for rest in trouble for ioye in sorow for ease in payne for assuraunce where â—…thinge is but slyttinge for 〈◊〉 where nothinge please the longe But he that is a Citizen of Ierusalem a souldier vnder Christes banner armed with Fayth shylded with Hope strengthned with Charitie who knoweth in whome he hath put his truste and where he looketh for his méede Such 〈◊〉 one is content to vse this lyfe as his â—…lgrimage contented if it be short not offended if it be long desyringe neyther the one nor the other but still lookinge to his home â—…earing with the rest bicause he appoynteth his quiet ther. Unto him bicause Câ—…rist is lyfe death can not be but gayne bicause he â—…indeth that he séeketh and atteyneth that he loueth content to leaue the world which loued not him or which he louid not whose commodities if he sought he founde nothing but either occasion to enuie them he should loue or to stryue with them that would enioy them as well as him selfe 〈◊〉 be angry with them that kept him from the atteyning theâ—… whome being men he should embrace Yea though he hatâ—… nor misused no man which is harde in that cause to â—…oyd yet louing the world and the commodities thereof he found meanes whereby he was moued to forget his iourny and the ende thereof to make his Inne his home to syt downe before his wayes ende to turne his loue from the better to the worse from heauen to earthe from God to him selfe or rather from and agaynste him selfe to thinges vayne which first would make him worse then they sounde him and afterward leaue him whan he began to loue theÌ„ and leaue him in that euill estate they founde him not So if the world doe vndoubtedly hurt them that loue it and be but payâ—… and trauayle to them that loue it not bicause they hauâ—… 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 nor pleasure where they loue not then followeth it 〈◊〉 loue is onely to be bestowed on God and that â—…n must desyre to be wher his loue is for so natuâ—… 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 loue be true And surely if ther be in vs the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â—…ue of god we can not be asrayde of that â—…ich bringeth 〈◊〉 to him nor loathe to heare of that â—…ithout which we can not come to him And if thâ—… were no more benefit in Death but that he maketh an ende of sinne sithe sinne displeaseth God and â—…aritie willeth vs to loue that he loueth and 〈◊〉 that he hateth we can neither be afraydâ—… nor ill content with deathe which bringeth vs out of the occasion of sinnâ—… and daunger thereby to disâ—…lease God. And although this séeme vnto many hard and vnto some almost vnpossiible mâ—…suring all other by their owne footâ—… y any man who may enioy lyfe should be coÌ„tent or desirous â—…o lâ—…ue y same yet is it not only aprouâ—…â—…ost vndoubted true by y teching of scriptures which no man can deny but also by y exaÌ„ple of infinit martirs wherof each couÌ„try hath had great nuÌ„bers who hauing libertie to flye therby to liue inflamed only with the sire of charitie loue of god were not only coÌ„tâ—…t to be taken but offered theÌ„ selues for his sake whom they louid and that not onely men in whome naturally courage is but women and children whose weake sexe and tender age declared more playnely what true and hartie loue is able to worke which as it brought Christ downe from heauen into earth so being truely rooted in man it is able to draw him from earth into heauen without respect had to him selfe or any thing that is his And thus much spoken of the first parte doth now make the waye open to bring in the second for it may be sayde if there be any meanes to take away the feare of Death and diminish the desire of lyfe who should atteyne to the same so soone as christian men And sith we be all of that number howe commeth it then to passe that so fewe are contented to dye and many so affrayde thereof that neither them selues will thinke of it nor willingly heare other speake of it To the which question although I might in fewe woordes aunswere and say that there lacketh in vs that lyuely and perfect loue of God and the lyfe to come which should be in vs and was in them of whome I spake Yet to make this point more playne for it is lesse to saye all then to touche eache parte of all I finde thrée causes especiall that make men desirous to liue and lothe to dye 1 The one is our weakenesse which séemeth to haue some excuse bicause nature desireth the conceruacion of it selfe abhorreth dissolucion which both taketh away our being and also bringeth with it great gréefe and paynes which men séeing in other and flying in them selfe feare Deathe whose seruants and messengers they are 2 The second cause is either the lacke or the small quantitie of fayth in vs whereby we beleue not or fayntly beleue the meruailous promises of incomparable blysse promised by GOD vnto his faythfull after this transitory and present lyfe 3 But the greatest cause is the third which is a loue and swéetenesse conceaued of this lyfe the goods and commodyties of the same wherewith who so is possessed it can not be auoided but vnto him the very remeÌ„braÌ„ce of death which taketh froÌ„ him that he loueth must be sower bitter as the scripture saith To say somewhat to these thrée things which maketh lyfe swéet death sower is the third part of my matter which I promised to entreate of And for the first which is a naturall weaknes ingeÌ„dering of it selfe the feare of death we can not say it hath no power in vs mortal men sith Christ our patron being more thaÌ„ man confessed to haue some féeling of it in him selfe But if we coÌ„sider that he was weak to make vs strong who gaue the onset made the conquest of death weaknes that not for him selfe but for vs in our nature saying afterwarde to vs be bolde feare not I haue made a conquest of the world And y he hath by taking on him our nature meruelously ioyned incorporated vs vnto him so that by grace participacioÌ„ y is true in vs which by perfection of nature was true in him theÌ„ fynde we that this weaknes remayneth not as before in his force but is inforced couÌ„teruayled by a streÌ„gth geuen vs besides our selues which bicause we should firmely beleue not to be imagined or onely in words but true in déedes God hath shewed it by the example of thousandes of his martirs not flying as before is said but desiring death not fearing but conteÌ„ning it triumphing in tormeÌ„t coÌ„quering in weakenes not saying sad heauie is myne hart vntil death be past but I desire to be in the féeling to begin to lyue swéete is the torture colde is the fire dul is the axe for what is ther in death dreadful
but coÌ„tentedly to haue receaued it The loue they bare vnto God his will in their lyfe kept theÌ„ from disorderid loue of the world and froÌ„ the coÌ„mon sinnes vices which men for worldly thinges coÌ„mit being not troubled with conscience remorce therof sawe no cause to shunne to feare death And as this loue of god his wil encreased in the new testament where the holy ghost the spirit of loue was is more pleÌ„tiously powred in to y harts of the right beleuiÌ„g So the loue of lyfe decresed the desire of death increased in y best professors therof the appostles martirs infinite not only coÌ„tented to leue this life but also desir eddeath who receuig the faith gospel beig taught therby to coÌ„fornie theÌ„ selues to y life image of Christ did with perfect faith pleÌ„tious charitie full hope coÌ„meÌ„d theÌ„ selues to the will of God the expectation of the life to come which they knew was prouided for them y loueth God neither is there any other cause why we dye not like theÌ„ but bicause we liue not like them we feare death bicause we liue not wel some more some lesse according as the order of our liues hath ben and who so saith that the maner of death is a touchstone to way the life is not much deceiued I wil not say but many men may dye wel that liueth ill for mercie is aboue iudgement but none coÌ„tent to dye but he that by death loketh to be with Christ which is he that by his life showeth that he knoweth loueth Christ without which loue y more faith at that time the lesse comfort For faith teacheth Gods mercy his iustice and if iustice be all against vs either faith ingendreth in vs sorow of such a life and so repentance which is good an entry toward life or if it ingender not an earnest repentance it bringeth nothing to comfort ease releue vs but all contrary And therfore he that wil liue in coÌ„tinual meditation of death which is y way to make him a familier so no dreadful gest nor stranger must liue in loue I meane y loue of vprightnes honestie cleanesse iustice integritie doing good where hée can hauing inteÌ„t to hurt none getting vprightly to suâ—…in himself his of that remayneth departing liberally to the poore as he séeth cause is able to such a man y remeÌ„brance of death caÌ„ not be vnpleasant for it shal neither take him vnprouided nether beriue him of any thing wherwith he is disorderly in loue Such a man liuing coÌ„teÌ„tedly in y place wherin he is called traueling carefully to fil satisfie the same wheÌ„ death approcheth doth méekly say to God with Christ I haue done the worke thou sentest me to doe And albeit there hath bene much weaknesse many infirmities in his trauel and accomplishing that worke he was sent to doe yet with a great indifferencie he shal be able to vse the words of the vertuous learned Bishop neither haue I liued so among you that I should be ashamed to liue neither doe I feare to die bicause we haue a good Lord master The man so liuyng and so thinking is onely happie neither troubled with inordinate desire of highe estate which he taketh but for a place to trauayle for many neither affrayde to be in meaner then he is knowing that where so euer God placeth him he hath his worke to doe wherwith he may please him euer quyet content to dye and not vnwilling to liue But here some man may say although he be not disordridly desirous of life yet can he well be coÌ„teÌ„t to liue though not for him self or for his owne sake yet for others therin wisheth nothing vngodly but deceÌ„tly to kéepe the place whervnto he is called which he can fill if not better yet as wel as an other maÌ„ to help such as néed him to bring vp his childreÌ„ to see theÌ„ disposed finally to bestow the benifits y God hath lent vnto him he y maketh this obiectioÌ„ lieth not on him self is not of y worst sort nor much to be misliked vnto whoÌ„ neuertheles it must be answered if his desire be to liue for others who by him may be y better he must coÌ„sider y wel doing is not all his own wherof though maÌ„ be y minister God is the giuer who will dispose him self to doe many good and none hurt so coÌ„tinue God knoweth man knoweth not but this maÌ„ knoweth y without gods giuing he doth it not wel knoweth he also y happie had bene SalomoÌ„ if he had ben taken in his youth wel doing the like may ye read of many say by experience of some whither he would be one of them by long life he knoweth not if ther were no dauÌ„ger it shuld not haue ben writteÌ„ he y staÌ„deth let him take héed y he fal not if he think there were no dauÌ„ger in him self theÌ„ is he proud and lyke to be one of them that would fall if he doubt then is it wisdome to put him self to him that knoweth And sith he knoweth and is sure that after death no sinne is done better is the choyse to go with safetie as Gods seruant wheÌ„ God willeth then in continuaunce to put that in a hazarde which if it goe amisse at the ende can not be recouered nor the losse redubled Déepe in payne lye many who by long lyfe fell into sinne and therby into their damnation who had then dyed in their youth had lyued with Christ and howe much they bewaile their long life the oceasâ—…oÌ„ of their paiâ—… no tonge can tell nor harte thinke But to returne to the matter if he say he would doe many good in long tyme and lyue accordyng to his place and callyng let him shewe that in the tyme he hath giuen him and if in so doing he be takeÌ„ sith he may say to God I haue done the worke thou sentest me to doe and when God calleth hym away hee knoweth there is no more appointed for hym to doe he knoweth also there is no more cause for him to lyue bicause desire of doing good was the only cause why he would lyue His childre are Gods more then his who leaueth not the seede of the iust who calleth him selfe the father of Orphans and iudge of Widdows whose blessyng if they haue they shal prosper though they lacke a mortall father And if they lacke that much sorow and small comforte should the father haue to see that he could not amend for eche good father neither maketh nor leaueth a good chyld And yet doeth not such a man lacke wyfe and friendes to whom he may commit the care of children and if his friendes will doe much for them at his request and recommendation why should he mistrust Gods proÌ„uydence helpe and dyrection if hée commend them vnto hym By whom
is formed and made of Dust Clay Asshes and a matter much vyler which for modestie I doe not name coÌ„â—…eiued in concupisence of the fleshe in the feruent heate oâ—… lust in the loathsome stinck of desyre and that worse is in the blot and blemish of sinne borne vnto payne sorow and fearâ—… yea and that which is most miserable vnto death He doth lewd thinges wherby he offendeth God his neighbor and him selfe He doeth filthy facts whereby he defileth his good name his conscience and his person and he doth vayne thinges wherby he neglecteth serious profitable necessary things He shal become the fewel for fier which alwayes burneth and can not be quenched the foode of worms which euer gnaw and féede vpon him the continewall masse of corruption which alwayes stincketh is filthie odious and horrible Then our Lord God hath formed man of the â—…ime of the Earth which is more vile then the rest of the Elements as it appeareth in the second of Genesis He made the Planets and Starres of the Fyer the blastes and wyndes of the Ayre the Fisshes and Fowles of the Water and Man and beast he made of Earth Then if he consider of the creatures created in the water he shall perceiue him selfe to be vile Considering the creatures made of Ayre he shall finde himself more vile coÌ„sidering the creatures of fyer he shal fynd himself most vyle Neither shal he make him self equal with the heaueÌ„ly creatures nor dareth prefer himselfe before the creatures of the Earth for he shal finde him selfe equal vnto beastes and shall acknowledge himselfe lyke vnto cattell sithence th end of man and cattel of the feild is all one and their condicion and estate are equall neither can man doe any more then a beast From the Earth they sprang and rose and to the Earth they shal retorne together These are not the wordes of any worldly man but of the wysest euen Salomon What is man then but slyme and dust and thervpon he sayth vnto God Remember I besech thée that thou hast made me lyke vnto Earth and shalt bring me into dust againe and thervpon also God sayth vnto man Thou art dust and shalt retorne into dust I am compared sayth Iob vnto Clay and am lykened vnto Imbers and Asshes Clay is made of Water and dust and both the substaunces doe remaine therein and Asshes are made of Fyer woode and bothe the substances doe fayle An expresse mistery but to be expounded in an other place Then what is Clay to be prowde on or whereof doest thou extoll thy selfe O dust O Asshes whereof doest thou glory Peraduenture thou wylt answere that Adam him selfe was fashioned and formed of clay and that thou art procreate of the séede of man But he was formed out of virgin clay and thou art procreate of séede which is vncleaue for who can make that cleane which is conceiued of vncleane séede What is man that he may seme vndefiled or that which is borne of man may seme iust For behold I was begotten in iniquitie and my mother conceiued me in sin Not onely in one iniquitie nor in one onely transgression but in many iniquities and in many transgressions yea euen in strange iniquities and transgressions for there are two kinde of conceptions one of séede an other of nature The first is made in such factes as are committed The second in such thinges as are purchased and gotten for the parents commit in the first and their issue doe purchase in the second For who is ignorant that the act of generation yea euen betwene maried folkes is neuer committed without prouocation of the fleshe without heate of lâ—…st or of concupisence wherevpon the séedes which are conceiued be vncleane be blotted and made corrupt and the sowle beinge therewith ouer flowed dothe purchase the spot of sinne the blot of gilt and transgression and the blemish of iniquitie euen as liquor is corrupted beinge thrust into an vâ—…cleane vessell and beinge once poluted is defiled euen by the first touch therof For the sowle hath thrée natural powers or three natural forces that is to say a reasonable power to deserne betwene good and euill a passionate power to reiect the euill and a power of appetite to desier that which is good These three powers are originally corrupted with three opposite and contrary vices the reasonable power â—…y ignoraunce that it may not deserne betwene good and euill the passionat power by wrath and anger that it may reiect the good the power of appetite by the concupisence that it may desier that which is euill The first of these vices begetteth transgression the last bringeth forth sinne the midlemost ingeÌ„dereth both sinne traÌ„sgression for it is traÌ„sgression to doe that which is not to be done it is sinne to indeuor that which is not to be indeuored These thrée vi â—…es are purchased and gotten out of corrupted flesh by thrée allurements for in carnall copulation the vnderstanding is lulled on slepe to th ende that ignorance may be sowed the prouocation of lust is styrred vp to th ende that anger and motion of mynde may be spred a broade and the affection of voluptuousnesse is satisfied to thend that concupicence may be obtayned This is that Tyran fleshe the lawe and ruler of the members of man the norishment of sinne the languishment of nature and the fodder of death without the which no man is borne and without the which no man dyeth the which although it passe ouer at any tyme in state of accusation yet it remayneth alwayes in acte For if we say that we haue no sinne we beguyle our selues the trueth is not in vs Oh greuous misery and vnhappy estate condition before we sinne we are bound and wrapped in sinne and before we transgresse we are caught in transgression By one man sinne entered into the worlde by sinne death tooke hold of all men for dyd not the forefathers eate a sower Grape and their childrens téeth are set on edge Wherfore theÌ„ was light geuen to him that is in wretched nesse lyfe lent to such as are in bitternes of the sowle Oh happie they are which dye before they are borne which tast of death before they know what lyfe is for soure are borne so deformed and prodigious that they seme not men but rather abhominations vnto whom nature perhappes should much better haue foresene if she had neuer suffered them to be sene for they are demonstrate and set to shew as monsters and shewes and some againe lacking some of theyr members sences are borne vnperfect to the grefe of their freindes the infamy of their parents and the abashinge of their neighbors But what nede I speake perticularly of these imperfections sithence all men generally are borne without knowledge without speach without vertue without power wéeping wayling weake féeble and but little deâ—…eringe from brute beastes or
the lord They went about in shéepes felles in goates skynnes néedy afflicted miserable For whome the worlde was not yet worthy Straying in solitarie places in mountaynes in dennes and in caues of the carth in daunger of floods in daunger of théeues in daunger of the Iewes in 〈◊〉 of the Gentylles and in daunger of faulse brethren In labour calamitie in much watching in hunger and thirst in many necessities and in cold and nakednesse For the 〈◊〉 doth deny himselfe and 〈◊〉 his members together with all vices and coâ—…pisences that the world may be 〈◊〉 vnto him And he to the worlde He hath héere no place of aboade but séeketh diligently for the heauenly habitation to come He susteyneth the world as an exile beinge 〈◊〉 vp in his bodie as in a pryson sayinge I am an inhabitour and a stranger in the earthe as all my forefathers haue bene Forgeue me that I may be cooled before I depart I will abyde no longer Alas that my dwelling place is prolonged I haue euer dwelled with the inhabitaÌ„ts of cedar my sowle hath remayned with them Who is weakened and I am not weake Who is weakened and I am not vexed For the sinnes of the neighbors are the refreshinges of the iust This is that watering place which Caleph gaue vnto his daughter Axa in dowry The lyfe of man vpon earth is a warfare Yea is it not 〈◊〉 right warfare when manyfold enemies doe on euery syde assayle it that they may take man and persecute him and kyll him the deuill and man the world and the flesh The deuill with vices and concupisences man with beastes the world with Elements and the flesh with the sences For the flesh doth couet against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh But we must not wrastle against flesh and bloud but against the lyuely breathinges of wickednesse in heauenly thinges and against the captaines of these darcknesses For your aduersary the deuill goeth about lyke a roaring Lion séeking whome he may deuowâ—…r The fyry dartes of the most wicked are kindled Death commeth in by the wyndowes the eye doth robbe the Sowle the whole world doth fight against the sences that is nacion against nacion kingedome against kingdome great Earthquakes in many places pestilences and hongers tempestes and terrors from heauen The Earth bringeth forth thornes and thissells the water flooddes and raging tempestes the Ayre thunder and great wyndes the Fyer lightninges and flashâ—…nges Saying cursed be the Earth in thy works it shall bring forth thornes and thissells vnto thée With the sweat of thy browes thou shalt eate thy bread vntill thou retourne to the Earth For Earth thou art and to the Earth thou shalt goe The Bore out of the woode doth lye in waight and the best fruites are destroyed The Woulfe and the Beare the Leopard and the Lyon the Tyger and the wylde Asse the Crocodyle and the Gryffen the Serpent the Snake the Adder and the Bassâ—…liske the Dragon and the Ceracte the Scorpion the Uyper yea Nittes Lyse Fleas and Ants Flyes and Gnats Waspes and Hornets Fyshe and Fowles For whereas we are created to beare rule ouer the Fyshes of the Sea and the fowles of the Ayre and all lyuing creatures which moue vpon the Earth Now we are geuen as a praye for them and are made foode for their mouthes For it is wrytten I will send the téeth of wylde beastes against them with the fury of Serpents and things which glyde vppon the Earth Unhappy man that I am who shall deliuer me out of the body of this death Surely man would be brought out of pryson and would depart out of his body For the body is the prison of the Sowle Wherevpon the Psalmist saith Bring my sowle out of pryson No rest nor quietnesse no peace nor securitie at any tyme On all sydes feare and trembling and on all sides labour and payne Flesh shall be sorowful euen whylest it lyueth and the sowle shal morne and lament ouer it selfe Who had euer yet a whole day pleasant in his delight who in some part thereof the guiltinesse of consience the feare of anger and feircenesse or the motion of concupisence hath not troubled whome the swelling of enuie the earnest desyer of couetousnesse or the puffing vp of pryde hath not vexed Whome some losse or offence or passion hath not disquieted and to conclude whom neither sight nor hearing or some thing that touched dyd not offend Rara auis in terris 〈◊〉 simillima Signo Herken herevpon vnto the saying of the wise man Betwene morning sayth he and night the tyme shal be changed Uayne thoughts and cogitacions doo one succede another the mynde is wrapped into sundry conceytes They houlde the Tymbrell and Lute in theyr handes and they reioyce at the sounde of the Organnes they leade theyr life in iollytie and at the twincke of an eye they goe downe into hell Alwayes some sodeyne sorrowes doo succede and fâ—…low after worldly ioye And he which beginneth in ioye endeth in griefe For the worldly felicitie is mingled with many sorrowes and sharpe mishappes as he well knewâ—… which sayd They laughter shall be mingled with sorrow lameÌ„tacioÌ„ comes in th end of reioycing This did the sonns children of Iobe wel trye who whiles they did eat draÌ„k wine in the house of their eldest brother sodeynly a vehement wynde brake in from the desart country strake the foure corners of the house which fell downe and oppressed theÌ„ all Whereby their father sayed not without iust cause My harp is tourned into lamentacion myne organe pypâ—… into the voyce of wéepers mourners But it is better to goe vnto the house of weping lamentacion then to the houses of banqueting Geue eare and marke a holsome admonicioÌ„ In the day of reioycing good fortune be not vnmidfull of mishaps Remâ—…ber the latter daies thou shalt neuer sin Alwayes the last day is the first and yet the first daye is neuer reputed for the last yet we should so liue as though we were euer ready to dye For it is written Be myndeful and remember that death will not long tarry from thée time passeth away death approcheth A thousand yeares before the eyes of him the dyeth are as yesterday which passed away For all thinges to come doo grow and renew and alwaies thinges present doo dye and fade And whatsoeuer is past is altogether dead Then we dye alwaies as long as we lyue then at length we leaue dying when we leaue to lyue any longer Therefore it is better to dye vnto lyfe then to lyue vnto death Wherevpon Salomon saide I haue more praysed the dead then the liuinge and haue accounted him more then bothe which was neuer borne Life flieth swiftly away and cannot be
go to the darkesome land which is couered with the cloudes of death the land of misery darkenesse where the shadow of death and no order but perpetuall horror doe inhabitt Yet there shal be order in the quantitie of paynes For with what measâ—…re you meat it shal be measured to you agayne That theâ—… which â—…inned most gréeueously may be moste gréeuously punnished For they which are mightie shall suffer tormentes mightilye But ther shal be no order in the quality of thinges For froÌ„ the snowe and water they shal be put into hoâ—…e skalding fier That the sodeyne change of the contraries may make their gréefes the greater I haue séene by experience that if one which is burned doo straight waies put his hurt into the water he shall féele afterwards the greater skalding Men are put into hell like shéepe death shall féede vpon them This is spoken by the similytude of beastes and cattell which doo not pluck vp grasse herbes by the rootes but crope of the toppes that the grasse may growe againe for their foode So also the wicked as if they were fedd vpoÌ„ by death shall reuiue vnto death that we may dye euerlaâ—…ingly as Ouid saith Sic inconsumptum Titij semperque 〈◊〉 sic perit vt possit sapè perire Iecur TheÌ„ shall death be immortall then shall the dead lyue which be dead vnto life They shall séeke death shall not finde it bicause they had lief lost it Harken vnto Iohn in the reuelation which sayth In those dayes men shall séeke death shall not finde it They shall desâ—…or to dye death shall flye from them O death how swéet shouldest thou nowe séeme vnto them which heretofore thought thée so bitter they shall desire thée wish for thée only which did vehemeÌ„tly abhorre thée onely TheÌ„ let no maÌ„ flatter himself say that god will not be alwayes angry nor be offended for euer but his mercyes are ouer all his workes Since when he is angrye he will not forget to be mercifull Neither doth he hate any of the thinges which he hath made Taking as an argument of error that which the Lorde sayth by the Prophet They shal be gathered together into one buÌ„del into the lake ther they shal be shut vp in prisoÌ„n And after many dayes they shal be visited For man sinned but for a tyme and then god will not punishe for euer O vayne hope O false presumption Let not man beleue being vaynely deceyued by error that he is to be redéemed for any price For in hell ther is no redeÌ„ption Therfore sinners shal be gathered together into the lake shal be shut into prison But in hell In the which they shal be tormeÌ„ted without bodyes vntill the daye of iudgement And then after many dayes that is after they are rysen againe with their bodies at the latter day they shal be vysited Not vnto saluatioÌ„ but for reuenge Bicause after the day of iudgement they shal be the more gréeuously puÌ„ished But it is said in an other text I wil visit their iniquities with a rodd their sinnes with stripes Therfore God is offended with the predestinate tempoally bicause god doth scourge euery soÌ„ne whoÌ„ he loueth By which words that is gathered he will not be angry vntill the end But with the reprobate god is offended eternally By cause it is méet right that as the wicked hath vsed fraud and dissimulatioÌ„ in his euerlasting so god may vse reuenge and punishment in his euerlasting also For although the facultie and power to sinne doe leaue him yet doth hée not leaue wil desire to sinne For it is written the pride of them the were hatefull doth alwayes assende The reprobate which are alreadie in dispaire of forgeuenesse shall not be humbled but their mallice and hatred shal be growne and increase as though they would haue him not to be at all by whome they knowe that they be so vnhappily They will curse the highest and blaspheme the almighty Complaning that he is wicked bicause he hath created them vnto punishâ—…nt and is neuer inclined to forgeuenesse Geue â—…are vnto John in the reuelation saying A great hayle came downe from heauen vpon men and men blasphemed God For the plague of hayle bicause it was excedinge great So that the will of the damned although he haue lost theffect of his power hath alwayes an intent and affection of mallice mischefe and that of it selfe shal be a punishment in hel which was sinne and offence in the world Although peraduenture it is there also a sinne but not to the deseruing of punishment â–ª Therefore the wicked bicause he shall alwaies haâ—…e in him selfe the gyltinesse of his sinne he shal likewise féele in himselfe the torment of his payne for that which he himselfe did not take away by repentance God dyd not forgeue by pardâ—…ne And so it serueth as a great point of righteousnesse to them which are to be iudged that they neuer lack punishment in hell which neuer wanted will to sinne and offend in theyr life tâ—…me They would if they could haue lyued without end that they might also without ende haue sinned For they which neuer cease to sinne whiles they lyue doo shew that they desyer alwaies to lyue in sinne Which of you sayth Esay can dwel with the euerlasting Preists These men shal be a smoke in my fury a burninge fyer all the day by night it shal not be quenched But the smoke thereof shall ascend for euer And Hieremy sayth I wil geue you ouer vnto euerlasting shame and reproch and vnto perpetuall ignomynie which shall neuer be taken away with obliuion Then Daniell they which haue slept sayth he in the dust of the earth shal awake sâ—…me vnto eternall lyfe and some vnto reproch which they shall alwaies abide Salomon the wicked man beinge once dead there shall be no hope of him his destruction shall come vppon him for an example And sodeynly hée shal be striken and shall haue no medecyne to cure it Iohn the Appostle sayeth also If anye man worshippe the beaste and hys Image He shal drinck of the wyne of gods wrath shal be tormented with fyer brimstone the smoke of his torments shall ascend for euer euer Neither shal he haue rest day nor night which hath worshipped the beast his image The very truth it self doth coÌ„â—…rme all these which shal reproue the damned sentencially in iudgement When he shal say Go you cursed into euerlasting fyer which is prepared for the deâ—…ill his angells Now if according to the diuine opinion all tryall of truth doth stande in the mouthes of two or thrée witnesses how much more shall it stand by these testimonies of so many and so notable men Behold therefore the day of the Lord shall come cruell ful of indignation wrath
mayest enioye him thy fill most swéâ—…tely and aboundauntly For in him the whole fulnesse of blessednesse doth consist Yea the delight of God is to be with such a soule and to dâ—…cke and adorne it daily with great plenteousnesse and to vysit and comfort it with most godly reioysinges Then let vs for gods sake by the beholding of so great profit and by the desyre and affection whiche we ought to haue vnto so greate nobylitie learne to contempne euen from our hartes this moste vayne varyable néedye frayle intysing world which with draweth vs from god Synce it cannot satysfie nor contâ—…t our affecte nor our desire As Augustine 〈◊〉 saying A reasonable soule created to the lykenesse of God maye be occupyed in all thinges but it cannot be replenyshed satysfied nor fulfilled For he which is capable of GOD cannot be filled and satisfied with any thing that is lesse theÌ„ god And agayne he sayth O Lorde thou hast made â—…ur hart for thée and it is therefore troubled out of quyet vntyll it maye come vnto thée Nowe we haue shewed before sufficiently that the more our soule is stretched out or dâ—…spersed in earthly thinges yea the more it be occupied in temporall thinges and affected vnto worldly thinges so much the lesse can it be occupyed gathered together or affected towardes god And therefore if we would haue it incessauntly occupyed and exercysed in him by syncere contemplation feruent loue déepe medytation contyne wall praier harty prayse and thankesgeuing let vs withdrawe and turne it away from the world and all that is therein and let vs wholy applye it yea and as it were laye it flat and prostrate before the diuine maiestye For so shall it wounderfully growe and increase in grace And let vs so entirely loue and conserue this true godly and moste noble perfection which is beyond all comparyson better more excelent and more to bée desyred then all the goods of this world that we may altogither and in euery respect contempne the world for the loue and desire which we haue to the said perfectioÌ„ as a thing of nothing and altogither vayne Neyther yet let vs thynke that we haue done anye greate thing to leaue and forsake earthly and base things for so supernaturall and excellent treasures but let vs singe prayses vnto God with an humble and louely spirite bicause he hath so taught illumynate erected and styrred vp our hartes to the true discerning and full forsaking of all vanytie and vylenesse in this world For they are truely blessed whome the Lord â—…oth so vouchsafe to teach so to enduce vnto the contempt of the world and so to rayse and styre vp vnto the full perfectioÌ„ of a spyrituall lyfe Now my welbeloued should not he séeme to haue a mynde sore darkened a hard hart which hauing red hard and vnderstood these thinges is neyther prouoked to contempne the world nor enflamed to attayne the Godly perfection before rehearsed Doe not thou then for the loue of the lesse hazard to lose the more Be not more delighted in creatures then in the creator Doe not cleaue more earnestly vnto the world then vnto god For behold the world with all the concupyscence and vanytie thereof passeth away and vanysheth lyke smoke But he which doth the will of God shall abyde for euer It is written in the seuenth Chapiter of Ecclesiastes remember thy latter ende and thou shalt neuer sinnne And surely such as neyther the horrour of death the trembling feare of Gods iudgemente the bytter and euerlasting paynes of the infernall tormentes nor the infinyte felicitye of the heauenly habitacion can prouoke or styre to walke warely to amend theyr lyfe penitently to feare GOD and to contempne the world Are to be thought of a stony or rather a stéely hart and mynde Especyally since we must beleue nay rather we know perfectly that we must once dye and yet we are altogither ignoraunt when we shal be called hence Therewithall we must vnderstand y after this lyfe ther is no tyme of conuersion nor repêtaunce And why doe we then ouerskype any 〈◊〉 or occasion wherein we might doe well Why doe we suffer anâ—… houre to passe without some fruite or profit Or why â—…are we presume to perseuer in such estate as yet we â—…ave not dye therein But let vs doe as Salomon sayth Whatsoeuer thy hand can worke that doe thou worke earnestly For there are neyther working skyl connyng nor knowledge beneath where thou goest Yea let it not be fulfilled in vs which Salomâ—…n sayth in the same place meaning by the neglygent and vnaâ—… uysed euen as fyshes are taken with the hooke and byrdes with snares so are mâ—…n caught and ouer taken in the 〈◊〉 ill houre which shall sodeynely come vpon them Wherefore let vs neuer suffer the horrour of death the stryctnesse of Gods dreadefull iudgement nor the feare of hell fyre to be estranged or eloyned from the eyes of our vnderstanding For as â—…ierome sayth Nâ—…thing can more withdrawe a man from sin then the ofteÌ„ remembraâ—…ce of death And as Chrysostome sayth This world is deâ—…full the ende thereof doubtfull the issue horryble the Iudge terryble and yet the payne vntermynable To conclude euen as Ambrose sayth Plato the Phylosopher was also of the same opymon the whâ—… lyfe of theÌ„ which are wyse is exereysed in the 〈◊〉 of death And therefore let vs forecast what we must be in tyme to come For whosoeuer doth stoutly consider in himselfe that he must dye he shall doubtlesse despyse thinges prâ—…sent and make hast towards thinges to come Wherevpon it restâ—…th that god would haue our end vnknoweÌ„ vnto vs And y day of our death vncertayne That whiles it is alwayes vnknoweÌ„ and yet alwayes thought to be redy at hand euery man might be so much the more ferueÌ„t in operatioÌ„ as he is the more vnâ—…rteyne of his voratioÌ„ Therfore let vs not ouerpasse such 〈◊〉 dreadfull causes with skipping dauncing Neyther let â—…s sollycit the affayres of our death iestingly or vnaduisedly But wheÌ„ we ryse betime let vs not thinke to liue vntill the euening when we lye downe to rest let vs not presume of our vprysing And by these meanes we shall easily brydle our selues from all vyce and worldly affection Let vs well ponder that the houre approcheth wherein we shall remoue out of this lyfe into an vnknowen region There immedytately to abyde before the trybunall seate of the most mighty and dreadfull indge Then our tyme myspent and vnfruitfully lost will playnely appeare to be irrecuperable Neither shall any thinge that we haue vnordynately loued or vniustly done here be anye waye able to helpe or to comforte vs Then shall we be sory that we haue lyued so carelesly that we haue omytted so many good things and coÌ„mitted so many euils But let vs now whiles we haue tyme shewe forth the true fruites of repentaunce Let vs nowe so reuerence and honour Christ our iudge that we
Egypt without the helpe of thy diuine Maiestie euen so no man caÌ„ be pulled or withdrawen from this world vnlesse he be helped with the fynger and power of the heauenly hande Yet shall there neuer be founde any defect in God so that man will doe his best that he maye Agayne the world is compared to a deserte by the which the chyldren of Israell went from Egipt vnto the land of promisse And in this desert they met so many letts and impedyments that of thréeskore thowsand numbred onely two euen Caleph and Iosue were brought into the land of promyse O how the Diuils doth reioyse to sée them all now in the synke and filthynesse of their sinnes Men cleaue vnto worldly thinges and in worldly thinges they are wyse but they neyther care for God nor for his commaundementes neyther are they astonyed when they heare his moste terryble iudgementes But they accompt them as fables Oh all thinges that are be euill bestowed vpon vs For our hardnesse is neuer mollâ—…ed But thinke we that God will omyt his iudgement Or leaue these sinnes vnrewarded Or suffer the wordes which he hath spoken of the iudgement to come and of the euerlasting paynes to be falsified God forbyd that we should so thynke Furthermore whosoeuer is ouercome with the loue of earthly thinges he is not delyghted in god But no man can long abyde without some delectation And therefore such as are not delighted in spyrituall things doe powre themselues out vnto worldly solace And so consequently are ouerwhelmed in the multytude of sinnes and vyces Wherevpon Saint Augustine sayth Blessed is he O Lord which loueth thée For he which loueth not thee loueth the world is seruaunt and bounde vnto sinne he is neuer quyet neuer in safetie but is dystracte and dyspersed in the varyable cares vanityes and pompes of the world And whosoeuer doth contempne the volupteousnesse of this world and thereby eskaye the snares of the Diuill shal be most happy in that his soule is delighted in such thinges as cannot be blotted or defiled with any vncleannesse but is immediately clensed purged with the cleannesse of truth And synce y lawe of God doth so delight him y he shal be able ther by to avoyde eschew y delightes of y world But as longe as we delight in the deceyptfull tast of iniquity so long we shall thinke it most sower and bytter to faste of equitie And to whome the world séemeth swéete sauorye to him Christ séemeth bytter and sower Yet hauing tasted the spyrite of God all fleshe shall as it were dote and playe the foole Agayne whosoeuer doeth with his whole mynde serue and please this world is thereby enfected with a manyfold deformytie of vyces And he which tasteth nothing of the heauenly swéetenesse will not be afeared to be polluted with earthly desires But if such as for the loue of God despyse the world kéepyng themselues contyneually conuersant in spyrytuall thinges cannot yet he altogither pure and clensed from sinnes with how heauy burdens of vyces are theâ—… loden which are not afearde to walke in the myddest of the world wrapped in vanities without carefulnesse or feare of God What is theyr lyfe but sinne it selfe For the myrth and ioye of the world is wickedâ—…sse vnpunyshed But y which the reprobate doe accompt delight and comforte that the elect and verteous doe take and defâ—… to be most gréeuoâ—…s payne Thynking and concluding that the soule 〈◊〉 néedes peryshâ—… 〈◊〉 by that wherein the â—…she for a tyme did delight most pleasantly Wherefore you louers of this world howle and crye out which doo myserably kyll your body and soule before the tyme appoynted Whyles you attend wholly vpon the vyces of glottonye and lecherye immoderately and vylely And thereof euen in this world doe procéede sundrye infirmyties and sodayne deathes Reioyse and be merrie nowe in this most shorte space which you haue that hereafter you maye complayne and bewayle with the Diuill perpetually Banquet and drynke dronken that after a whyle you maye call for a droppe of water and yet not haue it when you shal be daÌ„pned in hell with the riche man which lyued in greate delightes and fared delycately euery daye Why are your hartes harder then yron stéele or stones when you doe not weye and consider nor â—…e not afeard in payne of these most vnhappy and frayle sollaces and vanyties of this world to heare that most dreadfull and horryble sentence of Chryst go ye accursed into euerlasting fyre But here peradnenture you will saye God is mercyfull and benigne he would not the death of a sinner but that he be conuerted and lyue And againe In what houre soeuer a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 repeÌ„t him I will no more remember all his iniquites So that if a sinner doe bewayle his sinnes eueÌ„ at the very time of death he shall be saued And I doe confesse that all these sayinges are true Nay rather the excieding greatenesse of the heaâ—…nly pietie doth beyond all comparyson excéede and surpasse the verye capacytie of our mynde For it is vnmeasurable As may playnely appeare in that he 〈◊〉 sinners so longe to the ende they maye bée conuerted yea expecteth and desireth theyr conuersyon he 〈◊〉 such as retorue moste mercyfully he quyckly for 〈◊〉 all 〈◊〉 and doth aboundantly powre asmuche grace vpon them as if they had neuer sinned nor offended And is not this an infynite pietie But his equytie and iâ—…styce is no lesse then his pitiye And though he doo beare with and longe suffer such as he attendeth to repent and conuerte yet if they doe not conuert he doth the more greuously punyshe and detest them And that which the Prophet sayeth of the contrytion and sorowe of a sinner must be vnderstood of true contrytion and harty repentaunce But the true contrycion doth procéede of the true faith and loue of God and of the lothing of sinne and an affection vnto righteousnesse Yea and as Hierome testyfieth Repentaunce and harty contrytion are necessarye Wherevnto that saying of Chrisostome agréeeth Compunction is the thing whiche maketh purple séeme vyle maketh men desire hearecloth loue teares and eschewe company Syuce then these thinges â—…ée certaynly thus what kynde of contrycion and bewayling can that be which commeth onely at the very houre of death and then repenteth bicause he thynkes he can lyue no longer Or peraduenture if he hoped of longer lyfe he would deferre it Surely it séemeth doubtfull that through seruyle feare and constrayned fayth his contrycion procéedeth by the onely beholdyng of his owne onely refuge And that it is not true contrycion but a terryfing of the spyrite But he which will soundly and perfectly repent must first be sorye for his faulte bicause it is filthy transgression and offensyue vnto god Yea and a dyshonour vnto the diuine sanctitye and Maiestie Wée reade in the Machabes That Antyochus dyd repent and yet obteyned not mercy The Apostle doth wryte the lyke of
Philosophers intention is not about the body but furthest from it and is wholly occupyed about consideration of the soule The mynde and soule of the Phylosopher doth dispise and disdayne the bodye and flyeth from it that it selfe may bee wholly occupyed in and about it seâ—…fe For out of our bodyes procéede thousandes of impediments vnto contemplation whilest we are busied for the necessarie sustentation therof A Philosophers meditation is the loosyng and separation of the mynd from the bodie It is a rediculous thyng for a man that all his lyfe tyme dyd prepare hym selfe vnto death if then when it commeth hée bée troubled or molested therewith If thou perceyue any man to shrynke at death when it commeth say boldlye hée was no Phylosopher As often as the mynde or soule is allured by the bodye vnto these worldely and chaungeable thynges it is seduced and sore troubled But as often as the mynde or soule is exercysed by it selfe in speculation it is straight wayes transferred into sinceritie and immortalitie The bodie and the mynde beyng both in one nature 〈◊〉 yet commaund the bodie to be gouerned to serue and to bée subiecte But it commaundeth the mynde or soule to rule and beare dominion True Philosophers doe abstayne from all things that are corporal are not gréedy louers of mony and riches These sentences Plato affirmed Now Socrates by Saint Hieromes testimony dyd vtterly contempne ryches Dyogenes forsaking all these worldly pompes dyd chuse to lyue in hys Tunne Tullye and Seneca haue â—…ritten moste sharpely and bitterly agaynste the loue of ryches and voluptuousnesse Then if these men being onely enduced by naturall reason and onely for the attayning of naturall felicitie and scyence did thus contempne all vyces and ledde such a strickt and hard lyfe of how great condempnation are Christians culpable which being instructed with the doctryne of the gospell and very lawe of God to whom the onely begotten sonne of God him self did personally come and made him selfe an example for them are not yet ashamed to lead a wanton vayne and delycate lyfe are blotted and blemished with carnall markes â—…leaue fast vnto the worlde forget heauenly things and are not dilygent and carefull to honour God with all their hartes But my beloued be not thou lykened nor conformed vnto suche vnworthie men Rather follow the footesteppes of the holy fathers that thou mayest be able to please thy Creator and to offer vnto him the floure of thy youth whilest it doth yet floryshe and sproute The which wil be vnto hym most pleasaunt and acceptable As Gregorie witnesseth saying in that age that mans heare is yellow his eyes glistering lyke christall his face freshe as the Rose his sound health encreaseth his strength and force his yong and lustie yeares promise long continuance vpon earth whilest reason and the sences are quicke whilest the hearing is more readie y sight quicker the gate vpright the countenance louely and the body lustie they which in this age sayeth he doe rule and master them selues and doe assocyate acquaynte them selues with God they may expect and hope for the reward of the blessed Apostle and Euangelist Iohn Where vpon Hierome sayeth it is good for a man when he hath borne the yoke from his youth vpwardes Therefore welbeloued doe not foreflow thy conuersion vnto the Lord neyther defer from day to day least his wrath come sodaiâ—…ly vpon thée Offer thy selfe wholly to God and he will wholly bestow him selfe vpon thée Be thou of a right 〈◊〉 and put thy hand vnto the strongest sâ—…outest trauayles Fight lyke a good Soldier agaynst the enimyes of the soule For he shall not bee crowned with glorie which hath not maistred the proudest The creator of all thinges which is aboue all things the highest and most blessed God vouchsafe to giue thée all these thinges for his vnmeasured goodnesse and for the aduauncement of his honor gloriâ—… Amen Salomon in the xxix of his Prouerbes sayeth Our dayes are as woundes vpon the earth and yet there is no death And Augustine in his thirtenth booke and tenth Chapiter De ciuitate dei sayeth From the tyme that any man begynneth to be in this mortall bodye hee doeth incessauntly trauayle to dye For therevnto tendeth all his mutabilitie in all hys lyfe if it may bee called lyfe that hee lyueth to that ende that death may come For all men are néerer vnto death after a yeare finished then they were before it begonne to morrowe then to day to daye then yesterday and euen anon then now For all the while we lyue some little space of our lyfe is taken away And that which remayneth doth dayly become lesse and lesse So that the whole course of this our lyfe is nothyng els but a recourse vnto death And in this course no man is suffred to stay nor to linger and goe softelyer then his fellowes But all men are drouen on with equal steps and paces and are all conceyued alyke to their ende Neyther doeth he which dyeth soonest passe ouer the day faster then an other whose lyfe lasted longer But hauyng eche of them equall momentes and tymes to passe ouer equallye that one had hys ende and determinate tyme set nearer and that other further of For it is one thing to haue lyued longer and another thyng to haue gone or procéeded slower or quicker And therfore whosoeuer doth the longer linger his dayes before he dye he went notwithstanding neuer the more slowly but he had the longer iourney to performe Yea and if it should be accompted that a man doth begin to dye I meane to bee dead in déede from the fyrst moment that death claymed hys ryghte in thys our exyle whych is euen from our swadlyng clontes then all this lingryng and detracting of tyme should in accoumpt be no tyme at all For what other thyng doe we accomplysh in our dayes houres momentes and tymes then that thys lyfe beyng consumate death which all that whyle was in hande may bée fulfilled Of these things Augustyne speaketh largely in the Chapiter before rehearsed and the Chapiter next following But of the infinyte euilles and myseries of thys present lyfe he treateth more playnely in hys xx booke and xx Chapiter of the same worke saying As touching our first originall beginnyng all mankynde was in damnable estate as well witnesseth thys our lyfe if it bée a lyfe so full of such and so excéedyng great euilles For what els betokeneth the horrible depth of our ignorance from whence all errour spryngeth the which dyd receyue all Adams chyldren into a darkesome corner so that a man can not from it bée delyuered without payne sorowe and dread yea the inordynate loue which we beare to so many thynges giltye of vanitie whereon so many cares doe ryst so many perturbations so many languyshings â—…cares madnesse ioyes dyscords contentions warres treasons wrathes enimities fraudes theftes spoyles ryottes and prides do sufficiently bewray our miserie damnable estate
it shall behold them and féele them then may it sensibly vnderstande what excéeding trembling dreade and terrour doth ensue of the loue and delightes conceyued in this frayle vnconstant and most wretched woâ—… But my beloued doe thou forecast all these thinges 〈◊〉 suffre none of these admonicions to slyppe out of thy mynde That thou mayest eschewe and eskape eternall payne and punishment and atteyne vnto the ioyes which shall endure worlde without ende Amen A LETTER WRYTTEN by I. B. vnto his famyliar frende G. P. teaching remedies against the bytternesse of Death WHen I remember your request made vnto me at our last parting which was that I should wryte some what vnto you either to ingender in you a meditacion of contented death or at the least to diminish the desyre of long lyfe I can not but much lyke and commend in you that disposition whereby it appeareth your desyre and mynde is let not in the loue of things transitory but in knowledge and in that knowledge which of all other is moste perfect and méete for a wyse man For if that be worth the learning that is necessary and that for euery age degrée and sexe all creatures must necessarily dye and no man of reason dyeth better and more lyke a man then he that hathe learned the Science thereof And if that knowledge be worth the learning whereof commeth certeyne and great commoditie none can be compared with the Scyence of well dying the fruite whereof is comfort and lyfe neuer enâ—…ynge And as this knowledge is most perfect worthie learninge so haue you taken a verye méete and conuenient tyme for the atteyninge of it which is youth the flower of your age haing in it selfe strengthe and habilitie to learne any Scyence and leauing tyme to practise that is well learned For as none other science profitable being lyberall is sodenly learned neither is it enough to byd a man though he be wytty sodenly to drawe a figure in Geometrie make a proporcion by Arithmiticke be a good sowldier ingenier or other lyke for he may say he lacketh tyme teaching and exercise to atteyne such knowledge euen so is the science of dying wel to be learnid with tyme meditacion and exercise And who so sayth to a sicke man not practised herein be content to dye forgo this mortal life may here of him againe I know what it is to lyue by experience but to dye I haue not learned and the lesson is not so easie as you thinke it Wherein if many would doo as you séeme to meane that is to learne to dye when they may bâ—…st lyue they should bothe lyue more quiet and dye better contented And now somewhat to satisfie your desyre and to entre into this treatie which I entende not to make longe I wyl kéepe this ordre Fyrst to shew that vnto a Christian man Death is not to be fledde but rather to be desyred or at the least well to be taken no plague but â—…enefyt no losse but gayne Next I will shewe what the lettes and causes be that make vs indge otherwise And thirdly tell how those lettes may be remoued and our opinion somewhat changed to thincke of Death and lyfe as they are without preiudice that men commonly bringe with them To the heathen not knowing GOD nor the vertue of the lyfe to come the first parte that Death is not to be fledde shonnid and terrible is a lesson harde or rather vnpossâ—…ble to be taught For lyfe being good as all men thinke and of it selfe it is no man can willingly leaue the good but for the better for otherwise he shall thinke him selfe to make suche a bargaine as the Pâ—…ete sayth Glaucus made with Diomedes change gold for copper And bicause the heathen knowe not the beâ—…r which knowledge is learned onely in Christes schole 〈◊〉 of their bookes though they wrote many of the contempt of Death with fayre and glorious woordes could make either them selues or their heires with right iudgement content to dye if they might liue to leaue presâ—…t life which thei thought good and were content with for an other to come whereof their knowledge was none or doubtfull and vncertayne And therefore a Philosoper emong the reste most learned sayde of all thinges dredefull most drâ—…adfull is Death And the excelent Dratour who in health and wealth spake lyke a whole man and as a man learnid perswaded other being for a tyme banished was him self without all comfort And when he drewe towardes death perceued he had sayde more then he could iustifie and performe in him selfe In lyke case was the Emperour for wisedome so much renowmed who approching néere to death and speaking as he founde cause by proofe and tryall and not as he before had vaynely thought sayde he was toubled with the feare of Death bicause he knewe not whether he should goe nor what the gods immortall for so he termid them had determined of him vnto whome he recommendid him selfe with this doubt that if they had appoynted any good of him they should then shew it These thrée examples of the best with other able to fill a great volume doe well shewe that the heathen were not learned in this scieÌ„ce anâ—… much lesse méete to be scholemaisters and teachers to them that will rightly learne it and therefore I intende not to vse their examples though they make a faire muster which when I sée other men do in this argument wryting vnto a christian reâ—…der I thinke they doe not wel remember what is méete for the argument they take in hande and for the person to whome they wryte But as to the heathen the ende of lyfe being is and for causes aforesayd must be dreadfull so vnto a christian man it neither is nor should séeme so vnto whom death is the beginning of lyfe the gate of blysse the ende of soroâ—… and mortal â—…reefe Whereof he is not onely informed by coniecture lyke to be true but assured by promise of him y can be all thinges sauing false so that a scholer of Christe should rather doubt whether the Sunne shyne by daye or whether he féele being awaked then whether the promises made thereof be assured or no. Then if it be so that Death endeth all sorow payne misery and trauayle and setteth vs in place of solâ—…ce comfort blysse and quiet and that such as neither hath enterlacing of the contrary nor ende of it selfe Who is sorye to make this change but he that beleueth not how good it is and how well made or how shall we thinke he beleueth it to be good and also true who slyeth from it when it is comminge towarde him or would not haue it true in him selfe that he beleueth Let him feare Deathe who hath not hard of Christe to whome Christe hathe promised naught desyrous neither to heare of him to sée him not to be with him whome fantasie leadeth vanitie pleaseth lust ruleth and the world blyndeth séekinge
vnto a faythfull christian man is it the dissolucion of the bodie that a christian man desireth who is able to say I long to be dissolued is it that death bringeth an ende of life being heare that is not much to him that knoweth he hath an other lyfe to come in comparison of which this is no lyfe but death no ioy but sorow no ease but trauayle no quiet but misery So that either there is in deade very smal weake faith in vs to beleue gods promises infallibly made to all his Or if we doo assuredly beleue theÌ„ the greatest feare in that behalfe is past for he that loseth his lyfe temporall fyndeth eternal goeth froÌ„ labour to rest from the sea into the hauen froÌ„ weaknes to strength from sicknes to health from death to lyfe from sinne to iustice from sorow heuines paine to the place where there is no gréefe nor sighinge those former parts are then past Let the heathen feare to dye who may truely say I know not whether I goe nor what is ordeyned for me to what ende the gods haue created me whether it be good or no who are borne in sin not new borne in holines who haue neither teaching or knowledge of life neither promis of the same But a christiaÌ„ man being taught y death is the entre to lyfe that he is ordeyned to lyue with Christ created to be partaker of his glory regenerat sanctified by him with promis of blisse inestimable if he after all this retorne to the same loue of lyfe feare of death y is in the gentil what doth he then else but practise to be come a gentil heathen again selling away his enheritaÌ„ce for lesse then a messe of potage and renouÌ„cing his priuiledge whervnto he is singularly and especially called But as we haue sayd before weaknes may be a great cause to make a man feare death lack of beléefe a greater but yet are they not the greatest for perfect loue ouercoÌ„meth weaknes increaseth reuiueth faith wher loue is whole sounde the rest is soone recouered if it be lost or increased if it be decated But if loue be either deuided betwene god this world lyfe present or wholly traÌ„slated froÌ„ god vnto things traÌ„sitory How should a man be content to parte froÌ„ y he loueth and séeke that he careth not for sithe it is so true saying that where the man loueth he lyueth and vnpossible is it that who so is delited here possessed with the loue of this lyfe should willingly heare of death which can onely be welcome to them that therby desire to be with Christ whom they loue better then theÌ„selues or this lyfe so can be coÌ„tent to leaue the good for the better their welbeloued for the best beloued or y they estéeme light they entirely and tenderly loue For if it be asked what is the thing of such force y is able to make a man content to forsake his goods his liuing him selfe and his life if we will answere truely and in fewe words we must say it is loue nothing else which wher so euer it be faâ—…ed ma keth al other things séeme nothing in coÌ„parison of that it lyketh And herein to vse some exaÌ„ples it was none other thing the made the Philosopher cast himselfe into the burning fire of Aetna nor the Romain getleman-on horse backe to leape in wher y earth gaped the young man after y reading of Platoes booke to break his neck So many captains souldiers wyllingly wittingly to goe to their death but loue They louid somthing better then lyfe the wysest their couÌ„try and frendes whome they would preserue thother fame and as they called it immortalitie the lightest vayne estimacion glory but euery one somwhat wherewith they were ledde Sith theÌ„ loue is of such force as y same is able to bereue a man not only of his goods treasure but also of his lyfe and that by his owne will and coÌ„sent the right waye to learne coÌ„tentidly to receaue death when god sendeth it is to learne to employ wel fasten our loue wher it should be is due that is vppoÌ„ god and the lyfe to come louing that onely for it selfe and other things so much and so farre as we neither change nor remoue y out of his place which lesson if it be not onely beleued but practised maketh the lyfe godly and comfortable and the death easy And who so euer marieth him to the loue of the world following y desires thereof and making the desyres of it his delight that man may speake boldly of death vntil it come But when he shal stand vpon his gard to receue the assault he must will vndoubtedly shrink shew him selfe a weake souldier lacking the armour that should theÌ„ defend him for if faith his buckler byd him be strong thinck vpon the coÌ„quest that Christ his captaine hath made vpon that triumph y is prouided for him his owne hart coÌ„science which is néere him than his armour will saye all that is prouided for such as beare their loue true hart to their onely captaine whome they promised to serue for such as before in the time of theyr seruice dyd resist his enimie his atteÌ„ptes and not for such as yelded themselues prisoners vnto him content to be in his Campe and to fight vnder his banner His sword which is the worde of God being not well handeled of him before nor much occupied wyll then agrée ill with his hand he for lack of exercise not able to giue a strong blow therwith his curates of charitie so thin that eache dart arrow shal perce it his helm of hope vnlyned neither wel fitting to his head nor able to kéepe of the force of the byll Is it possible think ye y a souldier thus armed besides this not exercised in feates of warre shold withstaÌ„d a mightie stroÌ„g practised wel armed man no verely He wil either runne away if the grouÌ„d serue him or with shame be takeÌ„ prisoner and captine When I consider the maner of dying of such as were in gods fauour of whom we reade in the Scriptures old new coÌ„pare our selues with theÌ„ how willing ready glad they were to leaue this lyfe how loath backwarde sory we are for the greater part to doe the same I meruaile we should be called one mans children that are so vnlyke in condicion Moses being tolde he should no longer lyue therefore to prouide his successour dyd w his own hands ordre appoynt Iosua without coÌ„playnt sorow or token of gréefe prouiding for theÌ„ that shold lyue as it were nothing thinking on him selfe Isaac byd his sonne go hunt prouide gett him meat that he might blesse him before he dyed The lycke coÌ„tentacioÌ„ appeared in Iacob Tobias Dauid sundry other whome we finde not onely neuer to haue shunned death
rather hauinge lesse perfectâ—…oÌ„ in many things then they haue for they goe as soone as they be borne but we can neither goe straight vpon our féete no nor crepe vpon our hands if nede were We are all borne crying that we may thereby expresse our misery for a male childe lately borne pronounceth A. and a woman childe pronounceth E So that they saye eyther E. or A as many as discend from Eua. And what is Eua but Heu Ha eche of these soundes is the voyce of a sorowful creature expressing the greatnesse of his grefe here vpon before Eua sinned she was called Virago and after she sinned she deserued to be called Eua when she hard sayed vnto hir Thou shalt bring forth in sorrow and payne for ther is no payne to be compared to that which a woman abydeth in hir labor Wherevpon Rachel with ouer great grefe of laboring dyed and at hir death shee called the name of hir sonne Benony which betokeneth the sonne of sorrow or payn The wife of Phinees faling sodeynly in labor brought forth a childe dyed withall euen at the instant of death she called hir sonne Icabod But a woman licke vnto one that hath escaped shipwrack is sorowfull sad whiles shee laboreth but when she hath brought forth a childe then remembereth she not hir paynes for ioye bicause a man child is borne into the world Then she conceiueth with filth and vncleannesse she bringeth forth is deliuered with paine and heauinesse bringeth it vp and nowresheth it with toyle and carefulnesse and kepeth and preserueth it with dread fearefulnesse Man commeth forth naked and shall retorne naked he commeth poore and he goeth poore Naked sayeth Iob I came out of my mothers wombe and naked shall I returne thether we brought nothing into this world and doubtlessâ—… we can carry away nothing But if any man depart out of this world clothed let him marke well what kinde of clothing he bringeth filthy to be spokeÌ„ more filthy to be heard and most filthie to be sene O vile vnworthinesse of mans estate and condicion O vnworthy estate of mans vilenesse Search the trees the herbes of the Earth they bringe forthe boughes leaues flowers fruits A man bringeth forth nitts lyse worms They distill powre out Oyle Wyne and Balmes and a man maketh excrements of spettle pisse and ordure They smell breathe all swetenesse of smell and pleasauntnesse whereas man belcheth breaketh wynde and stincketh for such as the tree is such fruites it bringeth forth and an euil tree can not bring out good fruit Then what is man according to his shape and proporcion but a tree turned topsie turuey whose rootes are his heares the stub of the roote is his head and his neck the body of the tree is his breast belly and bulke the boughes are his armes legges and the little braunches and leaues are his fingers and toes This is the leafe which is tossed with the wynde and the stuble which is dryed vp with the Sunne In the first age of Man it is read that he lyued nyne hundreth yeares and more but when mans lyfe began by lyttle and lyttle to declyne then our Lorde GOD sayd to Noe My Spirit shall not remayne with man for euer because he is fleshe and his dayes shall be one hundreth and twenty yeares the which may be vnderstoode aswell by the tearme of mans lyfe as by the space to repeÌ„t him for from that tyme forthwardes fewe are read of which lyued any longer But when mans lyfe was dayly more and more shortned then was it sayde by the Psalmest The dayes of his tyme are seauentie yeares or if it be a stronge bodyâ—… foure skore yeares and then theyr payne and sorrow increaseth For shall not the small number of my dayes be finished in smal tyme Our dayes doe passe away more swiftly then the webbe is cut from the weyuers hand A man borne of a woman lyuinge short tyme replenished with many miseries commeth forth lyke a flower and is plucked vp and flyeth away lyke a shadowe and neuer contineweth in one estate For now a dayes men doe lyue forty yeares and very fewe doe reache sixtie yeares But if man doe attayne vnto age immediately his hart is afflicted his head is troubled his spirites languishe his breath stincketh his face is wrinckled his body is bowed his eyes are daseled his féelinge faylleth and his quickenesse quayleth his teeth become rotten and his eares are closed vp An olde man is soone prouoked but hardly reuoked beleauing quickly and mistrustinge laysurely coâ—…etous and greédy heauy and needy Swyft to speake and sâ—…owe to heare praysing thinges of antiquitie and dispysinge what is vsed presently blaminge the tyme present and allowing the tyme past he sigheth and is vexed he waxeth weake and is astonâ—…ed as Horace sayth Multa senem circum 〈◊〉 in comodâ—… To conclude neyther let olde men glory against yonge men nor yet let younge men waxe insolent and disdayne olde men for they haue béen as we are and we shall one daye be as they now are The Byrde is created to flye a lofte and Man is borne to be weryed with toyle and labour All his dayes are full of labours and paynes neyther can his mynde be quiet in the scilent night and what is this but vanitie there is no man without labour vnder the Sunne nor without defectes and imperfections vnder the Moone nor without vanitie vnder tyme Tyme is the delay of thinges subiect vnto change the vanitie of vanities as the Preacher sayth and all is vanitie O how variable are mens studies and how diuers be theyr exercises and yet they haue all oâ—…e ende and one selfe same effect euen labour payne and vexacion of the mynde There is much businesse created for all men and a great yoke is layd vpon the sonnes of Adam from the day that they come forth of their mothers wombe vntil the day of their Sepulture in the earth which is mother to all lyuing creatures Let wyse men search narrowly let them héedely consider the height of the heauens the breadth of the yearth and the depth of the Sea let them argue and dispute euery one of this let them haÌ„dle them all ouer and let them alwayes eyther learne or teach and in so doing what shall they fynde out of this busie toyle of our lyfe but traueyle and payne that knewe he by experience which sayed I inclyned my hart to know learâ—…nge prudâ—…ce error and folishnesse and I perceyued that all was labor affliction of the spyrite For asmuch as in great wisedome and knowledge there is great disdayne and be which increaseth knowledge increaseth also payne trauayle for although whilest that he sercheth it out he must sweat many tymes and watch many nightes with sweat and labor yet is there scarcely any thing so vyle or any thing so easy that
held back and death followeth instantly and will not be stopped This is then that wonderfull thing that the more it groweth the more it decreaseth and the further that life procedeth so much the néerer it draweth vnto an ende The time which is graunted and lent for quiet rest is not suffered to be quiet For dreames 〈◊〉 vs and visions doo vex trouble vs And though they be not in déede sorowful or terrible or laboursome which dreamers doo dream yet are they in déed made sorowful affrighted wâ—…ried thereby In so much that some times men wéepe in their sléepe dreams yea being awaked are yet excéediÌ„gly vexed Mark what Elephas Thematices saith vpon this poynt In the horrible dread of a vision by night saith he feare treÌ„bling came vpon me al my bones quaked for dread wheÌ„ the spyrit passed ouer in my preseÌ„ce the here of my flesh stoode right vp for fear CoÌ„sider vpon the words of Iobe which saith If I say that my bed shal yeld me quiet comfort that I shal be releued whilest I talke with my selfe in my couch theÌ„ wilt thou terrifie me in dreams wilt strik me with horrour in visions Nabuchodonosor saw a dream or visioÌ„ which troubled terrefied him maruelously And the visioÌ„ of his head did amaze vex him Many cares do follow dreams wher many dreames be there are also many vanities Dreames haue caused many men to doo amisse they haue béen ouerthrowen whilest they trusted in theÌ„ For often times filthie Images doo appere in dreams by the which not onely the flesh is polluted by nightly illusioÌ„s but also the sowl is ther with blotted and defyled Wherevpon our Lorde God speaketh in the Leuiticall lawes saying If there be emongest you any man which is polluted in his nightly sléepe let him goe foorth of the tents let him not return vntil he be washed with water in the euening And after the Sunne set let him retorne into the tents With how great sorrow are we troubled with how great trembling are we striken when we féele or vnderstaÌ„d the losses or damages of any our frends or dread the perils of our kinsfolke parâ—…ts many times a whole maÌ„ is more troubled with feare then a sicke man is with his infirmitie Some one man is of a voluntary wil more afflicted with the afflictioÌ„ of sorrow theÌ„ some â—…ther vnwilling is through the force effect of the laÌ„gnishing paine that saying of the poet is true Res est soliciti plena timoris Amor. Whose breast is so brasen or whose hart so stony hard bat he will sigh and grone and shed trickling teares when he beholdeth the deathe or greuous hurt or sicknesse of his neighbour or frende who can refrayne from hauing compassion on the passionate or from lamentinge with him that lamenteh Iesus him selfe when he sawe Mary and the Iewes that came with hir vnto the Sepulchre weping became vexed in his spirit troubled with in his mynde wept Percase not bycause he was dead but rather bycause beinge dead they reuoked him to behold the miseries of liefe But let him acknowledge himselfe blamefully hard harted and hardhartedly to be blamed which bewayleth the corporall death of his freind and neuer lamenteth for the spirituall death of his sowle Mishapes fall sodeynly when they are least suspected or loked for Sodeynly calamytie rusheth in at dores sicknesse inuadeth a man and death steppes in whome no man can eskape Therefore boast not of to morowe synce thou knowest not to what th end of the present day may bring thée to A man knoweth not his ende but euen as fishes are caught with the hooke and byrdes with snares and gynnes so are men caught and snatched vp in the euell tyme Wheâ—… they are come to that whereof they might long before haue bewared The Industry of the Phisicons coold neuer yet since the begynninge of the world search out so manie kyndes of diseases nor so many sundry sortes of passions as the frailtie of man could sustaine indure Shal I tearm it a tollerable intollerablenesse or an vntollerable tolleracion or shal better put them both togethers For I must call it vntollerable hauing regarde to the bitternesse of diseas And tollerable I must terme it since it is of necessitie to be suffered So froÌ„ day to day more more the nature of man is corrupted and made weaker In such sorte as many medecyens which in tymes paste were holesome are nowe throwe the desceyt of mans nature deadly and daungerous to bâ—… receyued For both these kyndes of worldes doe nowe wax â—…ld That is to say Macrocosmus and Microcosmus which is to say the greater world the lesser world And the longer that lyfe doth linger in eyther of them so much the worse is nature in each of them troubled and vexed What should I say of the wretched offendors which are punished with innumerable kindes of tormentes They are beaten to death with malles they are thrust throughe with swordes burned with flames of fyer ouerwhelmed with stones they are twytched in péeces with tonges and hanged vpon gibbettes wrung with mannacles and scourged with whyppes bounde in cheynes fastened in snares thrust down into darke dungeons Starued with fastinges throwne downe hedlonges drowned flayed and pulled in péeces quartered and some tymes smothered Those which are condemned to death dye those that are put to the sword must suffer there with those which are iudged to famishe must sterue and those which are put into captiuitie must indure it Crewel iudgement outragious punishment and sorowfull sight to be holde They are made a pray for the Byrdes of the Ayre the beastes of the feild and fishes of the sea Alas alas alas O miserable mothers which brought forth such miserable and vnhappy children Therefore I haue thought good to repete that horrible fact which Iosephus doth discribe in the seige of Hierusalem A certayne woman being both for bloud and wealth honourable dyd paciently beare and abyde the misery of the seige with the rest that were fled into the citie of Hierusalem and the tyrantes dyd straightwayes inuade the remnaunt of hir substaunce which she brought with hir from hir house into the Citie Yea if any thing yet remayned of hir aboundauâ—…t riches whereby she might poorely sâ—…staine hir with dayly foode the Captaynes of the sedicious rushing in at tymes dyd take it from hir by force Wherevpon the wooman by this outragious dealing was dryuen into a certayne disdayne euen as it were into a fury So that many times she prouoked the sedicious spoylers with reprochfull wordes and curses to haue killed hir But when as no man either of pittie or of furious fiercenesse would dispatch hir and yet as fast as she sought for any thinge to comfort hir there came others which sought as fast to take it from hir and hir plentie began now
to their parentes disorderâ—…d without loue without truth and without mercy With such and much worse this world is replenished as with heritikes scismatikes periures Tyrans Symonsellers hypocrytes ambitious men robbers spoylers extorcioners and pollers vsurers and false witnesses wicked théeues and church robbers traytors lyers flatterers deceyuers tale tellers wauerers gluttons dronkards adulterers incesteous men tender treaders and vayn vauÌ„ters slouens sluggardes and loyterers prodigall spenders and vnthriftes rashe quarellers and hackers vnpatient and vnconstant men poysoners and witches presumpteous and â—…rogant wretches deuilish mynded and desperate men To conclude with such as are packt full of all paltry of the earth and farced with all kynde of vyle abhomination Yet euen as the smoke vanisheth away so shall they vanish and as waxe melteth before the fyre so shall sinners perysh before the face of God. The wicked men doe suffer foure princypall paynes at theyr death The fyrst is the perpiexitie of the body which is then greater and more gréeuous than euer it was or is in this present lyfe vntil that tyme of dissolution For some thinke that euen without motion suche is their gréeâ—…ous paines they teare themselues in péeces For the violence of death is strong and vncomparable Bicause the knyttinges and naturall combyninges of the body with the spirit arâ—… then broken insonder And therevpon the Prophet Dauid sayth in the Psalme the panges of death haue compassed mée There is no member nor no parte of the body but is touched and twitched with that vntollerable payne Thâ—… second payne is when the body being altogither wéeryed and ouercome the force and strength therof cleane vanquished the Soule doth much more playnely perceyue in one moment all the works which it hath done good and bad and all those things are set before the inward eyes This payne is so great and this torment and disquiet is so gréeuous that the soule being much vexed and troubled is constrayned to confesse and declare against it selfe As it is sayde in the Psalmes the floodes of iniquitie haue troubled mée For as the floodes come with great force and sway and séeme to beare downe all things before them so in the houre of death the wicked man shall sodeinly sée and behold all the workes that he hath done or committed good or bad The third paine is when the soule now beginneth iustly to iudge and séeth all the paynes and tormentes of hell to hang worthely ouer it for all the iniquities whereof it is giltie Wherevpon it is also sayd in the Psalme the paynes of hell came about mée The fourth payne is when the soule béeing yet in the bodye doeth sée the wicked spirites readye to receyue it wherein the dread is suche and so vnspeakeable payne that the myserable soule although it be now parted from the body doeth runne about as long as it may to redéeme the tyme of hir captiuitie before shée forsake the body Also euery man as well good as euill doeth sée before the soule departe from the bodye Christ crucified The wicked séeth it to his 〈◊〉 when hée maye blushe and bée ashamed that hée is not redéemed throughe the bloud of Christ and that his owne giltynesse is the cause thereof Wherevpon it is sayde vnto the wicked in the gospell They shall sée agaynst whom they pricked and stoonge The which is vnderstoode by the commyng of Christ vnto iudgement and of his comming at the instant tyme of any mans death But the good man shall sée him to his comforte and reioysing as we may perceyue by the wordes of the Apostle which sayeth vntill the comming of our Lord Iesu Christ that is to say at the day of death when Christ â—…rucifyed shall appeare as well vnto the good as vnto the wicked And Christ him selfe sayeth of Iohn the Euangelist So will I haue him to abyde vntill I come That is to say continuing in virginitie vntill I come vnto hys death For we read of foure maner of commings that Christ shall come Two of them are visible The first in humilitie to redéeme the world The second in maiestie vnto iudgement And the other two are vnuisible The first whereof is in the mynde of man by grace Whereof it is sayd in the gospell wee shall come vnto him and shall make our remayning place with him The second is in the death of euery faythfull man And therevpon Iohn in the reuelation sayeth come Lord Iesus HIs spirite shall departe and he shall return into his earth At y tyme all their thoughtes shall perishe O howe many things how greate thinges doe mortall men consider and thinke vpon about the vncerteyntie of theyr worldly prouisions But sodeynly by the comming of death all thinges which they thought on and forecasted doe immediatly vanish away Lyke vnto a shadow when the sunne declyneth they are taken away And lyke vnto a Locust they are smitten down So that the spirit of man shal go out of him not willingly but vn willingly Hee shall dismisse with doler that which he did professe with desire and whether he will or nyll there is a terme apoynted the which hée shal not passe ouer In the which earth shal return vnto earth For it is written Thou arte earth into earth thou shalt goe For it is naturall that the thing made of any substance should bée resolued into that substance agayne He shall take away their spirite therefore and they shall fayle and shall returne into their dust And when man dyeth hée shall enherite beastes cattell Serpents and wormes For all those shall rest in dust and wormes shall consume them The worme shall eate them lyke a garment and shall consume them as a moth consumeth the wollen cloth I am to bée consumed sayeth Iob lyke vnto rottennesse and lyke vnto a garment that is fretted with mothes I haue sayde vnto rottennesse My father my mother my sister are gone vnto wormes meate Man is rottennesse and putrifaction and so are the sonnes of man Filthy are our forefathers vile are our mothers and how vyle are our sisters For man is begotten and conceyued of bloud putrifyed by the feruent heate of lust and concupisence And yet the wormes do come about his carkasse as mourners Whilest he liued he bredde nittes and lyse and being dead hée bréedeth wormes and magottes Whilest he liued hee made filthy ordures and excrements And being dead he maketh putrefaction stinke One man defendeth another onely But being dead hée defendeth many wormes Oh what is more filthy than the carkasse of a man or what more horrible than a dead man he whose embrasing had bene most aâ—…able méeting him on lyue euen his looke will bée most terrible when hée is dead What preuayle ritches therefore whatpreuayle banquetings what delightes they can not deliuer man from death They can not defend him from the worme Neyther shall they preserue
and so much the more fearefully héedefully we shal walke before the maiestie of the highest god For behold we are set in the middest of the whole world That is to say on this earth betwéene the heauenly kingdome and the confused hellish Chaos Certeynly knowe that at the length we shall be led eyther to the eternall felicitie of heauen or els to the perpetuall tormentes of hell Oh that the tongue of our hartes would tast this selfe same morsell as it deserueth to be tasted For then I thinke we should neuer loosely be giuen ouer vnto vayne pleasure and delights we should not spend our tyme laughing sporting or playing but in wéeping and repentance So as we might truly confesse with Iob That we haue alwayes feared God as the swelling waues which would ouer whelme vs Being induced there vnto by the déepe contemplation of the Psalmist saying Come and behold the works of God which is terrible in his degrées vpon the sonnes of men And Paule sayth O profound depth of the treasure of Gods knowledge and wisedome howe incomprehensible are his iudgementes and how vnsearchable are his wayes he is the Lord that almightie King in whose power and dominion all thinges are constituted Who only is péerelesse So that his being doeth infinitely excell the being of any thing that is created as that in respect thereof all other things séeme as it were to haue no being at all Furthermore since we are beset in so greate daunger what remayneth for vs to doe or what remedye is profered vnto vs but euen that we eschue and auoyde with a most vigilant mynde those thinges whereby God so dreadfull is offended and whereby such paynes of infinite damnation are procured which are sinnes euen as the scripture doeth admonishe vs saying Flye from sinne as from the sight of a Serpent For none aduersitie shall bée hurtfull vnto thée if none iniquitie get the ouer hande of thée Wherefore a yong man of singular capacitie and my dearest of all deare brother to the ende that we may more warely hereafter eschue and auoyde sinne I intende fyrst by Gods helpe to wright for the stirring vp and inflaming of our soule Of the enormities great mischiefes and hurtes that come by sin That the vylenesse and filthinesse of sinne beyng perfectly vnderstoode and perceyued you may at the length flye from vyce with so great dilligence that you may as well deserue to be preuented and adorned by your creator with giftes of grace as you are already by him adorned and preuented with giftes of nature That only sinne causeth a reasonable creature to be displeasaunt dispisable and odious vnto God. The first acte EEuen as there is nothing more to be desired than to please God and to be of him beloued estéemed or honoured So is there nothing worse more detestable or more terrible than to displease him and to be of him dispised and hated In lyke maner as vertues and the actions of the same doe make vs pleasing honorable and welbeloued vnto the true God So vicious qualities and sinnes do make vs vnto God displeasing contemptuous and hatefull For he the almightie creator of the vniuersall world although he loue all things as touching that they haue of him that is to say as touching their being which he doth vncefsantly conserue in his kynd according to the saying of the wise man Thou louest O Lord all things that are and thou hatest nothing of those which thou haste made yet neuerthelesse he hateth sundry reasonable creatures as touching that which they reteyne and are of their owne frée will. That is to say as touching iniquitie their transgressions as the scripture sayth The wicked and his wickednesse are hatefull vnto god And agayne thou haste hated all them that worke iniquitie and thou shalt distroy all them which speake leasings and that dispiseth them hée witnesseth saying Thou hast dispised all them that went a stray from thy righteousnesse since their thoughtes were wicked And agayne he that dwelleth in the heauens shall laugh at them and the Lorde shall laugh them to skorne Then shall he speake vnto them in his wrath and in hys furie shall he vexe and trouble them yea euen this thyng happeneth by the most iust iudgement of god That they which contempne and dishonour God which is aboue all things to be exalted and to be thought worthiest of all worthies preferring their owne will before his diuyne pleasure should be dispised and ouerthrowne by him as he him selfe protesteth saying whosoeuer glorifieth mée I will glorifie him But they which dispise me shall be vnable Such are all the wicked and peruerse which haue no care to heare the word of God or doe omit the fulfilling therof when they haue heard it Of whom the euerlasting vncreated wisedome sayeth bicause I haue called aâ—…d you haâ—…e held backe dispising all my councelles and neglâ—…cting my rebukes I also will laugh at your distruction and will skorne you when that is happened vnto you which you most feared Beholde my welbeloued by these wordes the madnesse of them is reproued which linger their conuersion and in the ende of their life the very instant of death créeping now vpon them doe determine to make confession of their life and to amend themselues And yet neuer marking how horrible the eternall God and most high Iudge doeth threaten and affirme that he will skorne and laugh at suche men at the tyme of their death Fynally as Iob sayeth The wicked are preserued vntil the day of distruction and they shall be ledde vnto the day of reuenge and shall drinke of the furie of the almightie Wherefore if thou desire to please God if thou feare to be of him dispised and hated decline from euil â—…ye sinne deteâ—… vice and vncessantly feare to displease the high Iudge Who hath power to cast both body and soule into hell fyre Consider howe and howe much the children of this world and the seruants of Princes goe about to please their maisters How they dread to be dispised What great paynes they take to obtayne a voluble and worldly prayse Wherefore if thou desire to be accounted amongest the sonnes of God blushe then and bée ashamed that thou shouldest lesse indeuor to please God and to be honored and beloued of him then they study to attein mans fauour And finally lyke as of the humanitie pleasantnesse wherewith thou art naturally indued thou doest decently and mannerly behaue thy self before men So much the more behaue thy self reuerently and orderly before god inwardly or rather both inwardly and outwardly For if when thou hast to speake with any worthie personage thou commest reuerently vnto him puttest of thy Cap and doest kéedely beware what thou speakest and when thou shouldest talke with God by prayer or by saying Psalmes then come with reuerence and begin pronounsing without any regard doest thou not then ouer lightly estéeme the maiestie of the
mercyfull God to graunt mée such a delight in searching of his true wysedome that thou mayest say with the auctor of the booke of wysdome Hir haue I loued and searched for euen froÌ„ my youth and I wooed hir to be my wyfe and my spouse And I became in loue with hir bewtye so that entryng into my house I will lye downe by hir and take my rest with her For hir conuersation doth not weary me neyther is there any bitternâ—…sse in hir company but ioye and gladnesse dwell with hir for euer And herevpon also it is sayd Wisdome is more pretious then any ryches and all that mâ—…n desire is not thervnto to be compared God forbyd then that thou my welbeloued shouldest set thy mynde or occupy thy thoughtes in thinges that are lower and of vyler estymation THe path of the iust coÌ„meth forthwards like vnto a bright shyning lamp it in creaseth vntill it be brod dai but y waâ—…es of y wicked are dark they know not wher they fall As y holy Euangelist Iohn doth witnesse in his first Epistle saying God is light and in him there is no maner of darkenesse Also Dyonisius wryteth that God is the pure full and infinite light the lyuely intellectuall originall and most cleare brightnesse Since he then is the end and vttermost bound of our way and perigrinage we ought to walke towardes him by the bright shyning pathes and fayre wayes that the whole way may bée lyke vnto the ende of our iourney and the middest vnto the vttermost boâ—…ndes thereof For otherwyse we can neuer attayne vnto him Now this pathe of the iust is vertuous déeds good lyfe and conuersation togither with a warie obseruation of Gods lawes and commaundements Whervâ—…on Salomon sayeth The wayes of the Lorde are fayre wayes and all the pathes thereof are peaceable For the wayes whereby wée iourneye vnto God and the heauenly kingdome are good thoughtes holye medytations fruytefull talke and déedes of charitie acceptable vnto God in Christ Iesus These are iustly called the paths or wayes of the iust for as much as they be the certayne fruites and tokens whereby we passe and make way the grace of God helping vs from this exyle vnto the heauenly habitation The which wayes and pathes are by good reason tearmed bright and shinyng sithens they haue their originall beginning of Gods grace and charitie which are the supernaturall lightes of the soule Yea bicause with their brightnesse they chase darkenesse from the myndes of men they vnite and knit togither our hartes to the vncreated and heauenly light and make him which exerciseth himselfe therein to sâ—…eme cleane holy and acceptable vnto God and a good example vnto men Wherevpon the Apostle sayth That the iust doe shine as Lanternes amongest the wicked And agayne vnto sinners conuerted he sayeth You were once darknesse but now you are light in the lord Furthermore this pathe and way of the iust doeth procéede from good to better from imperfection to perfection from one vertue to another from the way vnto the ende of the iourney yea and it increaseth vntill it be broad day That is to say vntill the euerlastyng day appeare For as much as it ryseth by fayth to the speciall kynde of the thing sought for Euen vnto the euerlasting and most blessed fruition and visien of the highest and most reuerend Trinitie and Godheade This is the way of the chosen the vnspotted way the way of all vertue leading by the trauayle of repentance vnto euerlasting rest and quyet And of this way the Psalmist sayth Blessed are they whose wayes are vncorrupted and which walke in the lawes of the Lord their god And therevpon Iob sayde I kepte the way of the lord and did not decline from it As also Ieremie sayde Aske which is the good way and walke therein and you shall fynde a refreshing for your soule But now there is another way of the reprobate a darkesome way that is to say a wicked and vngodly way which lacketh the light of true vnderstanding is not guyded with the light of grace But is obfuscate and darkened with the cloudes of passions and concupiseÌ„ces peruerting ouerthrowing all iust iudgements leadeth to the dungeon of infernal darknesse This way is séene by vitious qualities vnbrydeled appetites coÌ„cupiscence of the flesh wicked thoughts euil déedes vnséemely and vnlawful talke and neclecting of tyme The which doe so ouershadow and darken the eyesight of the mynde chat it can not sée the spirituall ruyne and ouerthrow into the which it dayly falleth headlonges For in this slippery and damnable way which séemeth good vnto the wicked although the end thereof doe leade vnto death men fal from the highest vnchaungeable and moste blessed God vnto a chaungeable frayle and vayne apparaunce of goodnesse from the state of grace and saluation vnto the state of gylte and condempnation from a spirituall lyfe to a carnall lyfe and in the ende from the right waye to the infernall pryson Of the which way or wayes being wicked as aforesayde it is written you blushe and be ashamed of your wayes And therefore my beloued goe not into the waye of ruyne and perdition neyther followe the libertie of worldlye vanities and thyne owne desires but doe thou diligently followe and imitate the waye of the blessed and chosen For whosoeuer followeth the things which delight the fleshe and the outwarde sences whosoeuer doeth imbrace the loosenesse of his hearte and the ioyes of this world hée doubtlesse walketh in a darke and daungerous way But hée that walketh accordyng to the preceptes and lessons of the Gospell hée chuseth vnto him the brighte way of the electe and may saye with the Psalmist I haue kepte my féete from all euill wayes that I might kéepe thy wordes For the worthie and perfect fulfillyng whereof let vs praye dayly or rather hourely with deuout mynde saying Dyrecte my steppes accordyng to thy worde and no vnrightuousnesse shall haue the vpper hande of mée The Apostle Paule in his seconde Chapiter to the Galathyans sayeth I am fastened to the Crosse in christ Yet liue I not I but Christ liueth in mée And whereas I now lyue in the fleshe I liue in the fayth of the sonne of God which loued mée and gaue himselfe for mée And surely this is the holesome doctrine of christian religion That for the transgression of our forefathers all maÌ„kind was depryued of their pleasant habitation in the terrestiall Paradyce and throwne out into this world as into a vale of miserie into a place of banishment and a countrey far from our natiue residence To the end that through the bloud of Christ Iesu we might in this worlde shewe the fruites of true repentaunce and incessantly bewayle our owne calamitie vntil we may be thought worthie after this life to enter into the place of rest or euerlasting kingdome prepared for the elect children of God. Wherevpon
thinges sweare not Agayne our Sauyour sayeth Resist you not the euill dooer But if any man stryke you on the left chéeke turne the other vnto him hlso And he which will contende with thée in Judgement and take thy cote from thée geue him also thy cloke Loue your enemyes doe well to them that hate you and praye for them which persecute you and quarrell with you What thing can bée haâ—…der then this worde For euen as it is most easie most naturall for a man to loue his freind euen so it is most hard and moste vnnaturall for a man to loue his enemye And yet as Hierome sayth it is necessarye towardes saluation Naye rather sayth he he which hateth any one man doth loue no man truely and spirytually No neyther can he loue himselfe nor God being in such gréeuous and heynous sinne Furthermore our Sauiour sayth If you doe not forgeue offences one to another neyther will your heauenly father forgeue you your sinnes And agayne hée sayth Laye not vp treasure in earth and bée not carefull for to morrowe And also Judge not and you shall not be iudged Furthermore thynke not sayth he that I came to set peace in the world I came not to set peace hut the sworde For I came to seperate the Sonne from the Father the daughter from the mother and the sonnes wyfe from her father by lawe And then He which loueth father or mother more then me he is not worthy of me Also he which taketh not vp his Crosse and foloweth me he is not worthy of me And in another place The kingdome of heauen doth suffer wrong or violence and yet the violente doo take euen 〈◊〉 force And agayne For euery idell worde that men speake they shall render accoumpt in the day of iudgement And like wise he that will come after me let him dâ—…nye himselfe and take vp his Crosse dayly and folowe me For he which wyll saue his soule let hym léese it For he whiche looseth hys lyfe for me he shall finde it agayne And then thus Wo be to hym by whome offences come And Whosoeuer offendeth one of these lyttle ones beléeuing in me it were better for him that a mylstone were tyed about his necke and he drowned in the depth of the Sea. And agayne Unlesse you conuerte and become as one of these lyâ—…tle ones you shall not enter into the kingedome of heauen Herewith not forgetting that It is easyer for a Camell to enter through a Néedles eye then for a rytch man to enter into the kingdome of god We must remember also where he sayth Whosoeuer amoungest you woulde be greatest let hym be your mynister or seruaunt And Wo be to â–ª you rytch men which haue your consolation here Wo be to you which are filled for you shall hunger Wo be to you which laugh now for you shall mourne and wéepe Wo be to you when men shall prayse and blesse you Or thus what séest thou a moth in thy brothers eye and canst not see a beame in thyne owne Well Iesus sayed vnto a certayne man folowe me And he answered Lord suffer me first to go and burye my father And Iesus sayd Suffer thou the deade to burye their deade And he sayth Feare not them which kyll the body but cannot kyll the soule But feare you him which hath power to throwe the body and soule into euerlasting fyre And in another place O foole This night shall they take thy soule from thee Then whose shall that be which thou hast gathered And therevpon Such is euery man which hoordeth vp treasure and is not rytch in god What should we ouerpasse these sentences Sell that you possesse and geue almes Unlesse you repent you shall all peryshe to gither Departe from me all you which haue done wickedly 〈◊〉 thou makest a dynner or supper doe not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 thy brethren thy kynsmen nor thy next rytch neighbours 〈◊〉 peraduenture they byd thee agayne And so thou be wel recompenced But when thou makest a feast call the 〈◊〉 the weake the halte and lame and the blynde and thou shalt be blessed If any man come vnto me and doe not hate his father mother wyfe chyldren bretheren and â—…isters yea and his owne soule hée cannot bée my discyple And he which doth not forsake all that he hath cannot 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 discyple And that which is hyghly esteemed with meâ—… is abhomynation in the sight of god Fynally When you haue done all that which was commaâ—…nded you then saye We are vnprofitable seruauntes we haue 〈◊〉 but that which we ought and were bounde to doe Agayne Euery man which exalteth himselfe shal be 〈◊〉 lowe And he which doth humble himselfe shal be exalted â–ª Beware least you ouercharge your bodyes with gluttony dronkennesse or the cares of this worlde By these and infinite other places my déerely beloued â–ª thou 〈◊〉 perceiue how streyght in déede and how narrowe the waye and gate are which leade to saluation But of these before 〈◊〉 passages some perteyne vnto the commaundements And therevnto all men are bounden Some other are of conncell and aduyse which neuerthelesse are to be obserued of as many as professe Christ sincerely Yea futhermore the selfe same may apeare by dyuers other Scryptures For the Apostle sayth They which are of Christ haue crucifyed theyr fleshe with the vyces and concupysences thereof Whosoeuer therfore doe not extinguish vyce and concupisence nor chastyse theyr bodyes they then perteyne not vnto christ Agayne A wyddowe saith he which liueth in delightes is dead liuing For though she liue by lyfe of nature yetis she dead by the death of punishment and iudgement Then if delightful lyfe be a fault or sinne in wyddowes how much more blameful is it to be thought in such as ought by reason of their 〈◊〉 to be gydes and paternes of godlynesse to others Herevnto many thinges might be added but let these suffise And these welbeloued I haue here thus rehearced to the end I might thereby induce thée to the feare of God the watchful care of thy harte and to the diligent reading of scripturs least thou shouldest in vayne flatter thy selfe with gods mercye And so become one of their socyetie which walke in the broad and spatyous waye For as the Apostle sayeth If we suffer with Christ wée shall also reygne with Chryst. If wée bée pacyente wyth him wée shall also lyue wyth him Yea and must we not accordyng to the Apostles wordes entre into heauen by many trybulations But it is true which GOD forbyde should be verified in thée which Bernard sayth Lorde many would reigne with thée but they will not suffer with thée Many would be with thée but fewe will folowe thée Many would finde thee but fewe doe seeke thee Therefore let vs not be afeard to beare trybulations synce Hierome sayth No seruaunt of Christ is without trybulation And if thou
suffer no tribulation it seemeth thereby that thou hast not begonne to be the seruaunt of God. Our sweete Sauiour for thâ—… recomforte of mankynde did saye as Mathew rehearseth in the eleuenth Chapiter of his Gospell these wordes Come vnto me all ye that trauayle and are heauye loden and I will refreshe you Take my yoke vpon you and learne by me for I am meeke and humble in harte For my yoke is sweete and my burden lyght These wordes our sauiour Christ spake of himselfe Wherwith we must vnderstand that the yoke of Christ is none other thing then the lawe of the Gospell or the performaunce and wary heede of Gods commaundementes By the which we are bounde vnder the obedyence of his holy will and are restreyned or seperate from this worldely lyfe And the burden of our Sauiour may be vnderstoode by the obseruation of his holy wordes And of such a yoke it is wrytten It is good for the man which hath borne the yoke euen from his youth which the reprobate doe put from them According to that sayinge of Hieremye from the begynnyng thou hast broken and cast of the yoke and sayed I will not serue So that wée maye perceyue that in effect all is one the narrowe waye and streight gate leading to saluation and the yoke and burden of our Sauiour Chryst. But then some will saye If the waye bée streyght and the gate narrowe howe can the yoke of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 swéete and hys burden lyght Wherevnto I 〈◊〉 were that the selfe same yoke yea and 〈◊〉 selfe same wayâ—… are streight narrowe paynefull and 〈◊〉 to suche as are foolyshe vnperfect and â—…ot yet exercysed in fpirytuall lyfe nor haue yet tasted the swéetenessâ—… of the same The which neuerthelesse to the perfecte the verteous pure and Godly zeales which serue God feruently and loue him is broade easye and most pleasaunt So that that they rather runne spéedely theâ—… walke leasurely therin Wherevpon the holy and 〈◊〉 Prophete confessed sayinge I haue runne all the wayes of thy comaundementes whiles thou hast dylated and enlarged my harte And agayne I haue walked at large sayth he bicause I sought out thy commaundementes To conclude 〈◊〉 lykelyhoode nor no forme doth more delectably or readily worke in mannes myâ—…de then loue For loue of his owne proper nature and reason enclyneth and draweth the louer to actuall louing Wherevpon it is compared vnto a weight Now therefore since charytie is the cause gouernesse and Empresse of all merytoryous déedes the which charytie is called the lyfe of the soule and without it nothing is meritorious yt is therby euideÌ„t that y more we doo profit procéede in the loue of god somuch the more we doe deâ—…bly excercise all thinges that procéede from god Yea somuch the more we doe hartely abhorre those thinges which perteine vnto the worlde Sythens y vnto him which loueth ferueÌ„tly nothing can be more pleasant then to doo any thing that may seme acceptable vnto his beloued For true loue estéemeth nothing to be hard gréeuous rough or deadly Yea let vs consider if any payne any strypes or any woundes or death it selfe can ouercoÌ„e or daunte true harty loue surely no. For if it be perfect loue in dede it ouercoÌ„meth al things yet féeleth no paynes The loue of God is an infallyble treasure He that hath it is rytch And whosoeuer lacketh that is poore and néedy though he haue all the world at will. And therefore well doeing doth somuch the more delight the myndes of men and sinnes doâ—… somuch the more yrke and dyscontent them as they fynde in theyr hartes a perfect and sincere loue towardes God that highest and vnchaungeable goodnesse Arristotle the heathen Phylosopher confessed that it was a perfect signe or token of vertue to bée delyghted in the actyon thereof And surely true it is that the more vertuous wée béecome the more we are delighled to excercyse and doe â—…e true fruites of repentaunce Agayne As nature is the very begenning of all naturall actiones operatioÌ„s so gods greate grace workyng in vs is the verye first formall immedyate and intrusecall beginning of all good and acceptable déedes And euen as they which are naturally wel disposed doo exercise with case great delight such works operations as perteyne vnto nature so wheÌ„ a man beginneth ones to abounde in the grace of god theÌ„ he doth also daily more ioyefully with the better will exercise himself in gods coÌ„maundements good déedes And this happeneth most ofteÌ„ vnto such as are méeke humble of hart Whervpon Bernard saith Nothing is hard to the humble nor nothing vnpleasant to such as are méeke of hart And right easily are y coÌ„maundements effectually kept when that grace of God doth giue and gyde forwardnes of will obedyence with true humylitie doe appease the Iudgâ—…s indyngnation Neither can a man say that he serueth for méere necessytie when the thing which he is commaunded to dâ—… is of him right hartely loued and desired Then if we déeyely and effectually consider that it is for Gods loue that we doe such thinges as we take in hand we shall then thinke nothing to be hard or difficulte Nay rather if we should all dye for him or execute and fulfill all verteous exercyses for his sake we shall it be able to doe nothing worthy of the benifites which we haue receaued at his handes And therevpon Gregorius sayth if the mynde be ones fixed in God with a stedfast entent then we estéeme all thinges to be swéete and pleasaunt howe bytter or sower so euer they chaunce to be Yea we shall fynde greate rest and quyet in all those thinges which doe afflict vs. Futhermore it is certayne that the more a mans mynde be bent vnto any one thing earnestly somuch the more his entontions towards any other thinge be slackened and laide asyde Then euen as the louers of this world which doo altogether wrappe and enfold themselues in the desyres therof are altogether occupyed in vayne and transitory things doe as it were lothe and are weary of spirituall and godly thinges yea as they dâ—…e pray vnto God hastely and without an inwarde affection euen so those which loue GOD and doe wholly dedycate themselues vnto his seruice desyringe to cleaue most feruently vnto him and to be wholly occupied and conioyned with him doe hatefully abhorre lothe and flye from those thinges which apperteyne vnto the worlde Yea they desyre and reioyse to be vncessantly occupyed and conuersant in the prayses of God and walke in the streight narrowe way with great delight and pleasure Herevpon it is that Gregorius wytnesseth saying loue is as strong as death For sayth he euen as death doth kyll the corporall body so the loue of God dothe through the hope of eternall lyfe kyll in vs the loue of temporall delightes For he whome the charitie of GOD dothe swallow vp hym dothe it also make vnsensyble too the féelynge of anye
written Thy name and thy memoriall O Lord are in the desires of my soule My soule hath desired thée by night yea thy spyrite is in the secretes of my harte and early in the gray mornyng will I wayte for thée Herein as goodnesse is the obiecte of our appetyte and desire so since god is the highest purest vnmeasurable perfectest goodnesse so is he insinitely to be desired to be loued In such sorte that we ought beyond all comparison to loue him aboue all things And so consequently it is méete and requisite to dispyse to refuse and to caste away whatsoeuer may let foreslow or turne vs from his loue and the feruentnesse therof But the world and that which 〈◊〉 thervnto doe withdrawe vs specially let and 〈◊〉 vs from the loue and goodnesse of God as Gregorie sayeth wée are euen so much disioyned and seperated from the loue of y high God as wée are wrapped in worldly thinges delighted in base things and occupyed in earthly things For vertue is both greater and of more force when it is vnited thē when it is dispersed therfore the more that the 〈◊〉 of our mynd are dispersed and deuyded into the inordinate loue of worldly creatures the weaker also colder blynder and more vnapte they be to loue God. Wherevpon Chrysostome sayeth looke howe muche thy mynd is set vpon any thing and euen so much the lesse it is set vpon god For what are these earthly carnall things but onely heauy wayghtes and burthens which draw down the affections of mans mynd from desire of heauenly things Let vs therefore extend our whole harte vnto god Let vs be borne vnto him with our whole mynde Let him be such a cause of loue vnto vs in al other things that we estéeme no worldly creature more thē for that it may as a meane serue vs towardes the attayning of his loue That is to say so far forth as it may bee vnto vs necessarie and profitable to further vs in our way towardes the heauenly kingdome But let vs become so feruent in the loue of God yea let vs so much estéeme his most swéete and delectable loue that we may dispise all and singular other vayne and transitorie things as vyle durte So that the omnipotent and eternall God may be more precious more to be desired more gloryous swéeter fayrer and in euerie kynde of comparison better of more perfection and worthinesse thē any other thing And let any liuyng worldly creature be lothsome vnto our soules being thus occupyed in contemplation of the diuyne maiestie Let vs sée and perceyue hereby that the whole 〈◊〉 world in respect or comparison of the vndiscrybable God is but as a small title of no reputation or louelynesse Yea in such sorte that we thinke these transistorie thinges vnworthie to be looked on But that we be wholly transformed 〈◊〉 established dissolued and swallowed vp in Christ Iesus So that we may say with his holy Prophet The God of my harte and God is my portion for euer And agayne I will loue thée O Lorde my strength And as the Apostle said I know that neither death nor life nor any creature can seperate me from Gods loue Let vs but marks and behold how vyle it were for the delightes of the mortal and miserable fleshe for the prayse and glorie of men and for temporall honour and preferment to be withdrawen or foreslowed from this highest supressentiall vnchangeable and incomprehensible goodnesse of god Let vs be made heauenly conformable vnto God and deyfyed yea familiar and entyrely beloued vnto the liuing god For what haue we to doe with these earthly things we being made and created to the shape and lykenesse of the most holy Trinitie béeyng redéemed and made frée by the bloud of Christ and called to the blessed fellowship of Angels Let vs therefore dispyse all these things and let our whole occupation conuersation entention and affection be fixed and altogither reposed in him onely which is onely necessarie to bee imbrased accordyng to the admonition of Augustine Let man sayth hée if he turne any way conuert him selfe vnto him which created him for by going backe from him he waxeth cold but by turning vnto him he shall waxe warme By going backe he shall waxe dimme and darke but by turning to him hée shall become bright and shyning For euen where he receyued his creation and being there must he also fetche his being good or godly For he the Lord our God is the verie swéetnesse swéete aboue all kynde of swéetenesse Brighter then any light déeper then any secret and higher then any honour or degrée Moreouer he is that purest kynde of lyfe to turne 〈◊〉 om him were a gréeuous fall but to returne vnto him is a highe rysing or clyming To abyde in him is a certaine dwelling and to dwell in him is happie lyfe And euen as corne in the wet furrow doeth rotte and 〈◊〉 but in the rydge or higher part of the land it is preserued florisheth so our hartes if they be raysed vp to God shalt neuer putrifie nor decay But if they be ouerthrowne or sunken in earthly things they rotte and consume immediately And myne earnest desire is my welbeloued that thou doe spurne from thée and dispise all transitorie things detest abhorre all the pompe of this world for the loue of the diuyne bountie and through the affection that thou haste to procéede in the imbrasing thereof Yea and that by the desire of so contemplatyue and holy meditations thou mayest with all thy hart and mynde be giuen ouer vnto him All which can not come to passe vnlesse thou dispise all corporal delightes all worldly vanities and all thine owne desires As Cassianus affyrmeth saying our affectiōs saith he are neuer perfectly kindled to the desire of eternal things neither is our vnderstandyng euer sharpened vnto the perfect contemplation of heauenly thinges vntill the cares and desires of the fleshe bee perfectly bridled in vs My welbeloued if thou wilt be rich and a possessor of infinite goods and treasures giue eare then vnto the counsell of Ambrose He that wil sayth he possesse God let him first renounce the world that God may be vnto him a blessed possession and heritage For looke how much thou dye vnto y world so much lyfe thou gaynest with god And the more that thou lyue as to this worlde so muche the more thou dyest vnto God. To conclude whosoeuer loueth the world doeth loue an enimie imbraseth a Traytor and dandleth in his lappe an vnspeakeable daunger Wherevpon Augustyne sayde if this world delight thée thou shalt alwayes be vncleane And if thou louingly kysse the worlde he will hungrily and gréedily swallowe and deuour thée And to make an end of thys deuision wee ought aboue all things to loue God. First for his vnmeasurable goodnesse Secondarily bicause he first loued vs. Thirdly bicause he powreth so many benifits vpon vs. Fourthly
Leo did right Clerkely affyrme saying The whole vyctorie of our Sauiour whereby hee ouercame both the worlde and the diuill was begunne and finyshed in true humilitie Furthermore as Bernard witnesseth Christ did alwayes choose those things which were most greuous vnto â—…esh and bloud and which did most declare humâ—…tie For he chose a poore mother of whom he was contented to be borne in the middest of the colde winter in the middest of darke night in a strange place and in a homely Cribbe WheÌ„ he was borne he was wrapped in a fewe torne cloutes and layde in the Oxe Maunger Yea moreouer when of him selfe he was ryche and aboundant or rather the verie true highest and omnipotent God he became poore for our sakes And so poore that he sayd The birdes of the ayre haue their neasts the Fores their dennes but the sonne of man hath not where to hide his head And how many persecutions he suffred endured by the Jewes is sufficieÌ„tly testified by the Euangelists For some saide vnto him Hee hath a diuill and the man is madde Some called him glutton bibber of wine and friend to the Publicans Some sayd that by Bekebub chief prince of the diuils he cast out wicked spirites Other sayde How is this man from God and we know that hee is a sinner Will he kill him selfe Sometymes they would stone him some other whyles throwe him downe headlong and at last they betrayed hym and put him to a moste vyle kynde of death But in all these thinges what dyd the innocent Lambe of God the sonne of the euerlastyng Father Forsooth hee was patient hée restored good for euill he spake wordes of saluation and health euen to the vnthankefull people he prayed for them which crucifyed him like a shéepe hee was ledde to the Slaughter and he lay still and helde his peace lyke a Lambe in the Shéepshearers hands When he was most falâ—…y and wrongfully accused before Pylate and Herode hée answered not one word He was made by GOD the father obedyent euen vnto death Hée made him selfe a sacrifyce and oblation for vs Hee was wounded for our offences And therefore stretched out vpon the Crosse. Yea his hands and féete were pearced with hard nayles vntill all his bones might be numbred And thus it was expedient that Christ should suffer and enter into hys glorie Then if we desire to bee christians and of the number chosen to be saued what remayneth for vs to doe euen that we follow and imitate Christes pouertie humilitie and patience That we chastise our owne bodies by the true fruites of repentance That we crucifie our fleshe with all the vyces and concupiscenses thereof That we make haste to walke in the narrow path with all feare and carefulnesse That we be not ouercome with euyll but let vs vanquishe the euill with goodnesse Let vs not rendre euil for good vnto any man Let vs not pampre and cherish our fleshe in myserable delights Nor let vs geue place to any lightnesse vanytie or toyes Whosoeuer can obserue these poyntes he â—…yspyseth the world happyly he ouer commeth himselfe laudably and he learneth of Christ what it is to be méeke and humble of heart For aboue all thinges we must founde all our conuersacion in true humylitie Wherevpon Leo spake grauely sayinge All the dysciplyne of christyan lyfe doeth not consist in cunning wordes in sharpenesse of wytte in dysputacion nor in vayne desyrs of glory and prayse but in the true and voluntary humilitie which our Lorde and Sauiour Jesus Christ dyd choose and teache as the stoutest kynde of defence euen from the wombe of his mother vnto the deathe of the crosse Whereby it appeareth also how trwe it is that Cypryan sayeth All the lyfe of man if hée lyue lyke a chrystian and according to the Gospell is a crosse and a martyrdome As also Chrysostome trwely sayeth No man may well be termed a chrystian vnlesse he be conformed vnto Chryst in maners and conuersacion Wherefore my beloued if wée knowe that Jesus Christ is our sauiour and Lorde let vs blushe and bée ashamed if wée bée not founde conformable vnto him Let vs be abashed to lyue carnally delycately suÌ„pteously To ioy tryumphe in mens prayse fauour To séeke cheifly our owne commodytie and preferment And to walke puffed vp with a vayne and a proude hart For our lyfe is in the myddest betwéene the Angels and Beastes If we liue according to the fleshe we are to be compared vnto Beastes But if we lyue according to the spyrite we are made fellowes with Angells And if we yéeld to spyrituall sinnes and offences as pryde ambition vayne glory and wicked vanytie we are now coopled vnto Diuills rather then vnto brute Beastes Especially since that spirytuall vyces speaking in Genere are much greater and more gréeuous theÌ„ carnall vyces are But wouldest thou knowe who were rightly to be termed a christian He is truely a christian sayth Augustine which sheweth mercy to all men which is not moued nor disquyeted with any iniurye which féeleth another maÌ„s payne or greife as if it were his owne Whose table is not shut from any poore or néedy Which is accoumpted of small glory or estimatian before men to the end he may be gloryfied before God and his Angells Which dispyseth earthly thinges to obteyne heauenly Which succoreth thée myserable and afflicted and is moued to compassioÌ„ by other mens teares Therefore let vs clense our selues from all blottes and blemyshes both of fleshe and spirite And let vs imytate Christ our King by a wary and a frutefull lyfe abhoring and despysing all wrath all indignation stoutenesse and fleshelynesse that being altogither conuerted we maye be made as little babes agayne Saint Paule in his third Chapiter of his Epystle to the Galathians hath these wordes Pray you therfore coÌ„tinewally that you may be thought worthy to eskape all the euills which are to come to stand before the Sonne of man Now since we haue spokeÌ„ of such thinges as enduce y conteÌ„pt of this world on the behalf of god himselfe let vs also treate of such thinges as ought to enduce vs therevnto on our owne behalfe For wée are set in the myddest of snares and are enuâ—…d on euery side with enemyes yea and enclosed contynewally with a famylyare énemy that is our owne flesh stryuing against the spirite and as the Apostle sayth Our wrastling is not agaynst fleshe and blood but euen agaynst spyrites or powers of the ayre and Diuills Not that he ment we had no maner of stryfe nor wrastling agaynst fleshe and bloode but bicause the stryfe contention and wrastlyng which we haue agaynst the temptations of Diuills is much greater and of more force In asmuch as they be infatygable craftye and â—…rewell pryckes prouoking most gréedily the ouerthrow and condemnation of our soules Whereby it appeareth that we are be set rounde about with innumerable and excéedinge greate
lawfull for vs to glorie in our selues nor to haue a vayn delight in our selues But as the Apostle sayeth He that gloryeth let him glorie in the Lord. Beholde the world passeth ouer and all the glorie therof And what is our life in this world but a smoke and vapour shewing it selfe a little and sâ—…raight way is vanished and gone we all slippe away lyke water into the earth Wée are earth ashes dust rottennesse and wormes meate So that when a man is deade hee shall inherite Snakes and Wormes To conclude what is this present lyfe but a continuall and â—…oste swifte course vnto deathe For some parte of our lyfe is continually and without ceasing wasted and cut off And therefore Dauid sayde Our dayes are lyke a shadowe vpon the earth and there is none abidyng And Ezechias sayde my lyfe is cut of as the webbe from the Weauer Yea euen whylest I yet began he cut mée off And Iob remember mée O Lord for my lyfe is lyke a puffe of wynde And in respecte of the eternitie the lastyng of thys lyfe is nothing as Job witnesseth in the same place saying Spare mée O Lorde for my dayes are as nothyng Héerevpon Chrisostom sayth Let vs passe saith he one hundreth yeres in delyghtes yea ad thervnto another hundereth or if you lyst ten tymes an hundereth and what shall all this bée compared to eternitie shall not all the whole tyme of this lyfe in the which we séeme to inioy so many delyghtes and to haue frée scope vnto vanities shall it not I saye bée as a dreame of one nyght compared to the eternitie Yes for as Hierome sayeth if thou haddest the wysedome of Salomon the beautie of Absalon the strength of Sampson the ryches of Crâ—…esus and the myghtie power of Octauianus what should all these profitte thée when as straight wayes thy bodie shall be delyuered vnto the wormes and thy soule vnto diuilles For as Augustyne affyrmeth If Adam yet lyued and shoulde dye thys day what coulde it then auayle hym to haue liued so long Now therefore my dearely beloued weygh these things déepely For such as neglecte to marke these things presently â—…arly or late they shall say vnfrutefully with the reprobate in the day of iudgement We haue erred from the way of truth and the lyght of rightuousnesse hath not shyned in vs and the bryght sonne of vnderstandyng hath not rysen vnto vs What hath our pryde profited vs Or what hath our pompe and boastyng preuayled vs All those thyngs haue passed ouer as a shadowe and as a swyfte running messenger For then shall the heauens reneale the vanitie of the louers of this world togither with their iniquities and the earth it selfe shall ryse agaynst them Then their sin and transgression shal be manifest with suche as haue sayde to God Departe from vs Wee will not haue the knowledge of thy wayes Then shall the rounde world fight agaynst them in Gods behalfe All thynges which haue bene shall then suffer punyshement and yet shall not be consumed Yea they shall suffer and sustayne accordyng to the multitude of theyr inuentions For the wicked is reserued vntyll the daye of perdition and shall bee ledde vnto the day of furie and shal drinke of the wrath of the almightie Let these things terâ—…rifie thy mynde and withdrawe it from the worlde Yea principally let them ioyne it vnto God. Furthermore the vanitie of this world doeth hereby most manifestly appeare that the prosperitie thereof is expected and gaped for with an excéedyng gréedinesse of mynde and when it commeth it can not be reteyned But all thinges passe ouer and all things flye away This day is paste and the beginnyng of the nexte is not yet knowne whither it shall be quyet or laboursome For so passeth ouer the glorie of this worlde And ther vpon Augustyne demaundeth saying What wilte thou loue temporall things sayeth he and passe away with them or wilt thou loue Christ and lyue eternally with hym For it is vnpossible that a man doe both inioy the present delights and the ioyes to come It is vnpossible both héere to fyll the paunche and there to satisâ—…e the mynde Men may not passe from one delyght to another and appeare gloryous bothe héere and in the worlde to come Yea and the contempte of worldely and temporall thynges is euydente by this that God doeth oftentymes bestowe them more aboundantlye vpon hys enimyes and them which are reprobate then vpon the electe For the electe doeth consider by the end that those thinges are of none accompte which doe transitorilye and seculerly delyght And therefore Hierome sayeth the spéedie consâ—…lation of the gooâ—… is the ende of the wycked well considered and foreséene For whilest the good perceyue by the distruction of the wicked what euils and perils they haue passed and eskaped they accompt all things light easie which they suffer endure in this life So y bâ—…hold my welbeloued how great the deceipt of this world is howe excéeding great is the blyndnesse of the loue which we beare to the same For whilest the wicked doth willingly with great delight remain continue in this worlde hopyng to lyue long and settyng many thinges in oâ—…der for the tyme to come sodaynely and vnawares hée is commaunded to dye and in a moment to leaue and forsake all those thinges which he so faltily hath loued and estemed Héerevpon our Sauiour Christ bringeth in the ryche man speakyng vnto hym selfe and saying My soule thou haste muche good and treasure layde vp for many yeares Take thine ease eate drinke be mery But God answeareth him saying O foole this nyght shal they take thy soule from thée whose then shall that be which thou haste so gréedily gathered Let vs therefore gather togither true and spiritual ryches which will not forsake vs at the tyme of death but will appeare with vs before God and make vs séeme comely and beautifull in all vertue and godlinesse In these kynde of riches we may dayly increase and profit yea and in suche sorte that suche profite may bée muche more auaylable vnto vs then if we possessed all the riches in the world Wherfore let vs not myspende the leaste space of tyme nor bee occupyed in good thynges onely but in the moste excelent thinges That wée may alwayes searche out those things which drawe nearest to our saluation And so growe nearer and nearer neyghbours vnto god And bee alwayes reuerently and honâ—…urably conuersaunte in the syghte of the heauenly Father Let vs thinke and thinke agayne vpon the quyet peace and tranquilitie of a pure hearte vpon the delectation of a soule beholdyng the maiestie of God and vpon the securitye and fyrme hope of the mynde which loueth god And hereby wee shall soone fynde that to gyue ouer our selues vnto such things is as much as to be conformed vnto God. And that suche as doe otherwyse are deformed and not reformed For it is not
euerye thynge whych is created defectyue And euerye transitorye thing vnquiet Yea it is shorte and of small contynewaunce but mutable and subiecte vnto tyme. So that the louers of this world â—…aue nothing firm or stable but are themselues also light and vnconstant as it were set in a whyrlewynde synce they put not theyr delyâ—…ht in God onely but in all vayne and transytory tâ—…inges now affecting this thing and now that thing Now loatâ—…yng that they earst loued and streyght waye deuring and ceuâ—…ting some other vanity not yet possessed But the iust and such as loue God doe perseuer quyet vnyforme and sâ—…ble being founded vpon the eternall God as vpon an vnâ—…oueable foundation And therevpon Salomon sayed The wicked shall not be seene Lyke vnto a storme passing ouer But the iust shal be as an euerlasting foundation Augustine bewayling the louers of this world doth exclayme and say O louers of the world wherfore labor you Why doe yâ—…u afflyct your selues about nothing Whyles you might possesse the creator of all thynges What sâ—…eke you further What may suffyse and content mens mynde whome the creator of all thinges cannot suffise and content For if you may haue all goodnesse which is God why go you about to possesse things full of mysery Can your hope expectacioÌ„ in the world be any thing els then to be thereof beloued And therein what is not frayle What is not transitory What is not changeable What is not sinallye full of perylles by the whiche you passe on vnto greater yea and euerlasting perylles And of the vanytie of the worldly lyfe Hierome sayth O lyfe no lyfe but death A deceiptfull lyfe laden with sorowe weake and ouershadowed New it florysheth streyght waye it wythereth Depryuing him of lyfe in whome it séemeth lyfe O frayle momentayâ—… and bryttell lyfe the more thou growest the more also thou decreasest The more thou procéedest the more nearer thou aprochest vnto death O lyfe full of snares how many men doest thou entangle and howe many by thée now doe abyde infernall tâ—…rments Oh howe happy is he which knoweth and perceiueth thy deceyptes how much more happy is he which setteth lyght by and careth not for thy vayne delights And he is most happy which is wel dyspatched of thée In the first Epistle of Iohn and the fyft Chapiter it is written All the whole world is set on wyckednesse Yea is not the world subiect vnto the Diuill and replenished with all iniquitie Wherevpon the same Iohn in his seconde Chapiter of his second Epistle sayth All that is in this world is concupiscence of the fleshe concupiscence of thinges séene or pryde of lyfe and conuersacion And as Peter sayth The wycked are seruauntes of corruption and of sinne For of whome soeuer a man be maystred or ouercome vnto him he is a seruaunt and in bondage And hée which is the bondman of sinne is consequently the seruant of the Diuyll Wherevpon Paule speaketh of the wicked saying Let them turne backe from the snares of the Diuill by whome they are holden in captyuitie euen according to his pleasure And Christ in his gospell doth terme the diuill the Prynce of this world Meaning not the rounde globe of the sphere but the worldly creatures which being turned backe from God are ouerwhelmed and buryed in earthly thinges Of whome Hierome ment saying Going backe frome the Lord they are written and regystred in the earth But Christ sayth contrariwyse to the electe reioyce and be ioyefull For your names are writteÌ„ regestred in heauen Now Beda expoundeth these wordes thus By the worlde and those thinges which are therern he vnderstandeth men which inordynately and excessyuely doe loue and estéeme the world And such haue nothing but concupyscence of the flesh concupyscence of thinges sene with eye and pryde of lyfe For in these vocables and proper names of vyces Iohn doth comprehende and enclude all kynds of vyces For the concupyscence of the fleshe is all that pertayneth vnto the volupteousnesse and delyghtes of the bodye By the concupyscence of thynges séene with the eye are ment all curyosyties which are commytted in learninge of wycked artes and ornamentes all contemplacion of filthy and wycked sightes or spectacles all superfluous desyre to get temporall and tryflinge toyes and all curyous carpynge and marking of our neighbours imperfections By the pride of lyfe and conuersation is ment the pompe and beast which men conceiue in worldly promotions So that the world is replenyshed with Diuils For what els doe men that liue according to the world but stryue to wrappe and enfuolde themselues in sundrye sortes of sinnes Yea and to wound and wearye theyr soules with the maynes of myschiefes and the shaftes of sundrye shamefull concupyscences vntill at last they féele not theyr owne harmes We sée fulfilled in the Church that which is written by the Prophet There is no truth there is no mercy there is no knowledge of God on the earth The cursed vyces of murder thefte adulterye and lying are come flowing ouer vs From the greatest to the least all men applye themselues vnto couetousnesse The Pryestes haue not sayd where is y Lord and the pastors haue vsed collusion It is easie to be sene vnto what an excéeding great rewine the church is come in euery eâ—…at degrée order But if christyaÌ„s did lyue now as they lyued in the primityue church and first comminge of the Gospell there should be no suche greate necessytie to flye from the world Marye as men doe now a dayes for the most parte lyue it is a highe dyfficulltye to lyue well or to declyne from heynous sinnes in the world Especially for such as are not exercysed with verteous quallytie or paynefull labour but doe abounde in ryches and are conuersant in greatest pompes and highest places Deceiptes ambytion enuye volupteousnesse and all other euils are powred out vpon the earth Euery man beateth his brayne howe hée maye multyplye and encrease his substaunce but no man careth howe to saue hys soule Men are afeard least they should fall into pouertye but were it not muche more to bée feared to lyght into the bottomelesse pyt of hell The world is the fornace of vyces The which these worldlings doo heate and warme with the fuell of sinne And therein doe burne and consume themselues and theyr companyones For they are so much blynded that they neither sée nor feare the peryles which are notoryous and well knowen to all men But doe tryumph and reioise in theyr euils lyke phrentyke and made men Yea if there be any whome they sée not wrapped in lyke wooes they accoumpt them to be blockyshe and senseles creatures Well sayd that Phylosopher As often as I was amongst men I retorned sayth he the worse And another saith An euyll companyon draweth his fellowe to mesdéedes and so he which was before good becommeth euill and wycked To conclude euen as the people of Israell could not depart from