the very act * Gen. 2. moth tamuth dyinge dye he should most certainlie die or he should die a double death the death of the body the death of the soule which accordingly happened as had beene threatned for in the same houre he began to eate he began to die not onelie a spirituall death which is a seperation of man from God who is the life of man and the length of * Deut. 30. dayes vnto which and vnto which onlie the hereticke Socinus restraineth it conceating the death of the bodie to be a sequele not of sinne but of nature euen of of nature vncorrupted so that the body should haue died though man had neuer sinned but also and not onelie as Ambrose erroneouslie thinketh a corporall death which is the dissolution of nature and the soules last farewell vntill the generall resurrection vnto the bodie which actuall dissolution though instantlie it followed not yet was to be seared euerie moment for as in ciuill iudgements Iuridicall proceedings among men a man condemned to death though after his condemnation he be committed vnto the Iaylour by him cast
againe into the dungeon and there linger for a long time a dying life yet in common esteeme he is rather reckoned among the dead then the liuing and we are wount to say of him sentence is past he is a dead man In the same manner Adam from the verie day and houre he receiued his sentence of mortalitie gnaphar attah vel gnaphar thashubh earth thou art and into the earth thou shalt returne though after this the line of his life were long extended yet the nature of his life was but a death because he was dead in doome for he that makes himselfe lyable vnto punishment is vnder punishment si non re tamen sententia if not in deed yet in doome And in this respect saieth Saint Ambrose Adam from the verie act of his eating the forbidden fruite may be rightly saied to haue died instantlie because he neuer after liued one day houre or moment wherein he was not obnoxius vnto death we commonlie say of them that haue suckt in some strong and violent poyson actum est he is a dead man because though as yet he breath yet stay a little and loe he is stone dead So may we say of Adam and as of Adam so of euerie sonne of Adam who haue all sinned in the sinne of Adam hic mortuus est he is a dead man because though as yet he liue yet hauing dranke his deadlie bane he must surelie die For euer since the sinne of Adam as soone as man beginnes to liue hee begins a perpetuall iourney vnto death And there is none saieth Saint Austen but is neerer death at the yeeres ende then he was at the beginning to morrow then to day to day then yesterday by and by then iust now and now then a litle before each part of time if time haue partes that we passe cuts of so much from our life and the remainder still decreaseth Austen in Psal 127. veniente pueritia saith Saint Austen moritur infantia veniente adolescencia moritur pueritia veniente iuventute moritur adolescentia veniente senectute moritur iuventus veniente morte moritur omnis aetas when childhood commeth on infancie dieth when adolescencie commeth childhood dieth when youth commeth adolescencie dieth when olde age commeth youth dieth when death commeth all and euery age dieth so that looke how many degrees of ages we desire to liue so manie degrees of death we desire to die aske an olde man where is his infancie where is his childehood where is his adoloscencie where is his youth shal he not say true if he answere alas all these are dead and gone what speake I of ages euerie yeere moneth day houre of our life that we haue liued is dead to vs and we are dead with them what therefore else is our whole life but a long death what is euery day therof but as * Lib. 1. Epist 5. Petrarch saieth a degree vnto death what is euerie moment therof but a motion vnto death whence it is that * In registro Gregorie compares the life of man vnto a Saylour in a shippe for as he that sayleth whether he stand or sit or lie or walke is alwayes wafted onwards by the motion of the shippe so it is with vs whether we wake or whether we sleepe whether we walke or whether we talke whether we sit or whether we lie whether we will or whether we nill by times moments we are caried forewardes vnto our ende and as * Lib. 3. Epist 24. Seneca saieth quo tidie morimur we die euery day for euery day we loose part of our life tunc quoque cum crescimus vita decrescit and our life euen then decreaseth when it increaseth Paralel with that of * Cap. 2. lib. Solil Saint Austen vita mea quātò magis crescit tanto magis decrescit quanto magis procedit tanto magis ad mortē accedit my life the more it increaseth the more it decreaseth the more it is lengthened the more it is shortned and the longer I liue the nearer I approach vnto death For all our life indeede is but a liuing death or to make the best of it it is no better then a continuall passage vnto death wherein one can neither stay nor slake his pace but all runne in one and the same manner with one and the same speede for the short liuer runneth his race no faster then hee that liueth long both runne alike both make speede alike the difference is the first hath not so farre to runne as the later It is one thing to runne further another to runne faster he that liues long runneth further but not a moment faster euerie man hasteneth vnto death alike though one haue a lesser way to goe then the other And hence it is that though all men make equall hast yet all haue not the same arriuall vnto death but some in the morning others in the noontide others in the euening of their age yet all in some one houre or other For howsoeuer there may be some difference of tyme yet there is no vncertaintie of the ende but sooner or later it is certaine all shall come to an end Iob. 30.23 I know assuredly saith holy Iob thou wilt bring me vnto death which is the house appointed for all the liuing as a hauen for all shipping It may be when a ship is come to the mouth of the hauen a blast driueth it backe againe but thither it will arriue at the last so must wee all of vs at the gates of death Omnes saith the Poet vna manet mors calcanda semel via laethi Death is the end of al and once the way of death is to bee troad of all For as all starres moue from the East to the West and all the riuers runne into one Sea so all men trauel vnto one home the house of death which therefore the * 1. King 2 Iosh 23.14 Prophet in a prouerbiall manner calleth the way of all the earth And as all trees haue their death either they fall through the tempests of windes or rend in sunder through the violence of thunder or wither away through the length of time Isa 51.6 so all on earth are mortall All flesh saith the Prophet waxeth old as a garment a garment whether it bee worne or whether it lie folded in a chest perisheth at length if it bee not worne it will soone bee motheaten if worne it will soone into ragges And as the leaues on a thicke tree some fal and some grow so is the generation of flesh and bloud one is borne and another dieth which the Heathen Poet well saw Homer though hee himselfe were blind in that verse of his which Pyrrhus Eleensis aboue all other verses so much commended 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Tale genus est hominum quale est foliorū such is the generation of men as of leafes so one perisheth commeth to his end and another riseth
tooke to burne asunder and the thred flaming to the cloth caught such a suddaine hold of the same and Aqua vitae that before any meanes could bee applied the King in this flame vvas burnt to death I speake nothing of others who haue vntimely perished some by one meanes some by another I conclude all with that saying of * Seneca Eripere vitam nemo non homini potest at nemo mortem mille ad hanc aditus patent What shall I say then doe so manie things vvithin vs so many things vvithout vs so manie things about vs threaten a continuall death vnto vs Miser homo cur te ad mortem non componis cum sis pro certo moriturus Then vvretched man thou art that doest not prepare thy selfe for death seeing thou must certainely die But alas the diuell doth so deafe vs the world doth so blind vs and the sensualitie of the flesh maketh vs so extreamely sencelesse that we neither heare nor see nor feele what is euerie minute likely to befall vs. If wee be young wee feare not death at our backes if old wee looke a squint and see not death before our eyes But hearken O young man and learne as the old man can not liue long so the young man may die quickly certaine it is thou shalt die vncertaine when beause thou shouldest alwaies liue readie to die But if it were so that in thy youth thou hadst a lease of thy life till age granted by the Father of heauen ratified by his Sonne and sealed vnto thee by the whole Trinitie then perchance there might be some pretence of thy carelessenesse But now seeing euery houre may be the last vnto thee since euerie moment may dissolue this earthly Tabernacle since a thousand chances may at all times take thee vnawares and bereaue thee of thy soule who but more then mad would not consider of his end and follow the Prophet Esaies counsell to seeke the Lord in time and Salomons precept to learne wisedome in his youth In like manner the olde man hee will not thinke of death vntill the time of his death thinking to become a sudden Saint who hath all his life time liued a wicked worldling But hearken thou old man and learne by the rich man in the Gospell so he had also cast vp his rest hee was setled rich and ioyfull and deferred to bee godly till he saw occasion but what saith the Spirit of God O foole this night shall they take thy soule from thee this night in middest of thy ioylitie in the securitie of thy sleepe suddenly vnwittingly shalt thou die O miserable case saith Saint Austen when suddenly the senses faile the bodie languisheth death readie to burst in sunder the heart strings the conscience heauie with sinne the diuell readie to entertaine thee Who in this plight would not value a minute of repentance to a Monarchy of wealth and yet we banish away daies and moneths and yeeres not regarding the casualtie in the end I vvish therefore that old men as they haue a priuiledge of yeeres so also they had the priuiledge of foresight heerein that as they see their bodies bending towardes the earth so they learne to send their soules towards heauen and if they should not vvish for their dissolution with Paul yet they should wait all the daies of their life for their changing with Iob. Finally all men almost both young and olde rich and poore of all fashions and of all degrees put off this consideraon of death and neuer thinke or prepare to die till they finde and feele they can no longer liue But O let me beseech you all that heere mee this day to exempt your selues from this supine and oxe like securitie You know for certaine you must die you are euerie moment subiect vnto death a thousand thousand chances maie euerie daie bereaue you of your life why then esteeme of euerie present daie as the daie of your death and make such conscience of all your waies words and works as if you were presently to giue an account of your life Qui considerat qualiter erit in morte pauidus prouidus erit in operatione He that thinkes alwaies of dying will bee circumspect in his doing Thinke therefore O thinke and bethinke your selues of this and in the depth of these thoughts prepare your selues for death Set your houses yea set your hearts in order call your soules to account turne your selues as * 2. Kin. 20 Ezechias did to the wall that is from the world to God weepe weepe and bewaile your sinnes past keepe a narrow watch ouer your heart for the time to come * Psa 38. praie with Dauid Lord remember not the sinnes of my youth and with Saint Ambrose Lord forgiue me my faults here where I haue sinned for else where I cannot be relieued except I haue my pardon heere It is in vaine to expect the restfull comfort of forgiuenesse heereafter * 2. cor 6.2 Now is the acceptable time as Saint Paul speaketh now is the daie of saluation This world is for thy repentance the other for thy recompence Hic locus luctae ille coronae hoc cunaeorum tempus est illud coronatorum as Saint Chrysostome speaketh This is the place and time of combating that of crowning this of working that of rewarding this for thy mourning that for thy comforting Now God is helping vnto all men seeke yee therefore the * Isa 55. Lord whiles he is neere and post not off till to morrow for you know not what a daie maie bring forth It is certaine death will come but it commeth for the most part like a theefe stealing and creeping without any warning take heede you bee not taken vnawares You see the stroke thereof is vniuersall for if the reuerence of old age could haue discountenanced it Methushaleth had not died If strength of bodie could haue resisted it Sampson had not died If maiestie could haue terrified it if counsel could haue perswaded it if riches could haue bribed it Nor Solomon nor Achitophel nor Diues had died But Methushaleth is dead and Samson is dead and Salomon and Achitophel and Diues are dead and what is it can free a man from death Nay if youth if beautie if vertue if pietie could worke any relent in death from embracing his cruell hands in mortall bloud see where youth where beautie where vertue where pietie lye enshrined whollie now defaced obscured eclipsed and ouershadowed in death O death how irrelenting is thy heart how bloudy are thy hands how vnpartiall is thy stroake how generall is thy arrest oh that the liuing would consider this And let this suffice to be spoken of the vniuersalitie of deaths stroake Then Sara died And Abraham came to mourne for Sarah and to weepe for her Whether Sara died in absence of Abrahā because Abraham is here said to come to mourn for her as the Iewes affirm she did to this end faine that whē Abraham
go to my Father and if we loue our friend indeed vve vvould rather reioyce then too much grieue at his death for hee is departed from vs he is gone out of the vvorld hee hath left the earth but hee is gone vnto Christ he is entred the Citie of God the celestiall Ierusalem Non ergo amissi sed praemissi saith Fulgentius therefore the godly deceased are not lost foreuer but left for a time not gone away finally from vs but onely gone to God before vs. Fourthly Fletus inutilitas the vnprofitablenes of excessiue weeping for as a moth the garment a worme the wood so too much sorrow hurteth the heart * Pro. 25. therefore the wise man as hee exhorteth to weepe for the dead so he counselleth to comfort our selues againe for our heauinesse for of heauinesse commeth death and the heanesse of the heart breaketh the strength * Eccl. 18.19 The last is Resurrectio generalis the generall Resurection we put not off our apparall saith Lud. Viues vnwillingly because we thinke to put them on againe so neither let vs be vnwilling to lay aside our bodie which after a while we shall resume againe And as we greiue not at the setting of the Sunne because we know it will rise againe So let vs not sorrow at the departure of a soule which vvee knovv vvill returne againe For vvhy saith * Tertul in lib. de pati Tertullian shouldest thou too impatiently greiue at the departure of him vvith-vvhome thou beleeuest shortly to meete againe Hee is not to bee lamented vvho is gone before hee is onely vvanted for a time and his want is vvith patience to bee borne Cur enim immoderatè feras abijsse quem mox subsequeris For why shouldest thou immoderately lament his absence whom thou thy selfe must soone follow after and all of vs shall surely meet againe at the generall resurrection We may indeed saith S. Ierome wish for them because we want them but wee must not weepe out of measure for them because they are with God Loue I grant compells vs to weepe but faith forbids vs to weepe immoderately and therfore Paulinus saith that we may notwithstanding our faith performe to the dead the duties of loue yet we must first notwithstanding the duties of loue afford to our selues the comforts of faith And thus Abraham wept for Sarah here loue inforced him to weepe but faith restrained him from exceeding the bounds of moderate lamentation You see then that wee are to weepe for the death of our godly friends departed but withall you see how sparinge wee ought to bee in weepinge considering our good hope that are aliue and their good hap that are dead And this that dead bodie or rather that Cadauer that Caro data vermibus for her flesh and bones by this time are turned into dust and ashes which is the present spectacle obiect of our eyes which some of you perhaps euen at this instant so seriously think of others so much lament for If it I say should receiue againe her soule vntie her winding knots breake through her Coffin stand vp before you she would preach say the same vnto you weepe if you please for my departure for this shall be a token of your affection but weepe not too immoderately for this will argue your indiscretion for know that though I be departed yet I am not perished but am rather perfected I am now in the state of perfection where I feele no infirmitie where I am not tempted vnto sinne but sing a continuall Halleluiah to the Lord. I am now where I behold the glorious Maiestie of the Trinity where I looke on the amiable countenāce of my Sauiour where I enioy the sweet society of Saints and Angels where I haue saciety without loathsomnesse loue without hatred peace without discord ioy without sorrow eternall blisse without ende or intermission and therefore spare teares for mee weepe not too much for the more you weepe the more you disquiet and disturbe me This would the soule of this dead body say if it should returne againe but she is past speaking and her soule returning vntill the generall returne of all Wee will therefore leaue her to her happinesse and passe to the third subiect of our sad discourse which is the Lot of humane Life and that is a pilgrimage on earth The life of man is a pilgrimage on earth Now Man may be said to be a stranger and a pilgrime on earth either in respect of his soule which is not of the earth but by diuine infusion or in respect of the whole man which was sometime the Citizen of Paradise but now a vvanderer vpon the face of the vvhole earth or most properly in respect of the heauenly Hierusalem from vvhence as also from the Lord the faithfull here on earth vvhose conuersation is in * Phil. 3. Heauen are strangers as long as they are in the * 2. Cor. 5. body Whence Saint Augustine inferreth Omnis homo est aduena nascendo incola viuendo quia compellitur migrare moriendo Euery man is a forreiner by birth and a stranger by life because he is compelled to depart hence by death Therefore said Abraham vnto the Hittites I am a stranger and a forreiner among you among them yea on the vvhole earth for his vvhole life was a pilgrimage on earth as his grādchild Iacob calleth both it and his ovvne The vvhole course of my pilgrimage sayth hee vnto Pharaoh is an hundred and thirtie yeares few and euill haue the daies of my life beene and I haue not attained vnto the yeares of the life of my fathers in the daies of their pilgrimage Gen. 47. Heb. 11. vers 13. And Paul bringing in a whole Catalogue of pilgrimes in the eleauenth to the Hebrewes Abel Enoch Noah Abraham and the rest at length concludeth of all All these died in faith and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrimes on the earth vpon which Saint Augustine inserreth Ipse est Christianus he alone is a Christian that in his owne house and in his owne Countrie acknowledgeth himselfe to be a pilgrime Our Countrie is aboue there we shall be no strangers but here euerie man is a stranger euen in his owne house Let no man deceiue himselfe he is a stranger Velit nolit hospes est whether hee will or no he is a stranger Now if this were the lot of Gods dearest children in olde time we may not looke for a permanent Citie here We see then where we must make the beginning of all godlinesse euen in denying this world and acknowledging our selues to bee but pilgrimes in the same Consider saith the Prophet Isay Isai 51.2 Abraham your father and Sarah that bare you consider that Abraham was a stranger and a pilgrim on earth he had not so much land where he liued as might suffice for the buriall of his dead for in hope of future things he despised the present and
was on mount Moriah to sacrifice his sonne Isaac the diuell to make it a reall tragedie represented the manner of Isaacs offering vp vnto Sarah wherevpon say they shee tooke a conceit and died and so Abraham returning from the mount and finding his vvife dead is said to come to mourne and to weepe for her But Iosephus hath sufficiently refuted this fancie For if Isaac were 25. yeeres old at the time he should haue beene sacrificed and Sarah after that liued 12. yeeres how then died Sarah presentlie when she heard from the diuel her sonne was sacrificed Or whether hee came from burying his father Therah as some thinke whom the Iesuite Pererius would haue to die but two yeeres before but the truth is that hee was dead 62. yeeres before for Abraham was now 137. yeeres olde who vvas borne in the 70. yeere of Therahs age who liued 205. yeeres in all so Abraham was 75. yeeres old when his father died to that adde 62. so shall wee haue Abrahams age of 137. * Gen. 12.5 Or whether he be said to come because he went out of his tent and entred into Sarahs tent which is most probable for though they soiourned together yet their tents were asunder as appeareth out of the last verse of the 24. Chapter as the manner of those Countries was the men to haue their tents by themselues apart and the women their tents apart as heere among whom we soiourne vve see at this daie the Turkes haue their houses and their roomes apart halfe for themselues and the other halfe for their wiues and women slaues or howsoeuer it was wee will not so much inquire from whence he came as the end of his comming which was to mourne and weep for Sara whence we obserue That naturall affection is commendable in all In Abraham therefore in others and that not euerie light touch of affection but a mourning and weeping an inward affection and an outward action sorrow within and sadnesse without the hearts griefe and the eie teares must goe together For weeping and teares without are tokens of loue within As the Iewes gather from the teares of Christ which he shedde for the death of Lazarus * Iohn 11. Behold how he loued him how appeares that euen from this And Iesus wept for then said the Iewes vvhen they saw him vveepe Behold how he loued him Where loue is teares are if extremity of griefe suppress not the passiō of loue And therefore God hath made men as liuing so louing creatures to the end that they should not be as stockes and stones 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 senselesse and void of affection but that liuing and louing together the loue of the one should not end vvith the life of the other but in token that he loued while hee liued the suruiuer should accompanie the dead to the graue vvith his teares and weepe that they two can no longer liue and loue together Therefore the custome of some nations to vveepe at their childrens birth and to laugh at their death I hold vnnaturall for verie nature it selfe as also Euripides a meere naturalist could tell vs seemeth to haue ingraffed inacted this desire into euery one yea though he dye for some foule offence a shamefull death to haue yet his kinred his frends to celebrate his funerall with their teares and lamentations and the saying of Solon vvas more naturall and humane Mors mea ne careat lachrymis linquamus amicis Maerorem vt celebrent funera cum gemitu Then that proud and ambitious vaunt of Ennius which yet Tully much commendeth Nemo me lachrymis decoret nec funera fletu Faxit cur volito viua per ora virûm It is all one as if he had said Let no man loue me for where loue is griefe will surely be if the thing beloued be taken away And therfore Abraham wept for Sara here and Ioseph and his brethren wept for their father Iacob and Iosephs brethren wept for Ioseph Thus the Israelites wept for Aaron Moses for Samuel thus all Iuda and Ierusalem mourned and made sorrowfull songs and lamentations for Iosiah and Ieremiah the Prophet himselfe lamented Iosiah and all singing men and women mourned for Iosiah and behold this is written in the lamentations Thus the Disciples wept for Stephen thus Marie and Martha wept for Lazarus thus others though neuer so godly neuer so learned neuer so wise haue wept neither could they forbeare nempe homines for they are men and to weepe is humane M. Antonius the Emperour wee finde vvas a wise man his surname was Philosophus the Philosopher and yet hee could not refraine to lament and weepe bitterly at the death of his Tutor which when some reprehended in him as vnbeseeming both the maiestie of an Emperor and grauitie of a Philosopher Antonius Pius excusing him said vnto them Sinite vt homo sit neque enim imperium aut Philosophia hominem ex homine tollit neque humanis sensibus affectibus hominem exuit Let him alone hee doth but his owne for neither Soueraignetie nor Philosophie can take from him the nature of a man nor exempt him from humane passions and affections In likewise * 26. Serm. in Cant. Saint Bernard we all know was a holy and deuout man yet hee could not but weepe for his brother Gerardus and yeelds the reason For if one Oxe saith he finding another Oxe dead low and roare for it and in his kinde celebrate a funerall for the dead what should man doe for man whom reason teacheth and affection draweth Saint Ambrose also was a graue godly man and yet he weeps for his dead brother and why not saith he bos bouem requirit doth one Oxe low for another if hee want his mate with whom he was wont to be coupled Et ego te frater non requiram and shall not I desire thee againe my brother shall not I weep for thee shall I euer forget thee with whom I haue liued so long No no my brother I will remember thee I will shed teares for thee and let no man condemne me for if we shed some few teares which runne softly like the waters of Siloh no force Erunt non doloris ilices sed indices amoris they will not bewray in vs any want of faith but onely testifie an aboundance of loue Therefore the Wise-man exhorteth vs saying My sonne powre forth teares ouer the dead and begin to mourne as if thou hadst suffered great harme thy selfe and then couer his bodie according to his appointment and neglect not his buriall make a grieuous lamentation * Ecc. 28.16 and bee earnest in mourning and vse lamentation as hee is worthy and that a day or two least thou be euill spoken of But here by the way let vs obserue and learne that if we may not bee senselesse as Stoicks but ought to mourne and weepe for those that die a corporall death what are we to doe how are we
to grieue what teares should wee powre forth for those that die a spirituall death so * Luke 15. as did the prodigall sonne so as did many of the Corinthians whom * 2. Cor. 12 21. Paul bewailed so as did those pleasure-mungers who though they liued yet as the * Tim. 5.6 Apostle saith were dead So as do too many among vs who neither regard the word of God which is the life of our soules nor our own soules vvhich are the life of our selues Oh that my head vvere full of water and mine eies a fountaine of teares that I might weepe day and night for this supine foolish and retchlesse securitie * Ecc. 22.12 Seuen dayes saith the Wise-man doe men mourne for him that is dead but the lamentation for the foole and the vngodly should indure all the dayes of their life and why for the dead he is at rest but the life of the foole and the vngodly is vvorse then death Let vs therefore doe that saith Saint Chrysostome for our soules which wee doe for mens bodies let vs bewaile the losse of our saluation and let vs lament the death of our soules for greater is the losse saith Saint Austen of one soule then of a thousand bodies In so much that the vvhole world saith Saint Bernard is not of value enough for the price of one soule But who is more dead saith he then him that carrieth fire in his bosome sin in his soule and neither feeles it nor feares it nor flies from it And such is euery vngodly man for him therefore whether it bee our selues or others vvee are specially to mourne and vveepe And yet in both these there is a golden meane vvhich vvee must warily obserue and keepe to vvit a meane in vveeping for our sinnes and a meane in vveeping for our friends in weeping for our sinnes that wee weepe in faith and not despaire in vveeping for our frends that vvee vveepe in loue and not as without hope Elegant to which purpose are those verses of his vvhosoeuer vvere the author Deflendi sunt mortui sed temperant ius Nam mortui non sunt eandem sed viam Quam cogit omnes ingredi necessitas Praemuniere nobis nos in posterum Idem sequemur ipsos in confortium Communis vita fruemur patriae Which will vs to weepe for the dead but yet to obserue a measure in weeping because dead they are not whom wee call dead but onely gone before vs the way vnto eternall life which wee must follow after The Prophet Abraham kept this measure in weeping for Sarah here for when he had wept and mourned for her i. when hee thought he had wept enough then he arose from the sight of his corps i. hee left weeping for her bodie and tooke care for her buriall hee was not senselesse at her death for hee did that for her which he did not when he was to sacrifice his owne and onely sonne Isaac he wept for her he vvept not for him but he kept a meane in his weeping and therefore he rose vp and vvent away from her wherein hee shewed himselfe not void of affection but obseruant of a moderation and this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is it which the Lord commendeth and it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which the Apostle condemneth * 1. Thes 4. I would not brethren saith he haue you ignorant concerning them which are asleepe that yee sorrow not euen as other which haue no hope How did other sorrow euen excessiuely vnmeasurably immoderately without meane measure or moderation Some cutting and slashing their faces some renting and tearing their lockes their beards their haire their attire some shauing their heads in token of sorrow so did the * Alex. ab Alex. lib. 3. cap. 7. Egyptians Amorites Milesians and Persians and do not our owne eies witnes the same in the Greekes at euerie solemne funerall how do the silly women dishiuer their golden traces how doe they disfigure their amiable faces vvhat buffets do they giue their gentle breasts what pitifull shriekings what hideous howlings what heart bleeding sobs vvhat bloud-drawing sighs doe they vtter and all for outward manifestation of their inward contristation and this excessiue vnmeafurable immoderate lamentation the Apostle condemneth and good reasons there are why wee should not sorrow beyond a measure whereof the first may bee First Diuina voluntas the diuine vvill vnto vvhich humane vvill must submit and conforme it selfe Now nothing is done vvithout the diuine vvill vvithout it a * Mat. 10. Sparrow falleth not to the ground much lesse a man vvhy then O base man doest thou striue against the pleasure of the most high God * Eccl. 41. vvhy rather saiest thou not vvith Christ Not as I vvill but as thou vvilt my Father Hath a master power of his seruant saith Saint * De fide resur Ambrose to lead him vvhether hee vvill and hath not God ouer man Placeat ergo homini saith the Heathen * In Epist ad Lucullū Seneca quicquid Deo placet therefore let man be pleased with the diuine wil and pleasure and thus resolue vvith himselfe that God alwaies calleth him out of this life when he is at his best if he be good that he turne not euill if euill that he wax not worse Secondly Diuina aequitas diuine right and equity it is reason and equity that what is receiued vpon bare lending should be restored at demanding * Iob. 1. as the holy man Iob confessed It is lawfull for euery one to require his owne now all that we haue our very life and being is not our owne * Psal 100 but Gods he made vs and not we our selues hee may with good equity recall vs when hee pleaseth Wee see how patiently the greatest Basha either in Port or abroad yeeldeth his necke to the Bow-string at the hatmaum and command of his King whether it be right or wrong for why sayth he I am his slaue my life was long agoe at his dispose it is through his clemencie that I liued vntill now And shall wee be lesse obedient vnto our good God whose slaues we are whose call is euer iust Nay rather let vs be thankefull vnto him that he hath lent vs our life so long So was Saint Bernard who after his mourning for his brother Satirus comforts himselfe and breaketh forth into this acknowledgement Ingratus diuinitati esse non possum I may not be vnthankefull to the diuine Maiesty I am rather to reioyce that I had such a brother then to sorrow that I lost him for that was but a gift this was a debt Thirdly Fraterna vtilitas the benefit of the departed for from how many euils is he freed that dyeth in the * Rom. 7. Phil. 1. Apoc. 14. Lord How great the benefit is Christ sheweth where he saith if you * Iohn 14 loued me you would reioyce because I