Hell is heauenly in shew * All the earth calleth for Truth and the Heauen blesseth it and al things are shaken treÌ„bâ—e neither is there any vniust thing in it 1. Eâ—dr 4.36 * In Heâ—l is no redemption * Truth and Reason neare of kinne * Truth is the strength and kingdome the power and maiesty of all ages 1. Esdr 4 40. * Nature is greatly grieued till her sonnes be reformed * Reason doth cheere the heuinesse of our nature in case of distresse * Patience a daughter of the Heauens the best companioÌ„ of a forlorne fortune * Contingent Accidents are hid from the eie of Reason * God * ReprehensioÌ„ vnwelcome to all resolute in euill * Truth is like herselfe in vnlike subiects * This guileful world is mortall enemy to Trueth * Made Truth to speak most for the maintenaunce of earthly matters c. * The wine is wicked the King is wicked women are wicked all the childreÌ„ of men are wicked and al their wicked workes are such there is no truth in them but they perish in their iniquitie But Truth doth abide and is stroÌ„g foreuer liueth and raigneth for euer and euer 1. Esdr 4.37.38 * Truth is in extreame perill of deprauation among the vncleane * The Soule that hath no feeling of sin is dead in sin * They that lacke least worldly things most lacke friends that will tell them the trueth * Veritie and Iustice supports the Thrones of Princes * Euer since Astrea forsooke th' earth whosoeuer offers Iustice a golden Scabberd she will sheathe her sword therein * That life is worse then death that depeÌ„ds on a miÌ„â—ers pleasure * Immortall lines in Poesie are worse then mortall lines that end our misery for the first make vs labour for our trauell the last make vs labor for heauen if wee die well * Iustice * Iustice sees with Truthâ— eies * The countenance bewrais how the heart is affected * Time and Death enimies to Nature * Body of clay * Day night are the wings of Time * When men die their yereâ— seeme but so many daies before they dy all their dayes so many yeres The time future seems loÌ„g but that past extream short * Time's euer in motion * Before mans fall * Time made by God the fountaine of Reason * Iniquitie shal shorten Times continuance * Reasons are yeelded by Reason * Still moouing * The office of Reason * Our Nature is apt to insult vpon the least incoragement * A forcible meane to reduce the euill to good * Euery moment seemes an Age to â—ne that longs to heare that which his soule desires to know * Foolishnesse is ioy to him which is destitute of vnderstanding c. Prou. 15.21 * Vanitie holdeth nothing too deere for things nere so worthlesse that may any way tend to her pleasure * Iob 7.6 * No warning will preuaile with the wilfull * The Sunne runnes an oblique course in the heauens which measures time and in time men learne to doe amisse * Men lewdly liuing make a spoâ—le of time till 〈◊〉 spoile them The vices familiar with our natures in the seuerall ages of our life * Ther is none that doth good no not one Psal 17. * In time by reason experience wee reforme our maners if we be not vtterly void of grace * Leauing her last â—ooâ—esteps among the men which nâ—w are least acquainted wâ—th her or her steps Husbandmen * Venter auribus caret * No gracelesse wretch so vnnaturall but knowes the voice and law of nature because it is written in all meÌ„s hearts * Sathan winnoweth vs like wheate Luke 21.31 * They liue ill that thinke to liue euer * It is an abhominâ—tion to fooles to depart from euil Proâ— 13.19 * To haue heauen in this life is to holde hell in the other * We measure our frinds well-doing altogether by the line of worldly prosperitie * A scorner loues not him that rebukes him neither will he goe to the wise Pro. 15.12 * Reason is euer impugned and impeached by carnall Libertines * This makes so many miseries by reason of flatterers in the world for euery one couets to please for feare of frownes * Vicious liuers are strangers or rather enemies to Trueth â—nd her doctrine * These are the last and there fore the worst times which rather seeke to reforme by windy then explanary doctrine which perswades coldly * All times apter to Vice then Vertue * They that liue without thinking of their end doe commonly die ere they think of Death * The first death to the wicked is the entrance into the second * Repentance may be too late but neuer too soone * Tyrants * If good â—hey raise if bad they ruine it * A great torment in the life to come is due to those that can and will take such an immortall reuenge for any mortall inâ—urie * Feare * None are forsaken of God that cleaue to him by humble hearty praiee * The Kay of Intelligence * The Sonne of Gods first miracle hee wroght at the marriage Ioh. 2. honouring the feast with his personall presence * The wisest men are oft thus mistâ—ken for not being able â—o foresee perfectly future euents * The best meÌ„ Death soonest â—akes away because this wicked world is vnworthie of them * Fortune is euer in that mâ—â—ion like a waue moâ—ued with the wind * A sport so called * The contentious take small occasion to contend * Yet mightie men of our present times thinke otherwise as appeareth by their actions Oppression * All elementall Bodies subiect 〈◊〉 death * Which shall haue an end * Al that hath motion is subiect to dissolution * The Eie is saide to cause our blushing c. * Iustice Fortune Death are eielesse sith they haue no respect of persons * A kingdomâ— diuided is at point to be dissolued * Vntimely as well as vnreasonable taxings withdraw the loues of the Subiects * Princes often become odious to their subiects thorow the fault of those whoÌ„ they put in trust to gouerne vnder them * The readiest way to winne hearts * Loue and Bounty the best Baites to catch men * Captare beneuolentiam * Men are honored and folowed in this world onely for their fortunes * They got Territories which they could not holde * Fortune fauors fooles * Chirurgions * The way to thriue in that function * Elixir * A little therof multiplies infinitely as Alchymists affirme * Life is sweet * O Death how bitter is thy remembrance to a maÌ„ that hath pleasure in his riches Ecclus. 41.1 * Fronâ—â—â—ullae â—ides * Hope of future good in this life maks men feare death as an intollerable eâ—ill * 1. Iohn 5.4 * None so mortified but feares death in point of dying * The feâ—re of finall or particular iudgement makes Death vnwelcome
* They are waxen fat and shining they doe ouerpasse the deedes of the wicked c. Iere 5 2â— * Strawberies Cherries c. when they first come in * Shillings Crownes or Pounds * Then will I turne mine haÌ„d vpoÌ„ thee and burne out thy drosse till it be pure and take away thy Tinne Isai 1.25 * And euery one will deceiue his friâ—d and wil not speake the truth for they haue taught their tongues to speake lies and take great paines to doe wickedly Ierem 9 5. * â—s a Cage is full of Birds so are their houses full of deceit thereby they are become great waxen â—ich Ierem. 5.27 * For all their Tables are full of filthy vomitings no place is cleane Isai 28.8 * Their Bill of Sale * And they lie downe vpon cloths laide to pledge by euery Altar and they drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their God Amos 2.8 * And death shall be desired rather theÌ„ life of all the residue that râ—maâ—n of this wicked family Iere 8 3. * Thy Sonnes haue fainted â—e at head of al the streets as a wild Bull in a net and are full of the wrath of the Lord and rebuke of thy God Isa 51.20 * I will dâ—sh them one against another euen the â—athers and the sons together saith the lord I wil not spare I will not pitty not haue compassion vpon them but destroy them â—erem 13.14 * â—herefore will I be vnto Ephraim as a moaâ—h and to the house of Iuda as a rottennes Hosea 5.12 * Neither their siluer nor their golde shall be able to deliuer them in the day of the lords wrath c Zepha 1.18 * Her filthinesse is in her skiâ—â—s she remembred not her last end therefore shee came downe wonderâ—ully she had no coÌ„forter c. Lament 1.9 * The mirâ—h of tabâ—ets ceaseth the noiâ—e of them that reiâ—â—ceendeth the ioy of the harpe ceaseth Isaâ— 24.8 * Libra September * A Beast neuer but feeding and when he hath eaten as much as his 〈…〉 hold goe to a forâ—ed tâ—ee and there straines out his fonde vndigested betweane the twist of the â—â—ee and so agâ—ine presently falles to seâ—ue and being full againe to the tree and so eftsoones to feede * Isai 57.15 * The world is diuided into twelue partes and ten partes of it are gone already and halfe of the tenth part there remaineth that which is after the halfe of the tenth part 2. Esd 14.10 11 * Neuertheles saith the lord at those dâ—ys I will not make a full end of you Ier 4.18 * For it is the day of the Lords vengeance and the veâ—eâ—â— reâ—â—rence for the iâ—dgement of 〈◊〉 Isai 34.8 * Dung-cribs * They shall die of deaths and diseases they shall not be lamented neither shall they be buried but they shall be as dung vpon the earth c. Ier. 16.4 * They haue compassed her about as the witchmen of the field because she hath prouoked me to wrath saith the Lord Iere. 4.17 * If the botch breake not the Patient liueth not * It killes others with breaking * They that feed delicately perish in the streetes they that were brought vp in scarlet embrace the dâ—â—g Lament 4.5 * And their corpes shall lie in the streetes of the great citie c. Reuel 11.8 * Because of their pride the Cities shall be troubled the houses shall be afraid men shall feare 2. Esd 15.18 * Destruction vpon destruction is cried for the whole Land is wasted c. Iere. 4.20 * Iob 41.20 Simil. * Plagues are sent vnto youâ— and who can driue them away 2. Esd 16.4 Simil. * Many dead Bodies shal be in euery place they shall cast them foorth with silence Amos 8.3 * This no fiction nor inserted by poeticall licence But this verily was performed in the borough of Leominster in the county of Hereford the one at the commandement of sir Herbert Crost knight one of the Councell of the Marches of Wales the other by the instigation of Sathan and prococation of the disease * Torments deuised by infinite wisedome are infiite in paine * Mortall life is no more at the most compared to Eternitie * So fares it with sensuall Epicures and Libertines * The conuersion of a sinner is most miraculous * Man is Microcosmos * As appeareth by the Plague bills euerie weeke Simil. * Micah 7.4 * Psal 14 2.4 * Ephes 5.12
Humours Heau'n on Earth With The Ciuile Warres of Death and Fortune As also The Triumph of Death Or The Picture of the Plague according to the Life as it was in Anno Domini 1603. By Iohn Dauies of Hereford O! t' is a sacred kinde of Excellence That hides a rich truth in a Tales pretence Printed at London by A. I. 1609. ¶ To the right Noble Algernon Lord Percy sonne and heire apparant to the right Honorable Henry Earle of Northumberland THrice Noble and more hopefull Pupill I Who learnes thy Hand to shew thy Hearts conceits Would make thy heart before it Vice doth trie To know her Lures to shunne her slie deceits But in the Prime but of thy Pupillage Before the ioynts of Iudgement can be knit Although for Wit thou mai'st be Wisedomes Page Vice throwes her Lures aboue thy reach of Wit But yet when Time shall throwly close thy Mould Wherein all rare Conceits still cast shall bee Then shalt thou with cleere eies darke lines behold That leade thee to all knowledge fit for thee And sith that Childhood more in Tales delights Then saddest Truths I le tell thee merry Tales Of Lords and Ladies with their merry Knights Their merry Blisses and their sory Bales The outside of these Tales are painted o're With colours rich to please thine eagre sence But lin'd with naked Truth yet richly poore More fit for thy more rich Intelligence When thou canst cracke this Nut within the Shell Thou shalt a Kernell finde will please thy Taste The Pallate of thy Wit will like it well When thou shalt swallow it for ioy in haste Then make this Nut a whirligigge the while To make thee merry if thou canst be so To see the turning of our Sports to toile Wherein obserue how pleasures come and go For as a whirligigge doth turne so fast That sharpest sights the fruit do scarse perceiue So can no Pallate fruits of Pleasure taste When they are come so soone they take their leaue Readâ— little Lord this Riddle learne to reede So first appose then tell it to thy Pecres So shall they hold thee both in Name and Deed A perfect Pierc-ey that in darkenesse cleeres A Pierc-ey or a piâ—rcing Eie doth shâ—w Both Wit and Courage and if thou wilt learne By morall Tales sinnes mortall to eschew Thou shalt be wise and endlesse glorie earne That so thou mai'st the meanest Tutors praise So Percies fame shall pierce the Eie of Daies Then by those Raies my Pen inflam'd shall runnâ— Beyond the Moone to make thy Moone a Sunne Meane while and euer I rest prest to honour thee with my poore vttermost Iohn Dauies To the good Knight and my much honored Scholler Sir Philip Carey SIth Death deere Sir hath lately beene so fell To reaue that life than deere life deerer farre This record of his greater rage may quell The lesse perhaps in your particular Faine would I if I could beguile your griefe With telling you of others heauie harmes But ah such guile giues Griefe too true reliefe In your true humane heart that Pitty warmes Life is a Plague for who doth liue must die Yet some that haue the Plague doe scape aliue So life's more mortall than Mortalitie Then sith that life like death doth life depriue You may reioyce sith your Adolphus liu'd True Vertues life which cannot be depriu'd Viuat post funera virtus As much grieu'd for your losse as glad any way to shew his loue Iohn Dauies To the right worshipfull my deere Scholler Sir Humfrey Baskeruile of Earsley Knight And the no lesse louely than vertuous Lady his Wife SIth I am Lecturing my noblest Schollers You being two this Lecture deigne to reade For thogh it treats of nought but death dollers Yet it with pleasure may your passion feede For plagues to see vnplagu'd doth Nature please Although good nature gladly grieues thereat As we are well-ill pleas'd to see at Seas The wofull'st wracke while we are safe from that In health to tell what sickenesse we haue past Makes vs more souÌ„d for Gladnes health defends O then your eies on this Plagues-Picture cast To glad and grieue you for glad-grieuous ends But my sole End by this poore Meane to yee Is but to tie your Eares and Hearts to mee Iohn Dauies To my deere meeke modest and intirely beloued Mistris Elizabeth Dutton Mistris Mary and Mistris Vere Egerton three Sisters of hopefull destenies be all Grace and good Fortune SIth on my worthiest Schollers I doe muse How should my Muse to minde you once neglect Sith you are such TheÌ„ such she shuld abuse Should she not vse you with all deere respect Thou virgin Widow eldest of the Three That hold'st thy widows state of Death in chief Death in thy youth being fast hath made thee free Free from thy Ioy fastned thee to Griefe But he that is the Lord of lordly Death Reserues thine honor'd Sires most honor'd Sire From Deaths dispite while he draweth breath Thou lowly Soule art likely to aspire Thy Sisters like in Nature as in Name And both in Name and Nature nought but good Beloued Pupills well may hope the same Sith of like grace there is like likelihoode Yet in the height of Earths felicitie A meeke regard vnto this Picture giue To minde you so of lifes mortalitie So shall you liue to die and die to liue Meane while I hope through your cleere Stars to spie A Trinitie of Ladies ere I die He which for the exercise of your hie humilitie you please to call Master Iohn Dauies To my worthy and worthily beloued Scholer Thomas Bodenham Esquier sonne and heire apparant of Sir Roger Bodenham of Rotherwas Knight of the Bathe ANd if among them that are deere to mee Remembred by my Pen my Muses Tongue I should forget to shew my loue to thee My selfe but much more thee I so should wrong Nay wrong the right which I to thee doe owe But neuer shall my loue so guilefull proue As not to pay thee so deseru'd a due For I confesse thou well deseru'st my loue Thou wert my Scholer and if I should teach So good a Pupill such a Lesson ill By mine example I might so impeach Mine honest fame and quite disgrace my skill But when I learne thee such detested Lore Then loathe my loue and learne of me no more Yours as what 's most yours Iohn Dauies The last Booke being a Picture according to the Life dedicated To the no lesse high in Birth then honorable in Disposition right noble in either the Ladie Dorothie and Ladie Lucy Percies GReat-little Ladies greatly might you blame My little care of doing as I ought Should I neglect to set your noble Name First of those Principalls whose hands I taught Yet the more high your Birth and Places are The more ye ought to mind the blast of Breath As Philips Page did shew his Masters care When most he flourisht most to thinke on death Then with most blisse when
Or kill themselues with sharpe Inuentions knife Sith they to liue thus die without desart Long may they liue where glorie is more rife For greater glory no flesh can attaine Then die for glorie so to liue againe 212 And doe my sonnes quoth Phusis fare but thus O then aduise me Lady what to doe Who said sith they no better are for vs Thou must Astrea my deere Sister wooe To rule them with the Rod of Summum ius Before themselues they vtterly vndoe And wooe thy selfe to take it patiently For better thou shuldst beare then they shuld die 213 For if she rule them not when wilde they bee She will ore rule them being truely tam'd If in their life she doe them not oresee She in their death will see they shal be damn'd Thogh she be blind she with mine Eies doth see And I doe see how life and death are fram'd And thus the best aduice that I can giue Is them to mortifie that they may liue 214 Which hauing said she Logus with her tooke To dresse her wounds and hi'd her to her Bed So Phusis being of them both forsooke Sate at the doore of Thanatus neere dead And fell asleepe till Logus her awooke Who came againe to her as if he fled Whom when she saw her hart receiued cheare And in her face the same did soone appeare 215 Logus aduis'd her strait to take aduice Of Thanatus and Chronus what to do Which to performe she seemed somewhat nice Because she thought they sought her to vndoo Yet her loue to her sonnes did her entice Her enemies in this behalfe to woo And thus resolu'd she boldly rushed in Those Gates which erst to her had fearefull bin 216 Whos 's slipp'ry thresholds had neere made her fall Into the Lake of Lethe hard at hand But Logus held her vp yet therewithall She grew so fearefull that she scarse could stand But held by Logus and a lomy Wall Then Logus her besought that might command That she no more that passage would attempt For t is not good the Fates too much to tempt 217 But I quoth she will Chronus call outright Who forthwith came on her sweet sounding call Holpe by two wings one blacke the other white And in his hand a Sithe to cut downe All Who seem'd behind but low and poore in plight But yet before most pretious trimme and tall Thus came he forth and to these Ladies said Who calls and spake with motion most vnstaid 218 T' was I quoth Logus know'st thou not my voice Or wilt not sith thou wilt become vnkinde The time hath bin when It did thee reioyce Though now it seemes to thee it seemes but wind Wilt be vnconstant so to change thy Choice And shall I making thee thee fickle find But if I shall of this thou shalt be sure Thou shalt the lesser while for that endure 219 Thus Logus Chronus did reproue because He wold not know that voice which wel he knew But Chronus he himselfe from them withdrawes As one that fear'd worse chiding to ensue But Logus bade him stay or shew a cause Which shews to Logus are all onely due Without whose help old Chronus doth but dote And cannot sing or say right Word or Note 220 On this Iniunction Chronus mute did stand Yet stood as one that still on Thornes had stood While Logus seem'd his seruice to command And gaue his Tongue powre to be vnderstood Quoth he let Phusis haue thy helping hand To make if so thou canst her children good For they that hurt must heale or make amends Then hurting them on thee their help depends 221 Here Phusis hearing how he thus was chid Was at the point at him likewise to raâ—â—e But Logus bade her in her Eare take heede For faire words wold with Chronus most preuaile Wherewith her headstrong Will she bridle did For Logus loue and for her sonnes auaile But yet she said he did great hauocke make Of her deere children in that Lethe Lake 222 In which respect she meekely him besought By way of satisfaction that he would Preuent her Childrens going all to nought And with Examples them from that withhold For I their Mother quoth she still haue sought To make them liue as toward children should And if they perish it shall be their blame For I le leaue nought vnsought to let the same 223 I will quoth Chronus and away he flew And in one instant made the world throughout Babes youths youths Men Men Old Old Babes anew Phâ—sis mean while with Logus talkt about The hope she had that Chronus would subdue Her sonnes to Logus rule which He did doubt For no man of a rationall discourse Can thinke thei 'l mend that still waxe worse and worse 224 While thus they talkt they on the sodaine saw Chronus vpon his wings returning fast Which in her smoothest hope did make a flaw For so he fled as he had beene agast What news quoth she as he neere them did draw Fearing ere she had spoke he would be past What do my Children Chronus say O what Speake speake O speake I long to heare of that 225 They are quoth he I know not what to say Following their pleasures and do thinke of noght But how they may shift me with ease away Yet I thereby the sooner them haue caught O what a world it is to see them play Like Apes with each vaine toy too deerely bought He is no man that cannot do what not That wise men neuer knew or haue forgot 225 Ayme therefore quoth she but didst not thou With thy Sithe menace them to manage them Didst thou not tell them thou their Backs wouldst bow And that this mortal life was but a dreame O! couldst thou not with all this cast them low To mount them more to high Ierusalem What haue they sense and cannot vse the same That haue no kinde of sense of sinne and shame 226 When night was come quoth he I told ech one The day was past and when the Sabboth came I said a weeke was fully past and gone A month expir'd I told them of the same And when the Sun his compleate course had run I said a yeare was past and spent with shame But they that take delight to runne awrie Learne so to runne by Sols course in the Skie 227 In Childhood I did teach in Youth did threat In Manhood I reprooued and in Age With their own bones their bones I sore did beat And in Decrepitenesse I worse did rage For I did euen quench their vitall heat And to the gripes of death did them ingage Yet for all this they worse and worse became Still spoiling me till them I ouercame 228 What life then do my Yonglings liue quoth she The life said he of wanton skipping Roes What the Yongmen Of
And still look'd downe to find more if he might For well he found he found well by that sleight 20 Philosophers that gold did still neglect Lookt only but wise-fooles to find their Stone Which toy in truth was nothing in effect But to get all the world to them alone For with that Stone they would pure gold proiect Worth all the world by computation But whiles they sought a Stone so rich and faire They perfect gold but turn'd t'imperfect aire 21 Thus at the heeles of Fortune all attend Whom well shee feëd for attending so On th' other side Death to and fro did wend To seeke one that with him would gladly go But none he found which made him those to end He ouertooke in going to and fro For those which are vnwilling Death to meete He is most willing soonest them to greete 22 Nor could those Officers that him foreranne Sickenesse Mischance Disgrace and Destinie Affect with his affection any Man For none they found that willingly would die Sith all before with fauours Fortune wan And such desir'd to liue eternally For it is death to thinke on Death with such That Fortune makes too merry with too much 23 Throgh Campes Hosts he trauel'd with a trice For soldiers needs must meet deth by their trade At last he came where some were throwing dice Who first a Breach should enter newly made Lord how some chaf'd through Glories auarice For missing that which they wold not haue had And he that wan to lose his life did striue Yet so as faine he would haue scapt aliue 24 Among the rouing Crew at Sea he sought For one that willing was to go with him Who thogh they valu'd all their liues at nought And oft for trifles ventred life limme Yet when their woorthlesse bloods were to bee bought They sold them deerely and in blood did swim From bloody death as long as they could moue For thogh they fear'd not death they life did loue 25 Through the Turkes Gallies 'mong the Slaues he went To seek some desp'rat slaue that loÌ„g'd to die But loe not one to die would yeeld consent For all through hope still lookt for libertie Hope doth the hart enlarge that Griefe forespent And Faith keepes Hope and Life in charitie Dispaire can neuer seize that hopefull hart That can through Faith endure an hell of smart 26 At last he to a Monasterie came Where mortified life is most profess'd And sought for one to meete him in the same But all therein from sodaine death them blest And praâ—'d to Iesus so their liues to frame That sodainely Death might not them arrest A Pater noster Aue and a Creede They thought right wel bestow'd so wel to speed 27 Thence went he to an holie Ancrets Cell Who seem'd to be quite buried there aliue He Death embrac'd but yet the feare of Hell Made him with Death for life in loue to striue He knew himselfe old Fox perhappes too well Strait to presume that God would him forgiue So was most willing and vnwilling too To do as present Death would haue him doo 28 In fine Death doubting in his Cause to faile Intreated Sickenesse such an one to finde That wold not flinch thogh Deth did him assaile And scorn'd the fauors of that Godddesse blinde So Sickenes went throgh many a lothsome Iaile And found at last one mortified in minde Who though he were but poore yet held it vaine To follow Fortune that did him disdaine 29 On whom seiz'd Sickenesse with resistlesse force And pull'd him downe so low he could not stand To whom Death came to make his corps a Corse Yet as his friend first shak'd him by the hand And by perswasions would him faine enforce With willing minde to be at his command Which if he would Death promis'd faithfully He should die sleeping or most easily 30 This forlorne wrech thaÌ„kt death for his good wil But yet desird one happy howre to liue Which ended he would Deaths desire fulfill Who from him with a Purge did Sicknesse driue Which shortly did one of his Kinred kill From whome as heire he did some wealth receiue And being well in state of health and wealth He followed Fortune more theÌ„ Death by stealth 31 Now hee betooke him to a Furriers Trade And hauing Stock hee multiplide his Store Then Death did mind him of the match he made But him hee answer'd as hee did before Quoth he O marre me not ere I am made But let me get kind Death a little more ConteÌ„te quoth Death thou shalt haue thy desire So I may haue thereby what I require 32 Sables and Ermines Death for him did kill And made his wealth thereby by heapes increase Who hauing now death thoght the world at will He asked him if now he would decease Who yet desired life of Dearh to fill His coffers to the top theÌ„ would he cease Death yet seem'd pleas'd and brought all those to nought Th'reuersions of whose States he erst had bought 33 Then when he had a world of wealth obtain'd Death came againe for his consent to die But now he told Death his mind more was pain'd With thought and care then erst in pouertie Therefore he prai'd his death might be refrain'd Till he had gotten some Nobilitie And then he would go willingly with Death And nobly yeelde to him his deerest breath 34 Death yet agreed sith his good will he sought And gaue him leaue to compasse his intent Who of a noble-man decayed bought Both Land Lordship Honor House Rent Then Hee turn'd Courtier and with Courtiers wroght By Deaths assistance with mony lent That he in time became a mightie King And al his Proiects to effect did bring 35 Then Death not doubting of his will to die Vnto him came to know his will therein But he did Death intreate most earnestly That sith to him he had so gracious bin He yet might gaine imperiall Dignitie Before his Death which soone he hop'd to win And then he would most willingly resigne His life to Death although a life diuine 36 Death hoping that the greater he was made The greater glorie he by him should gaine Which might the vmpire Iupiter perswade That Death in powre was Fortunes Soueraigne Made neighbour Kings each other to inuade To whom this King a Neuter did remaine Who wheÌ„ they had by wars themselues consum'd He all their States as Emperour assum'd 37 Now being Caesar Death came strait to him As most assured of his company But to the Emperour he seem'd more grim Then erst he did which made him loath to die Come on quoth Deth therwith held a limme No oddes there must be now twixt you and I To Ioue I le bring you then with goodwill go To him with me and see you tell him so 38 Alas said hee I am but newly come To honors height and
to publike plagues and open shame Ne'r did the Heau'ns bright Eie such sins behold As our long Peace and Plenty haue begot Nor ere did Earths declining proppes vphold An heauier plague then this outragious Rot Witnesse our Citties Townes and Villages Which Desolation day and night inuades With Coffins Cannon-like on Carriages With trenches ram'd with Carkases with Spades A shiu'ring cold I sensibly do feele Glides through my veines and shakes my hart and hand When they doe proue their vertue to reueale This plague of plagues that ouerlades this Land Horror stands gaping to deuoure my Sense When it but offers but to mention it And Will abandon'd by Intelligence Is drown'd in Doubt without her Pilot Wit But thou O thou great giuer of all grace Inspire my Wit so to direct my Will That notwithstanding eithers wretched case They may paint out thy Plagues with grace with skil That so these Lines may reach to future times To strike a terror through the heart of Flesh And keep It vnder that by Nature climbes For Plagues do Sin suppresse when they are fresh And fresh they be when they are so exprest As though they were in being seene of Sense Which diuine Poësie performeth best For all our speaking Pictures come from thence The obiect of mine outward Sense affords But too much Matter for my Muse to forme Her want though she had words at will is words T' expresse this Plagues vnvtterable * Storme Fancie thou needst not forge false Images To furnish Wit t' expresse a truth so true Pictures of Death stoppe vp all Passages That SeÌ„se must needs those obuious obiects view If Wit had powre t' expresse what Sense doth see It would astonish Sense that heares the same For neuer came there like Mortalitie Since Death from Adam to his Children came Scarse three times had the Moone replenished Her empty Horns with light but th' empty Graue Most rauenous deuoured so the Dead As scarse the dead might Christian buriall haue Th' Almighties hand that long had to his paine Offer'd to let his Plagues fall by degrees And with the offer pull'd it backe againe Now breakes his Viall and a Plague out-flees That glutts the Aire with Vapors venemous That puttrifie infect and flesh confound And makes the Earthes breath most contagious That in the Earth and Aire but Death is found A deadlie Murraine with resist lesse force Runnes through the Land and leuells All with it The Coast it scoured in vncleanlie Course And thousands fled before it to the Pitte For ere the breath of this Contagion Could fully touch the flesh of Man or Beast They on the sodaine sinke and strait are gone So instantlie by thousands are decreast No Phisicke could be found to be a meane But to alâ—aie their Paine delaie their Death In this Phisitions Haruest They could gleane But corrupt Aire and Danger by that Breath All Artes and Sciences were at a stand And All that liu'd by them by them did die For death did hold their heads staid their haÌ„d Sith they no where could vse their Facultie The nursing Mothers of the Sciences Withdrew their Foster-milke while witt did fast For both our forlorne Vniuersities Forsaken were and Colledges made fast The Magistrates did slie or if they staid They staid to pray for if they did command Hardly or neuer should they be obaid For Death dares all Authority withstand And where 's no Magistrate no Order is Where Order wants by order doth ensue Confusion strait and in the necke of this Must silent Desolation all subdue For feare wherof both king kingdome shakes Sith Desolation threatens them so sore All hope of earthly helpe the Land forsakes And Heau'n powres plags vpoÌ„ it more more Now Death refreshed with a little rest As if inspired with the Spirit of Life With furie flies like Aire throgh man and beast And makes eftsoons the murraine much more rife London now smokes with vapors that arise From his foule Sweat himselfe he so bestirres Cast out your Dead the Carcasse-carrier cries Which he by heaps in grouÌ„dlesse graues interres Now scowres he Streets on either side as cleane As smoking showrs of raine the Streets do scowre Now in his Murdring he obserues no meane But tagge and ragge he strikes and striketh sure He laies it on the skinnes of Yong and Old The mortall markes whereof therein appeare Here swells a Botch as hie as hide can hold And Spots his surer Signes do muster there The South wind blowing froÌ„ his swelling cheeks Soultry hot Gales did make Death rage the more That on all Flesh to wreake his Wrath he seekes Which flies like chaffe in wind his breath before He raiseth Mountaines of dead carkases As if on them he would to Heau'n ascend T' asswage his rage on diuine Essences When he of Men on Earth had made an end Nothing but Death alone could Death suffize Who made each Mouse to carry in her Coate His heauy vengeance to whole Families Whilst with blunt Botches he cuts others throate And if such Vermine were thus all imploide He would constraine domestike foules to bring Destruction to their haunts So men destroid As swiftly as they could bestirre their wing So Death might well be said to flie the field And in the House foile with resistlesse force When he abroad all kinde of Creatures kill'd That he found liuing in his lifelesse Course Now like to Bees in Summers heate from Hiues Out flie the Citizens some here some there Some all alone and others with their wiues With wiues and children some flie All for feare Here stands a Watch with guard of Partezans To stoppe their Passages or too or fro As if they were nor Men nor Christians But Fiends or Monsters murdring as they go Like as an Hart death-wounded held at Bay Doth flie if so be can from Hunters chase That so he may recouer if he may Or else to die in some more easie place So might ye see deere Heart some lustie Lad Strooke with the Plague to hie him to the field Where in some Brake or Ditch of either glad With plesure in great painâ— the ghost doth yield Each Village free now stands vpon her guard None must haue harbour in them but their owne And as for life and death all watch and ward And flie for life as Death the man vnknowne For now men are become so monsterous And mighty in their powre that with their breath They leaue no ils saue goods from house to house But blow away each other from the Earth The sickest Sucklings breath was of that force That it the strongest Giant ouerthrew And made his healthie corpse a carrion Corse If it perhaps but came within his view Alarme alarme cries Death downe downe with All I haue and giue Commission All to kill Let not one stand to pisse against a wall Sith they are all so good in works
But vsher'd Death where ere themselues did go For they the purest Aire did so defile That whoso breath'd it did his breath forgo At London sincke of Sinne as at the Fount This all-confounding Pestilence began According to that Plagues most wofull wont From whence it flowing all the realme o'reranne Which to preuent at first they pestered Pest-houses with their murraine-tainted Sicke But though from them thence the healthie fled They ere suspected mortified the Quicke Those so infected being ignorant That so they are conuerse with whom soere Whose open Shops and Houses all doe haunt And finde most danger where they least do feare And so not knowing sicke-folke from the sound For such ill Aire 's not subiect to the sense They One with Other do themselues confound And so confound all with a pestilence Out flies one from the Plague and beares with him An heauy Purse and Plague more ponderous Which in the hie-way parteth life from limbe So plagues the next of his coine couetous In this ditch lies one breathing out his last Making the same his Graue before his death On that Bancke lies another breathing fast And passers by he baneth with his breath Now runnes the Rot along each bancke ditch And with a murraine strikes Swine Sheep and all Or man or beast that chance the same to touch So all in fields as in the Cities fall The London Lanes themseluet thereby to saue Did vomit out their vndigested dead Who by cart loads are carried to the Graue For all those Lanes with folke were ouerfed There might ye see Death as with toile opprest Panting for breath all in a mortall sweat Vpon each bulke or bench himselfe to rest At point to faint his Haruest was so great The Bells had talkt so much as now they had Tir'd all their tongs and could not speake a word And Griefe so toild herselfe with being sad That now at Deaths faint threats shee would but bourd Yea Death was so familiar ah become With now resolued London Families That wheresoere he came he was welcome And entertain'd with ioyes and iolities Goods were neglected as things good for nought If good for aught good but to breed more ill The Sicke despis'd them if the Sound thē sought They sought their death which cleaued to thē stil So Sicke and Sound at last neglected them As if the Sound and Sicke were neere their last And all almost so fared through the Realme As if their Soules the Iudgement day were past This World was quite forgot the World to come Was still in minde which for it was forgot Brought on our World this little day of Dome That choakt the Graue with this contageous Rot No place was free for Free-men ne for those That were in Prisons wanting Libertie Yet Prisoners frëest were from Plagues and Woes That visite Free-men but too lib'rally For al their food came frō the helthy house Which then wold giue Gods plags from thence to keep The rest shut vp could not like bountie vse So woefull Pris'ners had least cause to weepe The king himselfe O wretched Times the while From place to place to saue himselfe did flie Which from himselfe himselfe did seeke t'exile Who as amaz'd not safe knew where to lie It s hard with Subiects when the Soueraigne Hath no place free from plagues his head to hide And hardly can we say the King doth raigne That no where for iust feare can well abide For no where comes He but Death follows him Hard at the Heeles and reacheth at his head So sincks al Sports that wold like triumphs swim For what life haue we when we all are dead Dead in our Spirits to see our Neighbours die To see our King so shift his life to saue And with his Councell all Conclusions trie To keepe themselues from th' insatiate Graue For hardly could one man another meete That in his bosome brought not odious Death It was confusion but a friend to greet For like a Fiend he baned with his breath The wildest wastes and places most remote From Mans repaire are now the most secure Happy is he that there doth finde a Cote To shrowd his Head from this Plagues smoaking showre A Beggars home though dwelling in a Ditch If farre from London it were scituate He might rent out if pleas'd him to the Rich That now as Hell their London homes doe hate Now had the Sunne the Ballance entered To giue his heate by weight or in a meane When yet this Plague more heate recouered And scowr'd the towns that erst were clēsed clean Now sad Dispaire clad in a sable weede Did All attend and All resolu'd to die For Heat cold they thought the Plague would feede Which like a Ierffe still sinn d in gluttony The heau'nly Coape was now ore-canopide Neere each ones Zenith as his sense suppos'd With ominous impressions strangely died And like a Canopie at toppe it clos'd As if it had presag'd the Iudge was nie To sit in Iudgement his last doome to giue And caus'd his cloth of State t' adorne the Skie That All his neare approach might so perceiue Now fall the people vnto publike Fast And all assemble in the Church to pray Earely and late their soules there take repast As if preparing for the later day Where fasting meeting with the sound and sicke The sicke the sound do plage while they do pray To haste before the Iudge the dead and quicke And pull each other so in post away Now Angells laugh to see how contrite hearts Incounter Death and scorne his Tiranny Their Iudge doth ioy to see them play their parts That erst so liu'd as if they ne'r should die Vp go their harts hands and downe their knees While Death wēt vp down to bring thē down That vp they might at once not by degrees Vnto the High'st that doth the humble crown◠O how the thresholds of each double dore Of Heau'n and Hell were worne with throngs of ghosts Ne'r since the Deluge did they so before Nor euer since so pollisht the side-posts The Angells good and bad are now all toil'd With intertaining of these ceaselesse throngs With howling some in heat and horror broild And othersome in blisse with ioyfull Songs Th' infernall Legions in Battallions Seeke to inlarge their kingdome lest it should Be cloid with Collonies of wicked ones For now it held more then it well could hold The Angells on the Cristall walls of Heau'n Holpe thousands ore the Gates so glutted were To whom authoritie by Grace was giu'n The prease was such to helpe them ouer there The Cherubin eie-blinding Maiestie Vpon his Throne that euer blest hath bin Is compast with vnwonted Company And smiles to see how Angells helpe them in The heau'nly streets do glitter like the Sunne With throngs of Sonnes but newly glorifide Who still to praise their Glorifier runne Along those streets full fraught on either side Now was
A Gowne with Potions stain'd he girded ware Who panted as he went and went with care 118 Foure paire of Stockings did his Legs comprize And yet his Shancks God wot but little were Although the vpper Stockings were of Frize Thicke Frize or Rugge or else of warmer geare Whose Slippers were with Cotton lin'd likewise And yet of taking cold he still did feare Who lookt as he had not an houre to liue And eu'ry steppe he trode his Soule did grieue 119 His Face was of the colour of that clowt That did his head inuolue saue that his Face Did looke more white his Eies both seemed out For they were sunck shrunke out of their place His Nose was sharper then an Adders snowt His Tong Teeth were furr'd in lothsome case His Lips were chapp'd his Beard was driueld ore And euer breath'd as he should breathe no more 120 And therewithall he was so waiward still That none might please him but he fault wold find With the best words deeds of meere good-will His bodies paines so peruerse made his mind His wozen whez'd when his breath it did fill As through the straitest passage doth the wind And when he spake his tong was furr'd so thicke That oft his words within the same did sticke 121 Yet ne'rthelesse to these must Phusis hie For Logus held her to 't by strong perswasion Which thus she prest Go or thy Sonnes must die Thou needes must do it there is no euasion Herein their life or death alone doth lie Then of their perill if thou haue compassion Thou must to These that they may be secure Then liuely go for Loue can Hell endure 122 Phusis though while-ere somewhat weakned By reason of these vncouth Accidents Yet thus by Logus being comforted To his direction and aduice assents And now all heart she holdeth high the Head Scorning her wonted dread and dririments And in her loue to her Sonnes thither goes Their case to Aletheia to disclose 123 A wearie iorney had she and a foule But what paine is 't a mothers loue will shunne Who almost will forsake her deerest Soule Yer once forsake her deere-bought deerer Sonne By Logus helpe she doth her feares controule And to these houses goes not but doth runne And as she hies she more and more doth learne This Ladies Lodging rightly to discerne 124 When to the House of Chronus neere she drew Which was a Caue in Rocke of Flint cut out It to the sense more horride was in shew For it with Mosse was inlaid all about And ore the Gate Harts-tongue BraÌ„bles grew As on the top did Okes old stiffe and stout Which rocks rogh sides huge mossie Beeches bare As if the Flint the weathers threats did feare 125 This antique Top where these trees did not shade A kind of Mosse ore-sprad as hard as hore Which ne'rthelesse did softly seeme to vade And grew farre shorter then it was before Ore which strange vermin prety Paths had made Which there did still increase in needlesse store For in those Places where men least frequent There vilest vermine are most resident 126 About the groundsills of this hideous house Without grew Nettles Hemlocks and the like Mongst whoÌ„ were Snakes and vermin venomous Which vnawares th'vnwarie foote do strike Within the Caue was nought for Natures vse Saue water which ther leakt throgh many a creek Where nought was seene but Darknes nought was heard But holow Ecchoes making Noise afeard 127 Neere to this vncouth Caue is scituate As t' were a vault digg'd vnderneath the same The House of Thanatus which all do hate For none came euer thence that thither came Then Chronus house it s much more desolate More deadly too in nature and in name For flesh doth faint when but b'imagination She sees this fearefull vgly Habitation 128 The Roofe whereof with Sculles is seeled quite Whereon in frets hang shin-bones here there The walls are hung with Mantles of the night Which all with vermine vile imbrod'red were If it through any Chinke receiued light T was soone stopt vp with feet which it did beare It paued was with Ioynts and Knuckle-bones Set in no order but like scatt'red stones 129 The Gate whereof is made of mans iust size Which yet receiues all men that euer were Vpon whose Pauement all flesh rotting lies And to the sense most odious doth appeare For here lie Armes and there lie Legs and Thies Hete rotten Teeth and ragged Iaw-bones there Within whose pores the worms do keep their hold Vntill they all conuert to perfect mould 130 No one here keepes this grim Lord company But sullen Silence dust and nastie mud And yet he seekes all mens societie For still he feedeth on their flesh and bloud Hard at the Gate do mournefull mourners crie And teare their haire too like the Fury-brood Which yet is neuer heard that house within For Thanatus is deafe and heares no din. 131 Rotten Corruption here doth reuell keepe Where Worms her Minions out of mesure dance For all about they trace they turne and creepe And merry make with Fleshes fowle mischance Who all the while lies drown'd in puddle deepe As full of Soile as full of Sufferance Where Irksomnesse sits on a dustie Throne As if he were Lord of that Earth alone 132 For Beauty comes no sooner to the Gate Of this true earthly Hell but she doth looke As if she were in worse then damned state And all her Graces had her quite forsooke The Lures of Loue here turne to Hoods of Hate Hate that no Loue thogh Loue it selfe can brook For Loue itselfe which once three days lay there Fled from the same as if it hatefull were 133 Here Zijm and Iim do loue alone to be Grimme Desolaâ—ions sterne Consociates The vale of Visions this doth seeme to me Where Sense may see what Sense quite ruinates Whose Organs here lie in varietie Of transformation which Sense deadly hates Where lie all Obiects which the sight annoy Yet t is the entrance to all griefe or ioy 134 Here Sense saith Sense lies in a Lethargie Whose powres are quite supprest with Earth and Stones Here Rest of Labour hath the victorie And Sorrows here surcease their sighs and grones Where lasting sleepe beguiles Calamitie For Flesh feeles not if rotten to the bones This is the Lake which Men most loathe and yet It is the Lethe where they griefe forget 136 Downe a darke staire the passage to this house On eu'ry step sits all the impes of Feare Confronted with Chymaeraes hideous Which maks all men to hate their comming there Saue such as daily do that passage vse And with feete-mortifide those steps do weare To them it seemes not strange how euer strange Those Monsters do their vgly fashions change 137 The Elements whereof all Flesh is made Do with their Children the foure Humors lie Confused there
on the right hand lies scarse now in vse The other on the left vs'd commonly That on the left is full of all abuse And leades vnto a world of misery Wherein Gehennaes Hold is scituate Which without Patterne thus wee figurate 157 A ruinous Rowme whose bottom's most profoūd A Pit infernall full of endlesse dole A lothsome Lake where choaking damps abound A dungeon deepe a dreadfull darkesome hole Wher noght but howlīgs shriks grons do soūd And humane flesh still makes a quenchlesse Cole The common Burse where none but Bugs repaire An Harbor full of horror and despaire 158 Whos 's light is darke which darke is palpable Whose pleasur 's paine which pain no pen cā tell Whose life is death which death is damnable Whose peace is strife which strife is discords well Whose ease is toile which toile's vnthinkable Where most obedience learnes most to rebell Where all confusion raignes in endlesse date In a tumultuous State-disord'ring State 159 Where toads and vipers snakes and vermine vile Whose hissings make an hellish harmony With slimie gleere the place do cleane defile Swimming in Suddes of all sordiditie While one on others backe themselues they pile To touch the top of toplesse misery Where heate and coldnes are in their extreames And frozen harts do floate in sulphred streames 160 The wals are hung with Cobwebs which cōtaine Soule-catching hellhounds clad in Spiders shape The Roofe of burning Brasse which droppes like raine Frō which no one below could ere escape The pauement's ful of groundlesse gulfes of paine Which thogh they stil deuoure they stil do gape Whose glowing Mawes cannot cōcoct the meate Which there lies boiling in an hell of heate 161 Here weeping warbleth notes that anguish show And gnashing Teeth tunes Iigges vntuning ioy Here Seas of boiling Lead their Bounds oreflow To make a boundlesse deluge of annoy The Sands whereof are Soules orewhelm'd with woe Which though destroi'd yet death canot destroy For endlesse lords of death still life do giue To those that in that death there still do liue 162 From whose wide open Throats great flames they cast Which thūder forth with sense-cōfounding noise The din whereof makes Horrors heart agast Which in that den no other blisse enioyes Such Gall of Gall affords no better tast Which stil doth feed with that which stil annoyes Such boistrous Bugs can yeeld no other glee But mirth is mone whereas such Monsters be 163 Whos 's foule blasphemos mouths are fraught with spite That boils with heat of baneful poisō there Which spite they spit against the Cause of Light Such is the enuy which to It they beare Yet from their glowing eies flie sparkles bright As they no eies but Vulcans Forges were The sight whereof the sight doth so annoy As thogh that sight that sense wold quite destroy 164 Imagine now you see as there is seene Millions of Legions of this foule mouth'd crue With fangs more huge then Elephāts more keene Then Crocadiles chiefe grinders to pursue Soules diuing in those deepes to be vnseene Which ouergorg'd them vp againe do spue While these dogs watch to take them in the rise With teeth to teare feare them with their cries 165 Here may you see a Goblin grisly grim With hooke and line stand fishing for a Soule Which in those boiling Seas do sinking swim Baiting their hooks with Salamanders foule Which being hang'd he hales it to the brim And all the while as hunger-band doth howle Which fingred forthwith in the diuells name In go the fangs that inch-meale teare the same 166 Then others watch as Spiders for a Flie In obscure Nookes to catch a flying Ghost That to those Nooks to hide it selfe doth flie Which caught they binde it lest it should be lost And to their webs of woe with ioy they hie Where the poore Soule is still in torment tost In whom they all their deadly poison poure Which more then kills them sith they it endure 167 Now sullen Silence raignes as all were dead Then sodainely a world of Clamor rings Whereby the much more horror still is bred For sodaine feare with it most horror brings No heart so heauie as the hart of Lead Yet sodaine feare doth start it when it stings The Lightnings flash doth feare more than the flame That stil is seene and stil is seene the same 168 Heere in a Chimney all of burning Brickes Sits Grimnesse and a red-hote Spit doth turne Whereon a humane Creature melting stickes Whose grease doth make the fire the more to burn Which Turne-spit oft his filthy fingers lickes And with this liquor doth his lippes adorne Basting the roast with what most torment giues Whiles the poore Creature dies because he liues 169 But that which is most horrid to bee heard But much more hatefull to be felt or seene These Cookes oft gash their flesh to interlard The same with sulphure with woe waxen leane Lest the soft marrow the hard bone should guard From feeling woes incomparable keene So bone and marrow sinew nerue and vaine Do there endure paines farre exceeding paine 170 In other Coasts of this infernall Realme Confusions Land Gehennaes lording place True Antitype of new Ierusalem It freezeth flesh which pines in staruing case Where some do naked sticke amidst a streame To yce congeal'd whom cold winds freeze apace Yet draw they breath more cold thē coldest frost To freeze their intralls and congeale their ghost 171 If any spit for rheums cold places breede It s blowne in Ice-cicles into their face For those keene winds do forthwith do the deede And haile of drops make in a moments space On ycie morsells there the mouth must feede Sith mouthes to ycie morsells turne apace Here is cold comfort where is nought but cold That all congeales on which it taketh hold 172 Here some but new arriu'd while blood is warme Attempt by motion so to keepe the same But strait they cannot stirre nor Leg nor Arme For in the offer they freeze stiffe and lame Yet hold they vitall heate the more their harme For Ice like Oile doth feede their vitall flame If such a foe to life as such a cold Keepes life in being life hath hatefull hold 173 Who are so madde with paine that they do crie O what is this we feele we feele O what Is 't limbes of Flesh that brooke this agony All they haue rag'd with paine but this to that Is like the Ocean to a fountaine drie This flesh nerues ioynts once Racks did lacerate Yet that with this compar'd was Heau'n to Hell O what is this we feele Sense die or tell 174 It 's but a moment since we hither came Yet feele what paine Eternity inflicts And though eternally we feele the same Yet vs with what we ne'r felt it afflicts Proteus like still paines new fashons frame And one another
euer interdicts Is this the Soule we thought with flesh should die Which feeles these mortall plagues immortally 175 Here some with hands fast frozen to their mouth Do seeke to thaw them with their warmest breath But lo the frost that breath so fast pursuth That it doth freeze in comming from beneath So hand and mouth thereby the faster growth Yet liue they still though frozen quite to death For like to Alabaster Tombs they stand Frozen to death yet liue at Deaths command 176 Here boistrous Bugbeares do at foot-ball play With a still-tost and tumbled groning Ghost To catch thē heat which done they dāce the Hay About it breathlesse being ouer-tost So with transmuted formes it to dismay With feare that may afflict the seeing most While that poore Soule lies panting like an Hare Among foule hounds that seeke the same to share 177 Now Matacheyns they daunce with visage grim And at ech chāge they chāge their horrid shapes And at ech turne they torture life and limb Of this tormented Soule that gasping gapes As if the Ghost were yeelding at the brim Of deepe Not-beings Pit which yet it scapes At point of death to liue immortally Is still to liue and liuing still to die 178 Now comes a chased Ghost that flies for life Before a foule-mouth'd crie of hellish hounds And being caught twixt them is deadly strife Which of them all shall giue it deadliest wounds Each of whose teeth is like an Hangmans knife Which torments if not utterly confounds O! thinke then what an hell of feare that hart Must hold that such infernall Hounds do start 179 Here winds that whistle while they freezing are As if they merry were for freezing so Bring with their working pitchy clouds of Care Wherewith they are involu'd that thither go Those biting frosts do there make all things bare Which make the same a naked world of woe Where nought but nipping frosts are felt seene Ne'r-vading griefes do flourish euer greene 180 Here stands a Fowler fowle with Nets of Wire To take a flight of Soules that staruing flee Late fled from whence they neuer can retire So when in that fast-holding Net they bee He dragges them to the frost or to the fire Where either are in the extream'st degree This is the welcome which they first receaue That of their life mis-spent haue tane their leaue 181 This flight thus caught the Legions of the North Fill all those Regions with their hellish houles And with their vgliest formes come roaring forth To share among them those feare-shaken Soules The worthiest takes the Soule of smallest worth To execute thereon the greatest doles Quake flesh to heare what fraile flesh heere doth feele For endlesse plagues turne here still like a wheele 182 Here may you see for anguish some to tear Their flesh from bones yea bones and flesh to gnaw That so they may no more those torments beare Which make thē burst with choler in their Maw Some grate their teeth as teeth they grīding were To cut the flesh which they before did saw And all and some are so with tortures tir'd That they seeme quietst when they most are fir'd 183 Here Bugs bestirre them with a bellowing rore As at a Scamble we see Boyes to sturre Who for Soules scamble on a glowing flore Biting and scratching like the Cat and Curre Whiles with their Talons they their prey do gore And thogh they striue they do therein concurre Within whose gripes the Soule in silence grones For feare of feeling thousand hells at once 184 Here in a corner sits an vgly forme That on the matter of a liuing Corse Finds matter of much mirth which is t' informe Himselfe of all the sinews and their force Who with a knife the flesh doth all deforme To pull out nerues and sinews in their course Which like strings broken hanging at a Lute So hang these nerues the Body all about 185 Here may you see some others driuing nailes Vnder the nailes of endlesse sorrowes slaues Some others threshing them like flax with flailes Thē moow thē vp in groūdlesse gulfs by thraues Some playing on their hart-strīgs with their nails Some others broaching them on ragged staues And all and some more busie farre then Bees To gather hony from the gall of these 186 If Paine her vtmost pow'r awhile for beare As seld she doth for there she 's still in force It is suppli'd with feare surmounting feare For loe in Azur'd flames with voices horse Farre off approaching grisly Formes appeare Which feare far off neare at hand much worse For Fantasie with paine is more orecome When it is comming then when it is come 187 And all about in darknesse thicke as darke Are seene to shine like Gloworms vgly eies Which like a Partrige sprong ech soule do mark So that to scape no Soules pow'r can deuise For should they mount as doth the nimble Lark A gastly Griphon doth them strait surprise Or should they sincke into Pits bottomlesse There shuld they meet the like with like distresse 188 In mortall life though mortall be mens woes Three things their vtmost rage do qualifie That 's Comfort Hope and Rest but none of those Come neare this place of paines extremity Mens Rackers here being tir'd do let them loose But they are Sprites that men there crucifie Who can endure all labour without paine While they do Sprites that is for ere remaines 189 But if mens plaguers here immortall were And were of pow'r vntir'd to plague them still Yet would they them yer long to nothing weare Or them with lacerating torments kill But all so plagu'd are made immortall there Who thogh they stil are spoil'd yet noght cā spill Thē thogh Time wears that on Time doth depēd Yet they weare not for Time doth them attend 190 Yea thogh their Plaguers themselues were such Yet in this life the Instruments of paine To nought would waste with vsing long much But that same firie Lake doth still remaine Which though it quite cōfounds but with a tuch Yet it confounds but to torment againe And lest the fire should out prepar'd there is A Sea of Sulphure which still feedeth this 191 These present paines the Wit do pining waste But those to come the Will do martire most The Memory is plagu'd with pleasures past And Vnderstanding with the pleasures lost Which on the Soule the Soule of Sorrowes cast For endles Ioyes to lose crosse-woūds our Ghost To haue bin well doth but encrease our curse But to lose endlesse being well is worse 192 Then what remaines to ease the wounded spright When Hope that keeps it whole becoms Dispaire For in that dungeon of eternall night That most doth ruine that should most repaire For Immortalitie right good by right The Soule and Bodies powres doth most impaire Then hauing but one good thing naturall
wilt thou throw me downe Ere I be warme or settled in my Roome And so my Brows scarse feele th'â—mperiall crown O suffer me to liue to tell the summe Of the Contentments from my Grandure grown For better had it bin still Low to lie Then being at the Highest straite to die 39 Either quoth Death come willingly with me Or thou shalt die a death thou most dost feare Hee hearing this from Death did seeke to flee And cried on Fortune to assist him there Peace villaine then quoth Death I coniure thee Or lower speake that Fortune may not heare Yet Fortune which he follow'd was at hand And laught for ioy to heare him Death withstand 40 But by this Time the Time prefixt by Ioue Expired was and Fortune with her brought A world of people following Her in loue Who willingly for Fortune long had sought These as she moved with hir still did moue Because she rais'd them higher then she ought In which respect she had more followars Then Sol that lights Heau'ns lamps had waiting Stars 41 Lordâ— how some sweating dropt in foll'wing hir To whoÌ„ shee dropt that which be dropt theÌ„ more For they were laden so they scarse could stirre Who vnder-went the same with labour sore And othersome themselues did so bestirre That they in each mans Boat would haue an Ore But seeking to gripe more then well they could Were forc'd to lose that which they had in hold 42 Among the rest there was an Vsurer Whose Backe his Belly did for debt arrest Who being fearefull of iust Iupiter Made nice to goe with Fortune and the rest Sith well he knew He was a Thunderer In and from whom he had no interest For he did neuer deale with such perhaps That gaue for intrest nought but Thunderclaps 43 The Souldier came and gaue them much offence That stood betweene his Breast Fortunes Back So Souldiers haue backe-fortune euer since For they for others good go still to wracke And for their wracks haue wrackful recompence For they are sackt if they chance not to sacke And if they doe the Publique Purse must haue That which must keepe them as a publique Slaue 44 They with right Swords do ballance kingdomes rights A glorious office they perform the while The woorths of Kings appeares by those their weights Which proue theÌ„ to be valorous or vile Yet they gaine nought but blows in blody fights So store they get without or fraude or guile The while the gown-maÌ„ keeps vnscarr'd his skin And with his Pen in peace the world doth win 45 O thou true Ioue bow downe thine vpright Eare To heare thy lowest Seruants Orisons Which in the loue which he to them doth beare He makes for them that wracke still ouer-runnes Incline the hearts of Princes farre and neare As Marses Minions to loue Marses * sonnes And make this little Land yeeld great increase To stay their stomackes great in warre and peace 46 A Soldiers sword from sheath here Fortune took To knight all those that her had followd well Now eu'ry man did for a Knighthood looke That scarse had found an house wherein to dwell Yet some did much their betters ouer-looke And thrust in for it while their lookes did swell So Fortune seeing them to looke so big Possest them knights without or Turffe or Twig 47 Sois Cheualier Arise sir Knight quoth she Then vp he springs for feare lest Fortune would Recall hir word for his debilitie Now Knight he is for nought but being bold For Fortune fauours Squires of lowe degree If they be more audacious then they should Now Honor hath He get Grace where He can Yet Fortune gaue him grace to keepe a man 48 Some layd on all which they by Fortune got Vpon their backes that brauely sought to beare The Sword vpon their shoulders yet could not For it fell in the sheathe ere it fell there Fell lucke it was that so they were forgot Yet they forgat themselues as did appeare But when they saw they mist of what they sought Thei bar'd their backs to line their guts for noght 49 Which Iupiter himselfe did laugh to see For these so much were mou'd with this disgrace That they were at the point to Death to flee And Fortune leaue for such their fortune bace Yet followed her most malecontentedly Beceuse they followed her vnto that place To cast away long seruice on a spleene Is not to foresee but to be oreseene 50 O! t was a world to see what shift was made To hold vp Greatnes with a little stay T' were sinne to say some vs'd the Cheaters trade To borrow with a purpose ne'r to pay And get all howsoe'r that might be had No no they did not so I dare well say But this I say perhaps they liu'd by wit And so to liue some great Ones thinke it fit 51 Now in these knightly times ye might haue seene If you for pleasure had but tane the paine Each one ye met withall a Knight in greene And so the world b'ing old grew greene againe As if the same but in the Blade had beene For each one did his Hanger on sustaine Now Time stood still to sport himselfe in Maie For all was Greene and at that state did stay 52 Some shuffled for some Office some to gaine Some Monopole which then could not be got For Fortune did those Monopoles restraine Because she thought t' was to hir Rule a Blot To pleasure One by all her Subiects paine Thogh oft they made theÌ„ seem as they were not Some cried for warre and othersome for peace But Fortune thogh they cried still held hir peace 53 Now some for Coine their Offices did sell As if they had bin cloid with Fortunes grace And those that bought them others did compell To pay for them when they were in their Place And some in seeking somewhat did rebell But Fortune broght them soone to wretched case Some strong sent long men to Ierusalem Out of the way to make a way for them 54 Now for Truths Matters there was much adoe Some this some that som none of both wold haue And yet all three did restlesse Fortune woe To yeeld to neither that did either craue In worlds behalfe or fleshes fixt thereto But all in shew did seeke but Trueth to saue For all seem'd to sollicite Sions cause Which they would haue confirmed by the Lawes 55 Some sed they lied that only Truth did teach Some enuied them that liu'd by teaching so And at their liues and liuings sought to reach Which they forgaue but would not so forgo Somes Tongues defended Truth which they did preach Whose actioÌ„s gaue hir many a bitter blo Some liu'd as dying while they sought to liue And some died liuing yet did most reliue 56 Some Liers called Carnall-libertie The glorious Libertie of Truths deere Sonnes And her they vrg'd to prooue that
would not haue that had the Hart inflates Yet would I haue my Lucke light on that Lot That mends the drouping Mind Bodies states In too much Nature oft is ouershot And oft too little Art disanimates Then in this life that seeke I for my part That Nature keepes in life and quickens Art 94 To bury Liuing thoughts among the dead Dead earthly things is ere Death comes to die For dead they are that lie in Gold or Lead As they are buried that in Earth still lie The thoughts are most relieu'd when they are fed With Angells foode or sweete Philosophie But some seeme on this Manna still to liue Whom Quailes and Woodcoks most of al relieue 95 Well let these some out-liue as many yeares As they haue haires they do but liuing die If so their Soules must needs be full of feares Whose Hopes in this dead life alone do lie For they weare euer double as Time weares In Soule and Body weare they double die O then how painefull is that pleasant life Wherein all ioy with such annoy is rife 96 Beare with me Readers that 's the recompence I aske for telling you this merry Tale For running out of my Circumference I le come in strait before a merry Gale But yet a word or two ere I goe hence And then haue with you ouer Hill and Dale Nothing shall let me to relate the rest For commonly behind remaines the best 97 This world me seemes is like I wot not what That 's hard for that is no comparison Why that 's the cause I it compare to that For who 's he like to that is like to none T is not like God for t is too full of hate Nor like the Diu'l for he feares God alone It is not like to Heau'n Earth nor Hell Nor aught therein for they in compasse dwell 98 Then what is 't like if like to any thing It s like itselfe and so it is indeede Or if you will like to the oldest Ling That limes their fingers that on it doe feede So that all things they touch to them do cling And let them so from doing purest deede If so it be how mad are men the while To cleaue to that which do them so defile 99 Now this most noghtie thing or thing of noght I cannot skill of though but bad I am Therefore by me it least of all is sought Though oft I seeke for pleasure in the same Which yet I hope shall not be ouer-bought For I will giue but good-will for my game And if good-will will me no pleasure bring I le buy therewith I hope a better thing 100 Now from my selfe I eft to Fortune flie And yet I flie from Her and She from me Who came thus followd with this Company That Iupiter did enuie it to see There did she muster them in policie That Ioue of all might well informed be For when an heape confus'd are call'd by Poll The many parts do make the number whole 101 Mongst whom Philosophers and Poets came Last of the Crowde and could not well appeare To whoÌ„ blind Fortune gaue noght else but fame Wherof they fed but lookt lean with their cheere So they in Heau'n deifi'd this Dame Sith they poore souls could not come at her here And euer since a Goddesse call'd she is Poets thanke her for That Shee you for This. 102 Who though they be perhaps but passing poore Yet can they deâ—fie whom ere they will Then Demy-gods should cherish them therefore That they may make theÌ„ whol gods by their skil Twixt whom there shuld be interchange of store And make of Wit and Wealth a mixture still That may each others woefull wants supply For men by one another liue or die 103 Vaine fooles what do ye meane to giue hir heau'n That giues you nothing but an earthly hell That 's only aire which she to you hath giu'n To make ye pine whilst ye on earth do dwell Ne'r speake of Wit for ye are Wit-bereau'n To lie for nought and make Nought so excell For now who for him self 's not wise alone Is vainely wise though wise as Salomon 104 By this time Death came with his Emperor Who followed Death far off which Ioue did see To whom Death said Loe vpright Iupiter This Kesar though a Caesar followes mee He doth indeed said Ioue though somewhat farre But kept in off to shew indiffrencie For though the Iudge do iudge aright sometime Before both Tales be heard it is a crime 105 How saist quoth he Lieutenant didst thou come With Death to vs of thy meere owne accord Whereat the Emprour was stroken dumbe For he fear'd death as slaues do feare their Lord Yet with desire of glorie ouercome At last he spake yet spake he but a word Which was saue I the shortest word of words For No a letter more then I affords 106 Which he with submisse voice scarse audible Vtterd as one that would not well be heard But Iupiter although most sensible Tooke on him not to heare and prest him hard To speake through feare not so insensible For my vice Ioues quoth he are ne'r afeard Therefore on thy allegeance vnto mee I charge thee speake as thou from death wert free 107 Then with a princely death-out-daring looke He said Dread Ioue I had bin worse then mad Sith your Lieutenancie to me you tooke If I so great a grace neglected had Which so I had if so I had forsooke Without your notice that which made me glad Nor would I haue with Death come now to you But that he threatned me to bring me low 108 Wherewith the Iudge iust Ioue did sentence giue On Fortunes side which made Death rage so sore That at the Emprour he amaine did driue Whilst Ioue lookt on and Fortune fled therefore Short tale to make he did him life depriue And euer since Death rageth more and more That now all men false Fortune doe preferre Before iust Death nay iuster Iupiter 109 And thus with Death that All in fine doth end We end our Tale and if a lie it be Yet naked Truth dares such a lie defend Because such lies doe lie in veritie But though loude lies do lie they will not bend So lowe as most profound Moralitie Then be it lie or be it what it will It lies too high and lowe for Death to kill Bene cogitata si excidunt non occidunt Mimi Publiani Finis The Triumph of DEATH OR The Picture of the Plague According to the Life as it was in Anno Domini 1603. SO so iust Heau'ns so and none otherwise Deale you with those that your forbearaunce wroÌ„g Dumb Sin not to be nam'd against vs cries Yea cries against vs with a tempting tong And it is heard for Patience oft prouokt Conuerts to Furies all-consuming flame And fowlest sinne thogh ne'r so cleanly cloakt Breaks out
so ill Vnioynt the body of their Common-weale Hew it in peeces bring it all to nought With Rigors boistrous hand all Bands canceale Wherin the heau'ns staÌ„d bound to Earth in aught Wound me the scalpe of humane Policie Sith it would stand without the help of heau'n On rotten proppes of all impietie Away with it let it be life-bereau'n With plagues strike through Extortions loathed loines And riuet in them glowing pestilence Giue giue Iniustice many mortall foynes And with a plague send send the same froÌ„ hence Wind me a Botch huge Botch about the Necke Of damn'd disguis'd man-pleasing Sanctitie And Simony with selfe same Choller decke Plague these two Plagues with all extremitie For these are Pearles that quite put out the eies Of Piety in Christian Common-wealths These these are they from whoÌ„ all plagues do rise TheÌ„ plagues on plagues by right must reaue their healths Dash Veng'aÌ„ce viall on the cursed brow Of Zodomy that euer-crying sinne And that it be no more whole Pelions throw Of plagues vpon it both without and in Throgh black Auernus hels mouth send the same Into the deepest pit of lowest hell Let neuer more the nature nor the name Be known within the Zones where meÌ„ may dwel Oppresse Oppression this Lands burning-feauer With burning sores of feauers-pestilent And now or neuer quell it now and euer For it doth quell the Poore and Innocent Bring downe damn'd Pride with a pure pestileÌ„ce Deriued from all plagues that are vnpure Extracted to th' extreamest quintessence For Pride all Sinnes plagues for sin procures In Atheismes breast instead of her curst hart Set an huge Botch or worse plague mâ—re coÌ„pact That it may neuer conuert or peruert Nor haue powre to perswade much lesse coact Beblaine the bosome of each Misteris That bares her Brests lusts signes ghests to allure With a plague kisse her that plagues with a kisse And make her with a murraine more demure Our puling puppets coy and hard to please My too strait-laced all-begarded Girles The skumme of Nicenesse London Mistresses Their skins imbroder with plagues orient Pearls For these for First-fruits haue Fifteenes to spare But to a Beggar say We haue not for yee Then do away this too-fine wastefull Ware To second death for they do most abhorre mee Then scowre the Brothel-houses make them pure That flow with filth that wholsomst flesh infects Fire out the Pox from theÌ„ce with plages vnpure For they do cause but most vnpure effects Plague carnall Colleges wherein are taught Lusts beastly lessons which no beast will brooke Where Aratine is read and nearely sought And so Lusts Precepts practiz'd by the Booke Who knowes not Aratine let him not aske What thing it is let it suffice hee was But what no Mouth can tell without a Maske For Shame it selfe will say O let that passe He was a Monster Tush O nothing lesse For Nature monsters makes how ere vnright But Nature ne'r made such a Fiend as this Who like a Fiend was made in Natures spight Therefore away with all that like his Rules Which Nature doth dislike as she doth Hell Break vp those free yet deere damned Schools That teach but gainst kinde Nature to rebell Rogh-cast the skin of smooth-fac'd glozing Guile With burning blisters to consume the same That swears to sell crackt wares yet lies the while And of gaine by deceiuing makes her game Who but to vtter but a thing of nought Vtters all othes more precious then her Soule And thinks them well bestowd so it be bought So vtters wares with othes by falshood foule This foule offence to Church Commonwealth Sweep cleane away with Wormewood of annoy For it consisteth but by lawfull stealth Then let the truest Plagues it quite destroy Of Tauerns reaking still with vomitings Draw with the Owners all the Drawers out Let none draw Aire that draw on Surffettings But Excesse and her Slaues botch all about Sith such by drawing out and drawing on Do liue let such be drawne out on a Beare For they with wine haue many men vndone And famisht them in fine through belly-cheare Browne-paper Merchants that do venâ— such trash To heedlesse heirs to more wealth borne then wit That gainst such Paper-rocks their houses dash While such slie Merchants make much vse of it Vse them as they do vse such heires to vse That is to plague them without all remorce These with their Brokers plague for they abuse God King and Law by Lawes abused force Then petti-botching-Brokers all bebotch That in a month catch eighteene pence in pound Six with a Bill and twelue for vse they catch So vse they all they catch to make vnsound That they may catch them and still patches make Which in the pound do yeeld theÌ„ eighteen pence Forc'd like sheep trespassing the Pownd to take Leauing their Fleece at last for recompence Hang in their hang-mans wardrop plagues to aire That all may flie or die that with it mell And so when none will to their ragges repaire They must forsake their liues or labour well Briefly kill cursed Sinne in generall And let Flesh Bee no more to harbour it Away with filthie Flesh away with all Wherein still-breeding Sinne on broode doth sit This was Deaths charge this charge did he giue Which was perform'd forthwith accordingly For now the dead had wasted so the liue Or wearied so that some vnburied lie For All obseru'd the Pestilence was such As laught to scorne the help of Phisickes art So that to death All yeelded with a touch And sought no help but help with ease to part An hell of heate doth scorch their seething vaines The blood doth boile and all the Body burnes Which raging Heate ascending to the Braines The powres of Reason there quite ouerturnes Then t is no sinne to say a Plague it is From whence immortall miseries do flow That makes men reason with their rest to misse And Soules and Bodies do endanger so Here crie the parents fot their Childrens death There howle the children for their parents losse And often die as they are drawing breath To crie for their but now inflicted crosse Here goes an husband heauily to seeke A Graue for his dead wife now hard to haue A wife there meets him that had done the like All which perhaps are buried in one Graue The last suruiuor of a Familie Which yesterday perhaps were all in health Now dies to beare his fellowes company And for a Graue for all giues all their wealth There wends the fainting Son with his dead Sire On his sole shoulders borne him to interre Here goes a father with the like desire And to the Graue alone his Sonne doth beare The needie greedie of a wealthie Pray Runne into houses cleans'd of Families From whence they bring with goodes their bane away So end in wealth their liues and miseries No Cat Dog Rat Hog Mouse or Vermine vile
against Man did conspire And Man against Man to exrirpe his Race Who Bellowes were t' augment Infections fire And blow abroad the same from place to place Sedition thus marcht with a pestilence From towne to towne to make them desolate The Browne-Bill was too short to keep it thence For further off it raught the Bill-mans pate Nor walls could keepe it out for it is said And truely too that Hunger breakes stone-walls The plague of Hunger with the Plague arrai'd It selfe to make way where ere Succour calls For hungrie Armies fight as Fiends they were No humane powre can well their force withstand They laugh to scorne the shaking of the Speare And gainst the gods theÌ„selues theÌ„selues dare band Some ranne as mad or with wine ouer-shot From house to house when botches on them ranne Who though they menac'd were with Sword and Shot Yet forward ran feare nor God nor man As when a Ship at Sea is set on fire And all on flame 's winde-driuen on a Fleete The Fleete doth flie sith that Ship doth desire Maugre all force oppos'd with it to meete So flies the Bill-man and the Muskettire From the approaching desperate plaguy wight As from a flying flame of quenchlesse fire For who hath any life with Death to fight At all cries Death then downe by heaps they fall He drawes in By and Maine amaine he drawes Huge heapes together and still cries At all His hand is in and none his hand withdrawes For looke how Leaues in Autumne from the tree With wind do fall whose heaps fil holes in grouÌ„d So might ye with the Plagues breath people see Fall by great heapes and fill vp holes profound No holy Turffe was left to hide the head Of holiest men but most vnhall'wed grounds Ditches and Hie-waies must receiue the dead The dead ah woe the while so oreabounds Here might ye see as t' were a Mountainet Founded on Bodies grounded very deepe Which like a Trophee of Deaths Triumphs set The world on wonder that did wondring weepe For to the middle Region of the Aire Our earthly Region was infected so That Foules therein had cause of iust dispaire As those which ouer Zodome dying go Some common Carriers for their owne behoofe And for their good whose Soules for gaines doe Fetching froÌ„ LoÌ„do packs of Plags stuffe grone Are forc'd to inne it in some Barne alone Where lest it should the Country sacrifise Barne Corne and Stuffe a Sacrifice is sent In Aire-refining Flames to th' angrie Skies While th'owners do their Faults Losse lament The Carriers to some Pest-house or their owne Carried clapt vp and watcht for comming out Must there with Time or Death conuerse alone Till Time or Death doth free the world of doubt Who thogh they Cariers were yet being too weak Such heauy double Plagues as these to beare Out of their houses som by force do break And drowne themselues themselues from plags to cleare These are reuenges fit for such a God Fit for his Iustice Powre and Maiestie These are right ierkes of diuine Furies Rod That draw from Flesh the life-blood mortally If these are but his temp'rall Punishments Then what are they surmounting Time and Fate Melt Flesh to thinke but on such Languishments That Soule and Bodie burne in endlesse date His vtmost Plagues extend beyond the reach Of comprehension of the deepest Thought For he his wisedome infinite doth stretch To make them absolutely good for nought Then O what heart of sensible Discourse Quakes not as if it would in sunder fall But once to thinke vpon such Furies force As doth so farre surmount the thoughts of all If humane Wisedome in the highest straine Should yet stretch further Torments to deuise They would be such that none could them sustain Through weight of woes and raging agonies Then O what be they that deuised are By Wisedome that of Nought made all this All That stretch as farre past speach as past compare Surmounting Wonder supernaturall They be the Iudgements of that Trinitie Which like themselues are most inscrutable Then can mans heart but either swoone or die To thinke on anguish so vnthinkeable And can our Sense our Sense so much besot To thinke such worlds of woe no where exist Sith in this sensuall World it feeles them not And so in sinne till they be felt insist Then happy That that is insensible Since wee imploy our happinesse of Sense To feele and taste but pleasures sensible And see no Paine that at their end commence To breake the Belly of our damn'd Desires With honied Sweets that soone to poison turne And in our Soules enkindle quenchlesse fires Which all the frame thereof quite ouerturne To please it selfe a Moment and displease It selfe for euer with ne'r-ending paines To ease the Bodie with the Soules disease To glad the Guttes to grieue the Heart Braines To make the Throat a Through-fare for Excesse The Belly a Charibdis for the same To vse Wit still but onely to transgresse And make our Sense the Spunge of Sin Shame Then happy are sweet Floures that liue and die Without offence most pleasing vnto all And haplesse Man that liues vnpleasâ—ngly To Heau'n and Earth so liues and dies to fall The Rose doth liue a sweete life but to please And when it dies it leaues sweet fruit behinde But Man in Life and Death doth none of these If Grace by Miracle ne'r mend his mind Blush Man that Floures should so thy selfe excell That wast created to excell what not That on the Earth created was to dwell Then blush for shame to grace thy Beauties blot Art thou Horizon made vnholy one Betwixt immortall Angells and bruit beasts Yet wilt twixt beasts and fiends be Horizon By that which Angells grieues and God detests Then Plagues must follow thy misguided Will So to correct thine ill-directing Wit Such as these are or others much more ill The worst of which Sinne ill of Ills befit And loe for Sinne how yet the Plague doth rage With vnappeased furie more and more Making our Troy-nouant a tragicke Stage Whereon to shew Deaths powre with slaughters sore Great Monarch of Earths ample world he is And of our little Worlds that worlds content He giues ill Subiects Bale good Subiects Blisse So though he raignes iust is his Regiment Our sins foule blots corrupt the Earth and Aire Our sins soules botches all this All defile And make our Soules most foule that were most faire For nought but sin we all all nought the while When sharpest wits are whetted to the point To pierce into all secrets but to sinne And all the corps of Luxury vnioint To see what sensuall ioy might be therein Whenas such trickes as no Sunne euer saw Deuis'd are daily by the Serpent-wise To cramme all Flesh into the Deuills maw By drifts as scarse the Deuill can deuise Can God most iust be good to men so ill And
second Richard the second Edward the fift Rich. the third HeÌ„ry the sixt * His Councellours * Feare betraieth the comforts and succours which Reason offereth * True ioy coÌ„tents the desire and excludes feare which worldly ioy doth not * The ioy of the Soule is incident to good and ghostly liuers onely * Glory atteÌ„ds vpon God his onely * Vaine pleasures doe effeminate the minde * To obey reason is to rule kingly * Reason is thought to be most vnreasonable by the sensuall * Philem. 9. * Merâ— vâ—tâ—â—nea putet * Not to see our sinne is to liue and die in sinne * Christ Lord of life * Reason the eie of the soule * Humane creatures are reasonable thogh many liue brutishly * Humane reason assisted by diuine grace true guide to perfect felicity * 3. sins most familiar with mens nature * We hate our euill Councellors when we are plagued for following them * All men are conceiued in sinne * Repentance * The present time is sure to repent in which is no sooner thoght on but gone for euer * They are enemies to reason that desire to liue sensually * The Iay sits with â—he lay Eccles 17.9 * A true mark of reprobatioÌ„ * Iob 15.16 * Nature * Custome Phusis her habit described * As it is saide of the Ape * Custome is another nature * Custome is ouercome by Custome if Nature be willing * Natures loosenes must be restrained by Reasons stedfastnes * Ouer-kinde mothers make vnkind Children * Though fire be good yet fire in flaxe is not good so though pleasure be good yet in youâ— hiâ— is not good * A good preteÌ„ce for a fault maks the fault the fouler * Founts of Frailtie * Strength of pleasures * Affection transports iudgement into partialitie * Reason is very preualent with the attentiue * When Reason is reiected men are lest to all brutishnesse * Truth * Hell made for torment Esa 30 33. * Deceit and Guile excluded Truth froÌ„ the Earth * Truth is one but Errour is manifold * As without the Sun none can see the Sun so without Trueth none caÌ„ come at the Author of Truth * Time * Death The description of Chronus and Thâ—natus * Nature caÌ„not abide Death nor Time running thereto * A well tunde tongue cannot please an eare vtterly out of tune * The choice is miserable where the best is misery * In case of distresse we willingly imbrace the aduice of Reason * Sicknesse * Naturall heate sustaines the vital powers in sickenesse Sickenesse described * Reason begets in vs resolution to die coragiously * True loue deemes no paine intollerable endured for the beloued The descriptioÌ„ of the house of Time * The vpper Crust of a Rocke vnfrequented * Noisome Plants produced from Mans more noisome offence * Deaths house described * The Graue is irkesome to flesh blood * If Graues open by reason of the earths hollownesse they soone are closed againe with feete that treade on theÌ„ * The Graue and Destruction can neuer be full Prou. 27.20 * Nothing more noisome to the Nose and Eie then a rotten Carcasse * Friends of those that are in burying * No sense enioyed in the Graue * The earthly Carcasse * Christ the Lord of Loue. * Isa 34.14 * Death is the beginning of â—oy or misery * The Graue is the reâ—t of the restleâ—â—â— * The mortified in conuersation most familiar with Death * The Humors are the Children ofâ— be Elements * Tombe or Pyramed * Time ruines al monuments how euer substantiall * In a Graue lies the Anatotomy of Ruine * Trueth True descriptions are able to quicken things dead * Sicknesse is manifold for we are borne one way and die an hundred waies * Nature is â—ed by reason to the knowlege of Truth * Gifts get fauour but not with Death or Sickenesse sauing that Sicknes is the better borne by the gift of naturall heate * Who tenders sicknesse shall haue his company * Sicknesse extinguisheth our vitall flame * Nature can not endure to be bettered by Sicknesse * An inbred hate twixt Nature and Death * Truth is hid with cloudes of mysteries that shee is hard to bee found * Truth being masked we must vse the more diligenâ—â— to discouer her * Many of theÌ„ measure truth by their present worldly profite * Poets which all men taxe for lying doe least lie of any the morall of their fictions considered * Their soules abhorre that light foode for feeding it doth but famish * Natures eies are dimd by Adams transgression * Whether I be my selfe or no because euery like is not the same * Vices perswasions are most forcible with the Sons of Nature * Hell is much more horrible then can enter into the thoght or vnderstanding An ample description of Hell * Reuel 20.3 * Maâ—th 8.12 25.30 Iob. 10.21 22. * Isai 30.33 * Reue. 20.14 * Reue. 16.11 * Marke 9.44.48 Isa 66.24 * Reue. 16.11 * Reuel 6.8 * Reue. 16.13 * Hell and the Graue are insatiable * The damned still are dying and neuer dead * Math. 24.51 * And men boiled in great heate blasphemed the name of God which bath power ouer these plagues ond they repented not to giue him glory Reue 16.9 * Deuills * Reuel 16.9 * Reuel 20 3. * Reuel 20.10 * So fares the Flie with the Spider * The light of Lightning is much more horrible then comfortable * Reuel 17.16 * Flesh of the tormented A prudent man seeth the plague and hideth himselfe but a foole goeth on still and is punished Prou. 22.3 Frigida Gehenna * Reuel 16.21 * Reuel 16 2â— Rewarde her as she hath rewarded you and giue her double according to her workes and in the Cuppe which shee haâ—h filled to you fill her the double Reuel 17.6 Deliuer thy selfe as a Doe from the haÌ„d of the hunter and as a Bird from the haÌ„d of the Fowler Prou 6.5 They shall passe from the waters of the snow to ouer much heate Iob. * The greateâ— the diuell the worse * Psal 83.13 * And they gnawed their tongues for sorrow Reu. 16.10 * And they gnawed their tongues for sorrow Reu. 16.10 * Math. 24 5â— * In tormenting * Reuel 20.3 * Matth. 8.12 * The paines of the damned are without end meane or measure * Nothing in this world that is violent is permanent * Immortall * Reuel 19.20 * Isay 30.33 * In this world * In heauen * The more our losse the more is our griefe * The spirit of a man will sustaine his infirmity but a wounded spirit who can beare it Pro. 18.14 * Wert not for Hope Heart would breake * Immortalitie naturally is good * The paine of the damned are as great as the wisedome of the Creator could deuise which is infinite and vnvtterable * The way to
* Fortune * Deaths eloqueÌ„ce is harsh to the eare of flesh blood * That which cures one may kill another * â—ouetousnes is lâ—ke the Dropsie the more it drinks the more 〈◊〉 may * The more interest wee haue in this world the more loath we are to leaue it * â—hen life is at the best thâ—n Death iâ— better * A custome among the Germaneâ— * Which had makes death the more irksome * Men in fortunate estate had rather go with life to the Diueâ— then by death to God * It s a double death to die when we haue attained the highest happinesse of life * Death yeeldeth double terrour * Where the Carcases are the Eagles resort Matth. 28. * Gaine take away the thought of paine * All coueâ— all lose * Lest hee would plague him for plaging others with racking * Wrackt for those that will rather racke then any waie relieue them * The soldiers sword cuts out the Portions of Kings * Of blowes * Audacâ—s fortuna iuuat * A Squire of low Degree is a Squire of no degree * Not remembring who or what they were * A venial sin at most as these â—imes esteeme it * A Hangerblade in a green scabbard * Changed their Countenance with artificiall complexions * That which is deerely bought must be deerely sold * All is not golde that glisters * The iniurious offer * They had Iacobs voice and Esaus hands * Truth * For their raritie * Such dependencie is as ful of difficulty as vncertaintie Enuyings among the seruants cause of the first mutabilitie of those great mens mindes occasioneth the last * In their own not in their Lords right for many get mony in their Lords seruice to buy their Lords lands to do them seruice * London measure * Who are wise in their owne eies there is more hope of a fool then of such Prou. 26.125 * Meere Scholers * Men lerned without iugement whome the Prouerbe The greatest Clarkes are not the wisest men concerneth * Genus and Species * Misuse that little learning they catch * Mathematitians * The Mathematiques are most pleasing and alluring knowledges iâ—l rewarded yet they steale the studierâ— thereof from themselues * â—or little * Magiâ—ians * Coniurers and Witches are alwaies Beggars * Distillators Extracters of Quintessences * Of liquoâ—s * Subtil Sophisterâ— Orators * Fortune doth wel most commonly by men that do speake well Astronomers Prognosticators Musitions Linguists * Many golden Linguâ—sts haue leaden inuention * Penne-men or faire writers It is a badde bargaine to giue aught for nought * They shame the 〈…〉 vtterly * For their recompence * Fencers * In straite prison * Stage plaiers * Shewing the vices of the time * W.S.R.B. Sui cuique mâ—râ—s fingunt fortunam * When men haue gotten wealth they are said to be made Panders * They liue like flesh flies vpon the sorts of men Land-badgers Drouers Lawyers Gold sets an edge on an Orators tongue and makes it cut like a razor * Gold is the God of this world thâ—t â—uines and windes the same as it listeth * Hire Mercenary Swizers and Souldiers to maintaine all vniust quarels euen with Monarches * So saith the rich miser Riches gather many friends but the poore is seperate froÌ„ his neighbor Prou. 19.4 The worlde in his vniust Ballance weighs men accordidg to their Wealth not by any other worthinesse * No wisemaÌ„ comparable to the golden Asse But it is meere madnesse not to bâ—â—re with insensible creatures blessed are those that in this inâ—â—â—ious world possesse their Souleâ— in patience Better is a litle with the feare of God then great treasure 〈◊〉 trouble 〈…〉 15 16. * The touchstone trieth gold and gold trieth men Beâ—rer is a dry morsell with peace then an house full of sacrifices with strife Prou. 17.1 That that is to be desired of a man is his goodnesse Pâ— 19 22. which seldom is fouÌ„d among much goodes * Head and Muse * Praise * As farre froÌ„ want as from too much * Mindes alwaies conuersant with these meâ—talls are dull make the bodies dead to all goodnesse wherein they are * Diuinity * Die eternally in both The world is like nothing sith by sinâ—◠〈◊〉 was mâ—rreâ— after it 〈◊〉 made 〈◊〉 is nothing becauseâ— he 〈◊〉 that made aâ—l things made it not Simile * Euery â—â—nger as good as â— lime twiâ—ge Prouerb * Harmelesse recreation * It makes the number appeaâ—e as it is Philosophers and Poets furthest off Fortune * They affect misery much more then Diuinitie * Flesh-pineing Praise * Men like the deuill great and nought * If thou be wise thou shalt be wiâ—e for thy selfe Prou. 9.12 * The more we loue the world the more wee feare death * â—â—are is a stranger to great hearts * No courage 〈◊〉 the dâ—sperate Cowards Iupiters Sentence * Scripture Parables containe trueth in their moralitie though not in the Letter * Therefore haâ—h the curse deuoured the Land and the inhabâ—tantes therof are desolate Isai 24 6. * Who among you shall harken to this and take heed and heaâ—e for afterwards Isai 42.23 * Now goe write it before them in a Table and note it in a booke that it may be for the last day for euer and euer Isai 30.8 * I am the man that hath seene afflictioÌ„ in the rod of his indâ—gnatioÌ„ Lament 3.1 * Heare yee deafe and yee blinde regard that ye may see Isa 42 18 Thou hast for sakeÌ„ mee saith the Lord and gone backeward therfore will I stretch out mine hand against thee and destroy thee for I am weary with repenting Ierem. 15.6 * Feare the pit the snare are vpon thee O inhabitant of the earth Isai 24.17 * Phisitions * Vniuersities * Then said I Lord howe long and he answered vntill the Cities bee wasted without inhabitant and the houses without man and the Land be vtterly desolate Isai 6 11 * And the Cities that are inhabited shal be left void the land shall be desolate ye shall know that I am the Lord Ezech. 12.20 * Zephon 2.2 * Euen the mouse shal be consumed together saith the Lord Isa 66.17 * Tame Pigeons Cockes Hennes Capons c. * Arise and depart for this is not your rest because it is polluted it shall destroy you euen with a sore destruction Michah 2.10 * And he that flieth from the noise of the feare shall fall into the pit c. Isa 24.18 * Yee shall coÌ„ceiue chaffe bring forth stubble the fire of your breath shall deuoure you Isai 33.11 * Aske now among the Heathen who hath heard such things the virgine of Israel hath done very filthily Ierem. 18 13. * A mountain in Thesâ—alâ—e * Auernus a lake in Italie where they say this sinne is frequent * Pride the cause of Adams fall and so of all sinne