Selected quad for the lemma: death_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A29868
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Religio Medici
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Browne, Thomas, Sir, 1605-1682.
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1642
(1642)
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Wing B5166; ESTC R4739
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58,859
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162
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by the urnes of their Fathers anâ— strive to goe the nearest way unto corruption I doe not envy the temper of Crowes nor the numerous and weary dayes of ouâ— Fathers before the Floud If their be any truth in Astrology I may outlive a Jubile as yet I have not seene one revolution oâ—Saturne nor have my pulse beate thirty yeares and excepting one have seene the ashes and left under ground all the Kingâ— of Europe have beene contemporary to three Emperours foure Grand Signiours and as many Popes me thinkes I have out-lived my selfe and begin to be weary of the same I have shaken hands with deâ—ight in warm bloud and Canicular dayes â— perceive I doe participate the vices of â—ge the world to me is but a dreame or mock-show and we all therein but Panâ—alones or Antickes to my severer conâ—emplation It is not I confesse an unlawfull Prayâ—r to desire to surpasse the dayes of our Saviour or wish to out-live that age wherein he thought fittest to dye yet if as Divinity affirmes there shall be no gray haires in Heaven but all shall rise in the perfect state of men we doe but outâ—ive those perfections in this world to be â—ecalled by them by a greater miracle in the next and run on here but to retrograde hereafter Were there any hopes to outâ—ive vice or a point to be super-annated from sin it were worthy on our knees to â—mplore the age of Methuselah But age doth not rectifie but incurvate our natures â—urning bad dispositions into worser haâ—its and like diseases bring on incuraâ—le vices for every day as we grow weake â—n age we grow strong in sinne and the number of our dayes doth but make oâ—â— sinnes innumerable The same vice committed at sixteene is not the same thougâ— it agree in all other circumstances at forty but swels and doubles from the circumstance of our ages wherein besides the constant and inexcusable habit of transgressing it hath the maturity of our Judgement to cut off pretence unto excuse oâ— pardon every sinne the oftner it is committed the more it acquireth in the quality of evill as it succeeds in times so it proceeds into degrees of badnesse for as they proceed they ever multiply and like figureâ— in Arithmeticke the last stands for morâ— then all that went before it the course anâ— order of my life would be a very death toâ— others I use my selfe to all dyets humoursâ— ayres hunger thâ—rst cold heat want plenty necessity dangers hazards when I am cold I cure not my selfe by heate when sicke not by physicke those thaâ— know how I live may justly say I regarâ— not life nor stand in feare of death I am much taken with two verses of Lucan sincâ— I have beene able not onely as we doe aâ— Schoole to construe but understand it Victurosque Dei celant ut vivere durent Felix essemori So are we all deluded vainely searching wayes To make us happy by the length of dayes For cunningly it makes protract the breath The Gods conceale the happinesse of Death There be many excellent straines in â—hat Poet wherewith his Stoicall Genius â—ath liberally supplyed him and truly â—here are singular pieces of Philosophy of Zeno and doctrine of the Stoickes which I perceive delivered in a Pulpit passe for current Divinity yet herein are they exâ—reame that can allow a man to be his own Assassine and so highly extoll the end of Cato this is indeed not to feare death but â—et to be afraid of life It is a brave act of â—alour to contemne death but where life â—s more terrible then death it is then the â—ruest valour to dare to live and herein Religion hath taught us a noble example For all the valiant acts of Curtius Scâ—vola or Godrus doe not parallel or match thaâ— one of Iob and sure there is no torture to the rack of a disease nor any Poneyarâ— in death it selfe like those in the way oâ— prologue unto it Emorinolo sed me esse mortuum nihil curoâ— I would not dye but care not to be dead Were I of Caesars Religion I should be oâ— his desires and wish rather to be tortureâ— at one blow then to be sawed in peeces by the grating torture of a disease Now beâ—sides this literall positive kinde of death there are others whereof Divines makâ— mention and those I thinke not meerely Metaphoricall as Mortification dyinâ— unto sinne and the world therefore I say every man hath a double Horoscope onâ— of his Humanity his birth another oâ— his Christianity his baptisme and from this doe I compute or calculate my Nativity yet not-reckoning of those Horae comâ— bustae and odde dayes or esteeming my selfe any thing before I was my Saviours and inrolled in the Register of Christ whosoever enjoyes not this life I counâ— him but an apparition though he wearâ—â—â—out him the sensible affection of the â—â—sh In those morall acceptions the way be immortall is to dye daily nor can â—hinke that I have the true Theory of â—â—ath when I contemplate a skull or â—â—hold a Skeleton which those vulgar â—aginations cast upon it I have thereâ—â—re enlarged that common Memento â—ori into a more Christian memoranâ—m Memento quatuor novissima those â—ure inevitable points of us all Death â—udgement Heaven and Hell Neither â—d the contemplations of the Heathens â—st in their graves without a further â—ought of Radamanth or some judiciall â—â—oceeding after death but in another â—ay and upon suggestion of their natuâ—ll reasons I cannot but marvaile from â—hat Sibyll or Oracle they stole the proâ—hesie of the worlds destruct on by fire â—r whence Lucan learned to say â—omunis mundo superest rogus ossibus astrâ— Misturus 〈…〉 Wherein our bones with starres shall make one pire I beleeve the world growes neare itâ— end and yet is neither old nor decayed nor will ever perish upon the ruines oâ— its owne principles As the worke oâ— Creation was above nature so its adâ—versary annihilation without whicâ— the world hath not its end Now whaâ— force should be able to consume it thuâ— farre without the breath of God whicâ— is the truest consuming flame my Philosophy can informe me I beleeve thaâ— there went not a minute to the world creation nor shall there goe to its deâ—struction Those fix daies so punctually described make not to me one moment but rather seeme to manifest the method and Idea of the great worke oâ— the intellect of God then the manneâ— how he proceeded in its operation â— cannot dreame that there should be aâ— the last day any Judiciall proceeding oâ— calling to the Barre as indeed the Scripture seemes to imply and the literaâ—â—ommentators doe conceive for unâ—eakeable mysteries in the Scriptures â—e often delivered in a vulgar and illuâ—rative way and being written unto â—an are delivered not as they truely â—e but as they may be understood â—herein notwithstanding the different â—terpretations according to different â—â—pacities they may stand firme with â—ur
but from the little finger of the Almighty It is impossible that either in the discourse of man or in the infallible voice of God to the weaknesse of our apprehensions there should not appeare irregularities contradictions and antinomies my selfe can shew a catalogue of doubts never yet imagined nor questioned as I know which are not resolved at the first hearing not fantastick Quere's or objections of the ayre For I cannot heare of Atoms in Divinity I reade the history of the Pigeon that was sent out of the Ark and returned no more yet not question how she found out her maâ—e that was left behinde That Lazarus was raised from the dead yet not demand where in the interim his soule awaited or raise a Law-case whether his Heire might lawfully deâ—aine his inheritance bequeathed unto him by his death hee though restored to life have no Plea for his former possessions Whether Eve was framed out of the left side of Adam I dispute not because I stand not yet assured which is the right side of a man or whether there be such distinction in Nature Whether Adam was an Hermaphrodite as the Rabbines comment upon the letter of the Text because it is contrary to all reason that there should be an Hermaphrodite before there was a woman or a composition of two natures before there was a second composed Likewise whether the world was created 〈◊〉 Autumne Summer or the Spring beâ—ause it was created in them all for whatâ—oever Signe the Sunne possesseth those foure â—easons are actually existent It is the â—ature of this Luminary to distinguish the severall seasons of the yeare all which it makes at one time in the whole earth and successively in any part thereof There are a bundle of curiosities not onely in Phiâ—osophy but in Divinity proposed and discussed by men of most supposed abilities which are not worthy of our vacant hours much lesse our serious studies Pieces only fit to be placed in Pantagrucle Studies or bound up with Tartaretus de modo coecandi these are niceâ—ies that become not those that peruse so serious a Mystery There are others more generally questioned and called to the Barre yet me thinks of an eaâ—ie possible truth It is ridiculous to put off or drowne the generall Floud of Noah in that great particular inundation of Deucalion that there was a Deluge once seems not to me so great a miracle as that there is not one alwayes How all the kinds of Creatures not onely in their owne bulks but with a competency of food and sustenance might be preserved in one Ark and with the extent of three hundred cubits to a reason that rightly examines it will appeare very difficult There is another secret not contained in the Scripture which is more hard to comprehend and puts the honest Father to the refuge of a Miracle and that is not onely how the distinct pieces of the world divided Iâ—ands should be first planted by men but inhabited by Tygers Panthers and Beares How America abounded with beasts of prey noxious Animals yet contained not in it that necessary creature a Horse By what passage those not onely Birds but dangerouâ— and â—unwelcome Beasts came over How thereby creatures are there which are not found in the triple Continent all which must needs be strange unto us that hold but one Ark and that the creatures begaâ— progresse from the mountaines of Ararat They who to salve this would make the Deluge particular proceed upon a principle that I can no way grant not onely upon the negative of holy Scriptures but 〈◊〉 owne Reason whereby I can make â— probable that the world was as wel peoâ—led in the time of Noah as in ours and fifteene hundred yeers to people the world as full a time for them as foure thousand â—eers since hath beene to us There are other assertions and common â—enents drawn from Scripture and geneâ—ally beleeved as Scripture whereunto notwithstanding I would never betray the lâ—â—erty of my reason It is a Paradox to me â—hat Methuselah was the longest liv'd of all the children of Adam and no man will be â—ble to prove it when from the processe of the Text I can manifest that it is otherwise That Iudas hanged himselfe there 〈◊〉 no certainty in Scripture though in one place it seemes to affirme it by a doubtfull word hath given occasion to translate 〈◊〉 yet in another place in a more punctuâ—lâ— description it makes it improbable and â—eemes to overthrow it That our Fathers â—fter the Floud â—rected the Tower of Baâ—â—ll to preserve themselves against a second â—eluge is generally opinioned and beleâ—â—ed yet is there another intention of theirs expressed in Scripture Besides that it iâ— improbable from the circumstance of the place the plaine in the land of Shinar These are no points of Faith and therforâ— may admit a free dispute There are yet others and those familiarly concluded from the Text wherein under favour I see nâ— consequence as to prove the Trinity from the speech of God in the plurall number Faciamus hominem Let us make man whicâ— is but the common stile of Princes meâ— of Eminency hee that shall reade one oâ— his Majesties Proclamations may with the same Logicke conclude there be two Kings in England The Church of Rome confidently proveâ— the opinion of Tutelary Angels from thaâ— answer whâ—n Peter knockt at the doore 〈◊〉 is not hee but his Angel that is to say hiâ— Mâ—ssenger or some body from him foâ— so the Originall signifies and is as likely to be the doubtfull Families meaning This supposition I once suggested to â— young Divine that answered upon thiâ— point to which I remember the Franciscaâ— Opponent replyed no more but That 〈◊〉 â—as a new and no authenticke interpretatiâ—n These are but the conclusions fallible â—iscourses of man upon the word of God â—or such I do beleeve the holy Scriptures â—et were it of man I could not chuse butsay â— was the singularest and superlative Piece â—hat hath been extant since the Creation were I a Pagan I should not refraine the Lecture of it and cannot but commend the judgement of Ptolomy that thought the â—lcoran of the Turks I speak without â—rejudice is an ill composed Piece conâ—aining in it vaine and ridiculous errours in â—hilosophy impossibilities fictions and â—anities beyond laughter maintained by â—vident and open Sophismes the policy of Ignorance deposition of Universities â—nd banishment of Learning that hath â—otten foot by armes and violence This without a blow doth disseminate it selfe â—hrogh the whole earth T is not unremarkâ—ble what Philo first observed That the Law of Mâ—ses continued two thousand â—eares without the least alteration whereâ—s we see the Laws of other Common-weales do alter with occasions and eveâ— those that pretended their originall from some Divinity to have vanished withouâ— trace or memory I beleeve besides Zoroafter there were divers that writ beforâ—Moses who notwithstanding have suffered the